Heat lamp – VJP Poultry

How to Choose a Heat Source for your Brooder

March 10, 2018May 1, 2020 by vjppoultry, posted in New Silkies

20180309_092902 A baby chick runs to the safety and warmth of its mother’s wings. Here it feels secure and loved. The mother hen’s body heat warms the little chick and when it is ready the chick will dart out into the world to find food and water. When choosing a heat source for your brooder you will want something that can be as close as possible to a natural mother hen.

Chicks need supplemental heat. Their little bodies will not keep themselves warm enough until they fully feather out. Feathering out means that they completely lose their baby down and develop true feathers. This can happen at different ages depending on your breed of chicken. The larger the breed, the sooner they will no longer need a supplemental heat source. Most breeds need it for about six weeks depending on the outside weather. Brooding in the winter is different than brooding in the summer. The temperature around your brooder will make a difference in how long you keep your chicks under the heat.

Chicks also need steady heat both day and night. You will need a heat source that is dependable and allows for a typical sleep cycle. A steady white light on them 24/7 is not normal or natural. A red infrared bulb is better for their sleeping patterns and is supposed to cut down on any pecking activity among the chicks.

The basic heat formula that most people use for baby chicks begins at 100 degrees Fahrenheit for newborns. This is what the temperature of the incubator was. You then subtract 5 degrees for each week of age after that. A one week old would be 95 degrees, a two week old would be 90 degrees and so on. I find that formula way too warm and could lead to your little chicks pasting up on their fluffy behinds. In the world of the mother hen, the little ones would be exposed to cooler temps much sooner and I think that less heat is better than too much heat when it comes to brooders. You need to make sure that the chicks are able to escape any temperature that is too warm.

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The most common way to brood chicks indoors is with a heat lamp fixture and a 250 watt heat lamp bulb. It is the cheapest way to go and many people use it especially if they don’t brood chicks very often. The pros for going this route is that you can purchase them at most places that sell chicken supplies. You can hang them at any distance from the brooder. However, many things can go wrong. The biggest issue is that they can fall into the brooder and start a fire. They must be hung very securely. Do not rely on just the clamp. Use zip ties and chain to secure it. We always use a double system so if one cord fails the other cord will prevent it from falling. I will put a flat screen on top of my brooder as an additional measure to keep the heat lamp from falling into the brooder. Make sure that your heat lamp fixture has a porcelain socket, not a plastic one that can melt. The bulbs will have to be replaced. I have found that they also lose strength as they get older and do not put out as much heat. Always have extra bulbs available in case your bulb burns out. If they bulb burns out at night your chicks will become cold and begin to pile up on each other for warmth. This will cause the ones on the bottom to suffocate. Always start each season with a new bulb. I have found a 250 watt heat lamp bulb too warm for small brooders. You can get infrared bulbs at lower wattage. Always dust your bulbs and hoods as dust buildup can cause a fire as well. Reptile ceramic heat emitters can also be used as a safer alternative to heat lamp bulbs.

There are also heat lamp holders that are caged at the top to operate safer.

Radiant heat is another brooder heat choice. Radiant heat passes through air without warming the air. There are several products that rely on radiant heat. Brinsea’s Ecoglow , Titan’s Electric Mama Hen andRentACoop’s heating plate all use less electricity than a heat lamp bulb and mimic a mother hen. They are for small batches of chicks but the Ecoglow 50 can warm up to 50 chicks. The advantages of these are that there is no fire hazard , it uses less electricity (14 watts vs 250 watts) and there is no disruptive light. It is more like a natural mother hen by creating a little cave to hide under. You can adjust the height of them as the chicks grow. You do not have to hang it up as it stands on legs. You will have adventurous chicks jumping up on top of it and creating messes but it is easy to clean up. These types of radiant heat brooder heat sources work best if the air around it is above 50 degrees. They are not effective in outdoor use if it is less than 50 degrees. These products are not as warm as a heat lamp can be and will not heat the air around it. I think that these are nice if you plan on doing a batch of chicks every year. It may be expensive at first but it will pay for itself in lower electric costs. There is nothing to replace on it so you do not need to worry about bulbs burning out.

A Sweeter Heater uses radiant heat as well. Instead of being a free standing unit, it is hung from above or as a side panel as in the cozy products panel. Sweeter Heaters come in different sizes and are the best heaters for people who brood chicks frequently. Hang it above on chains so that they are just above the chick’s height. Raise it higher as the chicks grow taller. Since it swings on chains, the chicks will be reluctant to roost on top of it. Radiant heat has one temperature and no light to keep chicks up at night. The unit is completely sealed so there is no fire danger.

