I'm an old time farmer, I have 134 laying hens. Just had 19 hens sit on 12 eggs each, RIR, NH, BLK & RED SEX LINKS. every egg hatched. I used to use the red heat lamp that are popular and cause fires and bird loss to often, you can use a cardboard box, plastic tub or a metal trof for goats water, (My Favorite) it is narrow 2 feet wide and 8 feet long. we place heating pads under half our brooders (if they get to warm they can move to cooler ground, Lined with paper towel. we have only used them on low or medium heat. the radiant heat coming up from the floor will make your chicks VERY COMFORTABLE, especially when shipped in. as long as you have shown them the water, They are good to grow! the radiant heat coming up from the floor makes them so happy, heat will range between 79 to 83 degrees. YES, the temps are correct. with a soft light overhead no direct light on them. on at 6:am and off at 11:pm with total darkness for 7 hours. We started using the heating pad method years ago, In my new book "Back to Basics Raising the Perfect Poultry" coming out in July. instructions on the basics of raising the best organic laying hens, egg selling, chick hatching & raising. Natural remedies & cures along with intensive knowledge on treating injuries. I hope this has helped a few people make life easier when raising very happy chicks that really don't chirp much because they are so comfortable! They will also love you if you feed them live meal worms from Day one of life. We also raise organic meal worms for all our birds on the farm. Good Luck.
I'm an old time farmer, I have 134 laying hens. Just had 19 hens sit on 12 eggs each, RIR, NH, BLK & RED SEX LINKS. every egg hatched. I used to use the red heat lamp that are popular and cause fires and bird loss to often, you can use a cardboard box, plastic tub or a metal trof for goats water, (My Favorite) it is narrow 2 feet wide and 8 feet long. we place heating pads under half our brooders (if they get to warm they can move to cooler ground, Lined with paper towel. we have only used them on low or medium heat. the radiant heat coming up from the floor will make your chicks VERY COMFORTABLE, especially when shipped in. as long as you have shown them the water, They are good to grow! the radiant heat coming up from the floor makes them so happy, heat will range between 79 to 83 degrees. YES, the temps are correct. with a soft light overhead no direct light on them. on at 6:am and off at 11:pm with total darkness for 7 hours. We started using the heating pad method years ago, In my new book "Back to Basics Raising the Perfect Poultry" coming out in July. instructions on the basics of raising the best organic laying hens, egg selling, chick hatching & raising. Natural remedies & cures along with intensive knowledge on treating injuries. I hope this has helped a few people make life easier when raising very happy chicks that really don't chirp much because they are so comfortable! They will also love you if you feed them live meal worms from Day one of life. We also raise organic meal worms for all our birds on the farm. Good Luck.