Hiya

[Victoria]

Hi guys, I am new to the forum. I have 4 hens, 1 roo and two chicks running about the place at the moment. I set 15 eggs from my flock in my new incubator (no one is broody at the moment) about 4 days ago and just did my first candling. 13 are thriving and developing well, one egg was infertile and one was a bacterial death (blood ring) so I am hoping for a good hatch.

[jimmy]

Welcome aboard Victoria

Sounds like you eggs are going great guns, here's hoping for a successful hatch.

[tishie11]

I find 4 days is a bit early - 7 days and you can see a lot. It's exciting isn't it? I currently have 3 incubators with eggs in and have been practicing my candling skills a lot!

[seatil]

Welcome to the forum.

Good luck with your eggs. I really love the surprise at hatching time, even when I know the chicks are all going to be the same colour!

[ChickyMum]

Hi Victoria and welcome to the forum

Good luck with your incubator hatching sound promising at this early stage
What breed of chooks do you have? How old are the chicks?

Have you had chooks for long?

[Victoria]

Hi ChickyMum,

I have one Orpington, two Leghorns, a Pekin bantam and a Silkie roo. The two chicks are Silkie x Pekin and are now three weeks old and having a great time. Not sure what I have but I think it might be one hen and one roo. I have had chickens for about a year.

[ChickyMum]

Sounds like a great range you have there
I have 7 little chicks who are 5-6 weeks old and have now moved full time outside (were incubator hatched/brooder raised) they are just such characters

Aren't chickens just great fun?
Love to see some pic's of your chooks

[Victoria]

Once I figure out how to post pics I will pop some up for you. What kind of incubator have you been using? This will be my firs thatch ever in an incubator so it is very exciting and I am learning heaps.

Doe anyone know where I can purchase red heat lamps online? I cannot get them anywhere around our town.

[seatil]

A regular incandescent 60w/75w/100w light bulb should be enough. Mitre10 sell full blown heatlamp bulbs, but the heat output from those is far more than needed for a small brooder, plus you'll need to ensure that the mount they're going into can handle the current, which if it has to be wired up, legally requires an electrician to do.

I've been using electric hens (Brinsea EcoGlow) for our chicks. Uses less power (20w for the small one) than a light bulb or heat lamp, doesn't interfere with the night/day cycle and somewhat mimics chicks being able to get under mum. If you're doing a number of hatches it's worth considering.

[ChickyMum]

I have a RCom King Suro auto everything
I also used a brinsea ecoglow 20 brooder instead of a heat light which worked a treat and there is no risk of fire or heat burning. It also has the added benefits as mentioned by seatil

I was very pleased with both these items and it was my first time using artificial methods to hatch chicks but it was oh so exciting

Good luck with your hatching

[Victoria]

I have some normal bathroom heat lamps I can use here but was concerned that the white light will keep the chicks up and cause pecking. My brooder is fairly large.

I recently purchased a plug in lamp holder cord that I am planning on suspending from the garage roof.

[seatil]

Ah, so you mean the ceramic types, not the standard heatlamp types?

Try here? http://www.chooks.co.nz/p/188/appletons-heat-packages

Though by the time you've got all the stuff to make those work it might be cheaper to go far an electric hen.

[Victoria]

You can get bathroom heat lamps that are red and only give off red light so that is really what I am looking for. I saw a couple on trademe but missed out on them. Have been to the local electrical supply shops but that don't have them here.

[Victoria]

Thanks for the link. I like the look of the Brinsea brooders and they can do upto 20 chicks so that might be a good option for me. This is fast becoming an expensive hobby though.

[eae]

Here is just a normal R80 60W type incandescent reflector (red)

http://www.jaycar.co.nz/productView.asp?ID=SL2955

.. and here are some higher wattage - 120W and 150W. They're about half way down..

http://lightbulbman.co.nz/shop/heat-lamps.10299

.. and here is a 100W from a reptile supplies section.

http://www.redwoodaquatics.co.nz/product_pcid_415.html