Raising Chicks Safely

I am focusing this article on the importance of keeping chicks at a warm enough temperature while keeping those raising them safe from fire in their homes.

In recent times chickens have become the new pet, they are adored across the country to the point of adorning them with sweaters, hats and of course the daily “selfie.” Others still erect chicken coops that I myself wouldn’t mind spending the night. Though people everywhere are finding and old new passion for keeping chickens, there are some basic guidelines that shouldn’t be forgotten or ignored.

We have raised chickens for decades on our farm and have worked to perfect a method that keeps the chicks well heated while maintaining a level of safety for our family. Anytime it’s possible chicks should be raised outside of the house, but we understand that’s not always possible or desirable, a few simple ideas can help minimize fire risks.

Hatch day

Eggs incubate at 99.5 degrees and on average hatch around day 21 of incubation. The chicks are left in the incubator until they are dry and fluffy and ready to be placed in whatever device you have prepared to brood them in. When we start early hatches when the weather is too cold to brood chicks in an out building, we use plastic totes which are size appropriate to the amount of chicks we have, usually 18’ x 36” will handle 20 chicks for a couple of weeks.
The source we use for heat when brooding in our home is a simple 60 watt light bulb installed in the fixture with an aluminum shroud (what you think of as being a heat lamp) with a house temperature normally being between 60 and 72 degrees a 60 watt bulb will easily keep the chicks at an acceptable temperature.

How we set up our totes

When preparing a tote to brood chicks we ensure it has a lid, in one end of the lid we cut a hole one inch in diameter less than the shroud of the lamp, the shroud can then be placed over the hole without risk of it falling in, it can be moved slightly to one side or the other to allow excess heat to escape if it becomes too warm for the surface temperature of a 60 watt bulb is about 265 degrees.

Heat lamps are dangerous

Heat lamps are exactly that, “dangerous” when used in a situation the allows them to come into contact with combustible materials. With best intentions heat lamps are subject to the family pet knocking them over and starting a fire. We don’t use heat lamps on our farm even with adult birds since they tend to want to roost on anything above their heads and a heat lamp is no exception. With a surface temperature of nearly 800 degrees on a 750 watt heat lamp fire will not be long if it becomes dislodged from its perch.

There are multiple ways of keeping chicks warm and safe without putting you and your home at risk. If you need any ideas of what works for us here at 4D’s Farm please feel free to contact us we are happy to help you figure out a safe way to raise your chicks, you can also join us on “The Maine Poultry Connection” on Facebook and draw information and ideas from over 3000 members.

Scott DeMoranville

About Scott DeMoranville

Along with his wife Nickie, son Nolan and daughter Maddigan, Scott runs are 4Dʼs Farm, located in Bradford, Maine. Both Nickie and Scott are independent NPIP (National Poultry Improvement Program) testers for the state of Maine. Scott runs the Maine Poultry Connection of Facebook.