Trigger Mike Posted March 27, 2016 Posted March 27, 2016 i have some chicks about 3 weeks old. most of their feathers are in. I had them under a heat lamp but needed a safer place to put them but it is too far from electricity for heat. currently it is close to 80 in the day and 64 at night. Monday it will dip to 50 and cooler later in the week. I want to put heat back on them but keep them in their predator proof coop. My wife's Ford Expedition has an electrical plug so I thought of running an extension cord from it to the coop and hang the heat lamp on the fence close to the ground . there is a tin roof on part of the coop and it hangs a couple of feet over the fence. i thought i would park it as close to the overhang and roll the window mostly up (it will rain) and provide heat that way. is there a better way?
Trigger Mike Posted March 27, 2016 Author Posted March 27, 2016 my coop is a 10 x 20 god kennel panel fence with tin roof over half and dog kennel panels on the top of the other half and a chain on the gate . there is a wooden nesting coop under the tin roof and food and water. the nesting coop is basically a taller dog house with nesting boxes off to one side and perches in the middle. they can group together inside but last night they were huddled together by the fence that has tall grass on the other side of the fence.
Happy Jack, SASS #20451 Posted March 27, 2016 Posted March 27, 2016 Copper Queen loves her chickens. Just got some more chicks. almost 2 weeks old. Still in the brooder (a commercial one)Just put yours in a cardboard box and keep them in the house for a few more days. Put some bedding in the bottom. Use RED heat lamps. The clear ones can hurt their eyesight when they are young. Chicks like to be between 80 and 110 degrees. Above 120 they will die as they can't regulate their body temp when young. Too cold they will die also. We keep the temp at 100 for 2 weeks, then 90 for 2 more then about 80 for 2 more then put them in the "tahja-coup". (my name for her custom chicken house).
Matthew Duncan Posted March 27, 2016 Posted March 27, 2016 EcoGlow and a 12 volt car battery. When they are fully feather no supplemental heat is needed.
Trigger Mike Posted March 28, 2016 Author Posted March 28, 2016 Never heard of EcoGlow. going to look that up. I tried to hook the heat lamp to my wife's Expedition since it has a regular plug. It turns on the lamp for 10 seconds, then off for a few seconds then on again and off again so it never gets hot enough to do anything so I parked her car right up to the fence by where they are bedding down to get heat off the engine until it cools and to block the wind. they are huddled up like a ball of feathers. also tried using the battery jumper that has a 110 plug but it cuts off right away. it will run a lamp but not a heat lamp
Trigger Mike Posted March 28, 2016 Author Posted March 28, 2016 Ecoglow looks like an excellent idea and may run off my car jumper since it runs on less than a heat lamp and the car jumper runs a normal lamp. soonest i can get it is tuesday but maybe i can keep them arm until then by getting a hibachi grill placing just outside the fence and keeping coals in it maybe surround it with cinder blocks on the other side to direct the heat into the pen. placing outside the fence should keep the birds from getting too close. unless some one has a better idea to hold me over
Trigger Mike Posted March 29, 2016 Author Posted March 29, 2016 until the ecogrow arrives i put them in a dog carrier with pine shavings and food and water and put them in my garage overnight.
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