Heat lamps and why pt 2

bluetitan26

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Hi all, well part 1 got you talking and that was my aim so I hope part 2 can follow on.
First of all I think we can all agree that no artifical system beats a good broody but not all broodys are good and not everyone has a broody. I wrote this for people who had at sometime thought " I would like to try a electric hen but don't know anyone that has" or someone new to the hobby wanting to raise a few chicks and having a choice. So lets get going

My newly hatched chicks spend the first 12 to 24 hours in the hatcher, ( I don't hatch in incubators my Hatchers are easily cleaned due to being basic and don't get gummed up with chick gunk, I can also clean and have the incubators running again before chicks have hatched this way. After 24 hours the chicks are moved to my brooding shed and placed into pens with a covering of shavings, an electric hen (EH) is placed down one end and food and water at the other, now this is where your brooding lamp may be useful I have found that some batches are fine with just the EH others get the duvet effect that is to say they want to stay under the covers and keep toastie just like you & me on a cold morning. If this happens I hang a lamp over the food and out they come after a day you can usually stop the lamp if not I put it on a timer and set it for say 6am for an hour an again for an hour every 4 hour until about 5pm for a few days, as I say this is not every batch but if you get the problem this will sort it. EH height, I set it just off the chicks back not too low that they have to squeeze in and not to high as they have to stretch to much, after about 5 days I higher the front legs to give it a tilt this way the chicks can adjust their heat by moving forward or towards the back. At about 10 days they are moved to a pen with more room and the EH is kept adjusted to account for growth but still left tilted. At this point I fit a plastic cover on top of the EH, mine are made from thin flexi plastic and fit over the legs and sit quite happily on top and save you from having to clean off baked on chick poo from the top of EH,at the end of the brooding session ( not easy) this way you just slip off the plastic throw it in a bowl of hot water add some disinfectant and all done' you can use rubble sack type plastic if you wish cut to size. Another problem you may come across is as the EN does not give off any light chicks can wander out as its getting dark an not make it back I have only found this happens while chicks are relatively young I combat this by using LED lights very cheap £9 for 3 in B&Q have a lifetime of 15 years and only burn 1.5 watts. You can get various spotlight type holders that hold 1 or more lights although I find 1 for each pen is enough.

A big plus with EH ( and yes I know most people don't do it this way but I do and it works) at about 4 weeks (weather permitting) my chicks are moved outside into a hardening off pen which is in fact a block of three 6 ft rabbit type hutches they are 2 ft deep and 2 ft each tall meaning the block is 6ft from top to bottom the only reason they are in a block is space. In length they split 4ft of the 6 a run 2 ft is sleeping space which is fitted out with a electric hen meaning that chicks can act as they would with a broody come out in the fresh air go back when they need warmth in two years I have never lost a chick at this stage and usually by 5 weeks they are off heat or at least only on heat during the night if the weather is bad. If the weather is warm I have had chicks totally off heat and happy easily by 5 weeks and all chicks have that little something you can't pin point a bit more zest or curiosity for life like you get with a broody reared chicks. So that's it finished hope you enjoyed it. And if nothing else gave you something to talk about. :)
 
We have a similar system Bluetitan. Problem we have with electric hens is they perch on them and so poo on them. I've bought extra threaded bar so I can use the EH for longer. But there comes a point when they can't get under even the biggest. In current temperatures over here they are still on thermostatic heat. They are growing big and strong but it's expensive.

Problem with broodies it takes an awful lot out of them. Our best broody hatched two broods (one each year) but the third time she went extremely weak, was taken in and died in the night. I prefer the artificial method, power cuts and cost permitting. I'm going to build a large rearing box for the first week to keep them safer in the event of a power cut (it takes time to set up the emergency power) and to cut down on the power used. The same box will probably house the incubator and hatcher as extra insulation.

LED's are a good idea. For light now ours are going to get energy saving bulbs on Tuesday.
 
One of the main advantages I find with the Electric Hens is the power saving. An electric hen uses a fraction of the power compared to an IR Lamp so costs much less to run.
 
Not to do with EHs, although I am about to indulge in them, but about your comments, Chris, about broodies.
My granddaughter's LC Pekin, went boody twice in succession, raised two broods in a few short weeks, and died, leaving a very tearful and upset little girl.
I thought she was fulfilling a much needed natural phenomenon, not killing herself, so let her get on with it. She was a wonderful mother.
Her only problem seemed to be a persistent chick who wanted to brood the eggs with her.
I had no idea she was in danger of wearing herself out, thanks for the warning and information.
In future I shall be less indulgent to a broody hen, and take her eggs away, not add to them.
 

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