Heat bulb & flooring choice- which are best?

[rosemarythyme]

I'm going to see if I can't make a mama heating pad.

After thinking about shavings and dust, I'm leaning towards setting up the brooder in the laundry room instead of the kitchen!

My concern with the shower curtain was whether or not it would give off fumes.

If unsure about shower curtain (which I can understand... when you unpackage some of them, they smell like chemicals) then maybe put cardboard on top of it and then shavings? If you go the heating pad route you won't have to worry about an overly hot heat lamp pulling weird fumes out of the plastic shower curtain.

I would choose almost any room in the house over a kitchen! If you have an unused bathroom, that would be my pick - that's what I used first time around. Made it easier to scrub the counter and walls(!) clean of dander.

Any heating pad will do? The most basic Sunbeam from Amazon?

MUST be a heating pad with no auto shut off (where it clicks off after 1 or 2 hours). Sunbeam makes one, I happen to have a no name brand one that also does not have auto shut off.

 

[1keegan]

If unsure about shower curtain (which I can understand... when you unpackage some of them, they smell like chemicals) then maybe put cardboard on top of it and then shavings? If you go the heating pad route you won't have to worry about an overly hot heat lamp pulling weird fumes out of the plastic shower curtain.

I would choose almost any room in the house over a kitchen! If you have an unused bathroom, that would be my pick - that's what I used first time around. Made it easier to scrub the counter and walls(!) clean of dander.



MUST be a heating pad with no auto shut off (where it clicks off after 1 or 2 hours). Sunbeam makes one, I happen to have a no name brand one that also does not have auto shut off.

Thanks!

 

[Blooie]

<————— Another Mama Heating Pad fan! I use the Sunbeam X-press Heat because I brood chicks outdoors. Once in the house with a heat lamp was enough for me. I started using Mama Heating Pad for my second batch of chicks and have now done a total of 9 batches over the years. I like the pad I use because it has a digital controller so I can really fine-tune the heat, essential when brooding chicks outdoors when temps are still in the 20s. And I can just pull out the plug, toss the pad in the washer, and lay it flat to dry and store. I can use it on my own aches and pains between batches of chicks! Good luck with your new adventure!

 

[1keegan]

May I ask what diameter you use for roosts in your coop? Years ago when we had a handful of Browns, almost every single one got bumble foot, and we wondered if it was caused by our roosts- which were 2x4s. we saw one coop with tree branches, and another with 2x4s on edge.

 

[aart]

May I ask what diameter you use for roosts in your coop? Years ago when we had a handful of Browns, almost every single one got bumble foot, and we wondered if it was caused by our roosts- which were 2x4s. we saw one coop with tree branches, and another with 2x4s on edge.

Bumblefoot is not caused by roost size.
It's caused by a staph infection in a wound on the foot.
Wounds can be caused by jumping down onto or walking over sharp things.

Use the roosts that work for you...everyone has a different preference.