I am in the process of changing out all of my indoor heat lamps and replacing them with Sweeter Heaters. I have used heat lamps with brooders for ten years, but I have always had that nagging feeling that I should replace them. I brood chicks all year long so it was best to switch to the Sweeter Heater method. It will be cheaper in the long run on the electric bill and I will have the peace of mind that no bulb will burn out and leave all of my chicks in the cold.

Chicks will let you know if they are too warm or too cold by their behavior. Cold chicks huddle up and cry (cheep). Too warm of chicks stretch out to the corners of the brooder to get away from the heat source. Chicks that are just right will wander around all over the brooder doing typical chick things like eating and drinking.

If you are still undecided on what kind of chick brooder to get, check out “The Perfect Chick Brooder“.

For tips and tricks for raising outstanding silkies check out our Chicken Learning Center at VJPPoultry.com . VJP Poultry is an NPIP and state inspected hatchery located 30 miles north of St. Paul. We hatch out silkies all year long so we always have stock available. Like us on Facebook to get weekly updates on what we currently have for sale.

Victoria J. Peterson

VJP Poultry newborns 4

How to Deal with Below Zero Temps in the Chicken Coop

December 28, 2017May 17, 2020 by vjppoultry, posted in New Silkies

Often we think that we have winterized correctly for normal winter temperatures. But often in January the temperature can dip below zero which leaves us scrambling for additional tricks to get us through a couple of days of rough weather.

The first thing to do is observe you chickens. A chicken that is feeling stressed from the cold will look cold. It will be huddled up and not moving much. It may be standing on one leg trying to keep the other leg warm under its feathers. This may be the time to take action.

Chickens are designed to self regulate body heat. Their feathers hold in the warm air around their bodies. There is a lot of heat inside of a coop just from the number of living, breathing chickens in it. The more chickens you have, the warmer your coop will become.

Your coop probably has some insulation in it already. A coop should be designed for the kind of weather you live in. Insulation can be built in or added later. Coops built with a double layer wall will trap air between the layers or, you can us conventional insulation covered with plywood to keep the chickens from pecking at it.

Last minute insulation ideas are things that you can place either inside your coop or outside. Straw bales can be placed around the outside of the coop as well as inside the coop to block drafts. Straw is a warm bedding because it holds the warm air inside the shaft of the stem. Use it sprinkled on the floor of the coop or outside sprinkled on the run. It will keep their feet warmer than on just plain pea rock.

I use square pieces of reflective insulation to block the pop door at night after I shut the main door. This helps to block drafts at the floor level. Remove the square in the morning or leave it on extra cold days where you don’t want them to go outside. I also stuff old pillow cases with old t-shirts and put those in the pop hole area to cut off drafts.

A coop should provide shelter from wind, wet weather and cold drafts along the floor. The north sides and west sides need extra protection. Wrap clear tarps around the fencing in your run to use as a wind break and to keep snow out of your run. Information on how to do this can be found here. Silkies do not like to walk on snow and won’t leave the coop until it is shoveled off of their run.

Ventilation is very important. Keep the wet out (snow/rain) but remember, water vapor needs to escape. Do not keep the coop air-tight. I leave my windows open all year long. When it is below zero, I will shut them halfway but I probably shouldn’t. Ventilation is air that moves freely in and out of the coop. Drafts are air currents that blow directly on the chickens both on the floor and on their roosts. You want to eliminate drafts but you want as much ventilation as you can. Trapped water vapor will make things damp in your coop. If you see frost on your walls and on your doors inside the coop, then you need to increase your ventilation.

Your birds will increase the amount of food that they eat in below zero temps. You need to keep their food bowls filled and keep the food inside the coop where they can find it easily. Cracked corn is your friend in below zero temps. It will keep your bird warm. When it is really cold I give them cracked corn before going to bed so that their crop is full all night. I cook eggs every morning to feed back to the silkies. Warm, cooked oatmeal will warm up their insides and help them in low temperatures.

You will need to have a way to keep your water from freezing up. I use heated bases and put a galvanized metal 2 gallon waterer on top. Information on Heated Water Bases is here. Other people use a heated dog dish for their water. I worry about the silkies beards becoming wet with an open dish like that. I like to put vitamins and electrolytes in their water when it becomes cold to help perk them up.

