I am planning to locally purchase 4-6 Rhode Island Red chicks in April. I have read several books on raising poultry and they all suggest infrared heat lamps or gas brooders, but these books are geared for the 25+ chicks level. I wonder if I can get by with a regular 100 watt light-bulb for heat if the chicks are kept in my house for 4-6 weeks. I have tested this and the bulb does produce the desired 95 degree temperature. (I have also tested a "black light" bulb--you know the kind that makes your shoelaces glow--so that less light would be put out, but was concerned about ultraviolet radiation.) I am trying to avoid a big capital outlay and am reluctant to invest in heat lamp/brooder equipment for such a small number of chicks. Will 24 hours of light cause cannibalism problems in new chicks if they have plenty of space (1 sqft each)? The farm supply lady thought the 100-watt bulb would be adequate but she has never raised chicks beyond the ones she sells in her store. I would love to get some advice from experienced chicken people! Another question... are dried grass clippings an adequate litter for chicks? I have a plentiful supply. Thanks in advance for your help.

Hi,
I am not an expert, but I have raised a few chickens under 100w bulbs. I have found that the exact temp. is not that critical, just watch the chicks when they sleep. If they are sitting in a very tight group, then they are probably cold and if they are spread out and not touching each other at all then they are probably hot. I have left the light on over night with no problems. When they start to feather out they won't need as much heat. I'm not sure about the dried grass clippings, I don't know why they wouldn't work. I always use ceder shavings. Anyway, like I said, I'm not an expert so if anything I wrote here is wrong, maybe some of the more experienced people can correct me. Hope this helps, and have fun with your new babies,
Chrissie

Lisa, My bantam chicks always start life in a shoebox lined with paper towels. They have a gooseneck lamp over the box. A thermometer measures temp at 95f for at least an hour before I put the chicks in. You will need a deeper box for RIRed chicks--they are 4x the size of my bantams. I put their Starter Crumbles right in a corner for nearly a week. Their water is in an antique "Salt dish" just right for tiny chicks and small enough that they can't drown. I can keep 8 or 9 day-olds for about 8-10 days, then a slightly larger and deeper box. I put a piece of 1/2 hardware cloth over the top then, so they can't jump out. Paper is changed whenever I check the chicks. Actually, I just layer it, piece by piece over the poop, then after a few layers, start fresh. There is a plastic sack on the bottom of the box, so the bottom of the box stays dry. Grass will not do for bedding, it will not stay dry--and there will be a lot of wet poop all day and all night. Wet is VERY bad for chicks. I use newspapers after the paper towells until they are about 8 weeks old, then shavings. Papers like the small shopping news size is good, as you only need to keep layering over the poopy part--4-5 x a day and before night. Waterers (that screw on a 1 qt Mason jar, and feeders that they can't get in and scratch all the crumbles out are added after a week--probably sooner with your larger chicks. Be prepared to have quite a bit of wasted feed for the first week or so. My lights are on (100W,then 75W) 24 hours and raised so that the temp is 90f the second week-5 degrees a week (about) until temp is room temp. The 24hr. light goes on until they don't need additional heat--6-8 weeks. In spite of "what people say", there is no harm with the 24 hr light!! They do cry when the light goes out at night for the first time--but mainly because they don't know where to sleep! When they roost, there is no problem. Heat lamps are too hot, too high wattage for a small number of chicks. Chicks should not peep and cry, as they do at the Farm Store or hatchery. Chicks that are not too warm, not too cold, have food and water, do not cry at all! If a chick peeps, I go immediately to see what is the matter!! But all this is what I do--you will have a routine that is best for you and your situation! Have fun, be prepared for lots of baby-sitting. CJR

I can't add much to Jean's excellent advice above, but if you want to maintain the heat without using white light at night, you can use a red bulb. Chickens can't see much in red light, so they will think it's night time. If your box is bigger, you can have red light for heat at one end, and regular room light at the other. Most brooders have a red bulb (or none) under the cover where the heat is. When I brood I like to use a red outdoor spot or flood bulb. It won't break if it gets a spot of water splashed on it, and it directs the heat downward nicely.

Another idea is this, they sell a "night light" bulb for reptiles. This bulb comes in 100 watt strength and is something I use for my small amounts of chicks, or in my "weaker chick" brooders. It doesn't put out strong light, it's nice and warm...someone had suggested to me that using a dimmer switch when you hook this all up will help with lowering or raising the temp as needed....

Thanks everyone for all the wonderful, experienced advice! I am so relieved to hear that other people have done and continue to use 24hour light with success, because some of the books talk like it's the worst thing you can do. Thanks Cjeanr for the advice about the grass clippings. The paper towel idea is great! Wow, now I think I can actually do this. My husband will be relieved to hear that the chicks aren't noisy if they're comfortable. We're keeping them in the unfinished master bathroom for the first several weeks. Thanks again for your help! Lisa

We were told by our Ag teacher not to use Cedar shavings with our young chicks due to the oils and resins in the Cedar. We have been raising market broilers for 7 years and have always used pine shavings. What does anyone else feel about this who has had experience with cedar shavings? For our market broilers, we leave lights on the chicks 24 hours a day for maximum growth. We have used Red Infrared lights and the white ones too. We prefer the white lights and have had no problem with cannabalism. If any of our chicks become wounded, we coat injury with Bacitracin or if not serious, we use Vaseline to prevent pecking by other curious chicks. We normally raise market broilers for the Houston Livestock Show which is in the winter but now have undertaken broilers for the State Fair of Texas. Our problem is the Texas heat. Our broilers were hatched 08-16-00 and we will raise them for about 49 days before the show. We use fans in our chicken house to circulate the air. It really doesn't seem to help with cooling though. Our temp. in the house is between 90 & 100 degrees right now during the day. In the past, we have frozen 2 liter bottles and placed them with the chickens to help with cooling.
We've thought about evaporative coolers but are concerned with possible URI problems. Does anyone have any suggestions to keep the chickens cool enough without endangering their health? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Wait until chicks are more than 6 weeks old, even 10-12 weeks before usuing cedar shavings for bedding. I use pine shavings after 3-6 weeks, paper (not practical for your operation) prior to that. They do eat a LOT of shavings, so I would hate to have day-olds or even weekolds on shavings. They need to eat starter and learn a bit of descrimination. Mind you, they are going to eat all manner of unmentionables as they grow. And do offer baby grit, if you have them on shavings, so they can be processed! Some poultry people use "misters" for comfort of the birds--outside. This has been a very hot summer in Montana, but the cool nights give total relief, and it is usually noon before it hits 90f+ , so with shade and green grass, the birds have not suffered. Worst time is when they go to roost--warmest part of the houses, and it has not yet cooled down! Fans do move the air, but do not cool it. (would water pans in front of fans help?) Can't roost them outside because of all manner of varmits! Frost will come! And relief! CJR

We start baby chicks and biddies with babies on northern white cedar shavings, but put paper on top for a few days to allow the little ones to learn where the feed is. Once they distinguish between feed and shavings, we take the paper out and they are on the shavings, then on straw as they get larger. We have seen no adverse effects. I don't think it's the oil in the shavings that is the problem. It's not knowing the difference between feed and wood. This has to be learned. If there is no biddy to do the teaching, then learning to recognize feed on the paper usually does the trick. Hope this helps.