# Brooder



## Deviant (Mar 1, 2012)

Alright so I'm looking into building a brooder since my birds have successfully hatched some of their eggs, and are looking at a clutch of 8. I'm just wondering how I should go about making one. So far I have a 50cm long fish tank, and I've ordered in a heat mat. What I want to know is, what wattage should the mat be? the highest I can find is 7watts, and I'm not buying offline. I've been looking at heat lamps too, I'm not going to pull any chicks before I can get the tank to sit at a constant temp but I still wouldn't mind some advice


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

What you really need is a temp gauge, as the brooder has to be a certain temp for the babies. But I don't remember what the temp is.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

This link has the recommended brooder temps from the North American Cockatiel Society (scroll down): http://www.cockatiel.org/articles/handfeeding.html


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## daverohmfeld (Oct 26, 2012)

Ensure that they have enough room to move away from the heat. My friend was a breeder at one time and used a brooder. She would put the heating pad under one side of the tank. If the chicks got too warm on the side with the pad, they would move until they found the "just right" spot and would all gather up.


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## Deviant (Mar 1, 2012)

I've got a big enough tank that the babies will be able to move if they need to. Does anyone ever mix heating lamps and heat mats together? Or would that get too hot. I'm just asking because a lot of what I've looked into doesn't answer my exact questions.


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## lethalfire (Aug 29, 2012)

When I use to breed I had a heating mat on one side and used a heating lamp w/ a RED bulb that way it wasn't as bright. Seemed to work out good, I would put the lamp in the middle. That way they had cooler warm and warmer.


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