I change my chicken’s bedding fairly often, but when the temp is below zero I begin to use the deep litter method. I keep adding more and more pine shaving bedding to their pen. I kick it around with my boot every morning so that it does not become compacted. You want it nice and fluffy. Do not try and clean or change bedding when it is below zero. Just keep adding more to the mix. You want it as dry as possible in the pen. Remove large chunks of poo when possible. You will need to gather eggs more often as well or they will freeze and crack.

If you see a bird that is clearly weak or sick you will need to separate it from the rest of the flock. You can crate it in a dog crate in your laundry room or garage. You will need to wait for warmer temperatures to introduce the bird back to the flock as they will have to be acclimated to outside life.

I use heat lamps as a last resort. I do not like to use them as they can be a fire hazard and are expensive to run. I will turn them on if the temperature is -10 degrees or colder. You need to factor wind chill in there as well especially if you have drafts you can’t block out. If you want to read more about heat lamps, look here. Some people like to use Sweeter Heaters instead of heat lamps because they can be safer and less expensive to use. They will not be as warm as a heat lamp will be. Other flat panel heaters include Cozy Products which is similar. Make sure you have a back up plan in case the power goes out. A portable generator is a good thing to have on hand. Birds will not be able to handle extreme changes in temperature and may it may prove deadly.

Frostbite can occur especially on feet, combs and wattles. Silkies have small combs and wattles so usually frostbite is not a problem in those spots. However, frostbite on feet can happen to silkies. If you have other breeds of birds you may want to use some Waxlene on their combs and wattles to protect them.

Remember that you need to dress appropriately in order to do your chicken chores in these cold temperatures. I wear Carhartt gear because it is very warm. Their products are made for people who have to work outdoors. Start with insulated bib overhauls. Add some Carhartt winter boots and your feet will stay very warm. A warm winter jacket and a hat that covers your face. Don’t forget warm gloves as my fingers are the first thing to get cold and warm socks for my toes that also get very cold.

Ultimately, it is your decision on what steps to take for your birds. There are some days where I don’t even open the pop doors to the run because I think that it is too cold. If you want more information on winterizing your coop check out Tips for winterizing your chicken run and How to Winterize a chicken coop built from a Kit.

Victoria J. Peterson

Silkie Starter Kit – What You Need Before the Chicks Arrive

September 4, 2017June 3, 2020 by vjppoultry, posted in New Silkies

As with any pet, it is important to plan ahead and purchase any equipment and supplies you will need before you bring home the actual animal. This is especially important with baby chicks.

If you plan on purchasing newborns or one week olds, you will first of all need to have a heat lamp and a heat lamp bulb to go with it. The heat lamp should be up and running before you bring the chicks home so that they can immediately warm to the right temperature after their car ride. When setting the heat lamp up, do not rely on just the clamp that comes with the fixture. Use mechanics wire to hang and secure the lamp over the brooder. The lamp should be able to be raised or lowered as needed to keep the chicks at the right temperature. This temp should be around 85-90 degrees when they are very young. Use their behavior as a guide. If they are too cold they will huddle under the lamp and cry. If they are too warm they will try and get as far away from the bulb as possible. You want them comfortably moving to all parts of the brooder.

I bulb should be a red infrared variety. I think those are the best so that the chicks can experience a night time cycle. It can also keep down the pecking of each other that can occur when there is the stress of constant daylight.

Any type of a tub can become a brooder. You will need to line the brooder with animal bedding to absorb moisture. I use pine shavings. I change the bedding about once a week and throw the used bedding on my garden to act as a mulch and fertilizer.

Your silkie chicks will also need a feeder and a waterer. Quart size is best when they are small chicks. Later you can get the gallon sized. I like to add a couple of things to the water for the silkie chicks. Vitamins with electrolytes can be added to give them a good start. I also add a splash of apple cider vinegar to help with digestion and general health.

Young chicks should be given chick starter until they are at least 10 weeks old. They can eat it longer than that, but you may want to switch to a grower feed. Chick starter is high in protein. Use medicated until they are around six weeks old and then switch to regular chick starter. Medicated can help their developing immune system to fight coccidiosis.

On my website near the top, there is a page called Silkie Supplies. There are some suggested products there to guide you in deciding what you need to start in silkie chickens. Good luck with your new pets!

Victoria J. Peterson