Diary of a poultry farmer: The good and the bad of bulbs in brooders

On Sunday, May 8, Rosemary my worker beckoned me towards the brooder box on the veranda of my house.

“What is the matter?” I asked her. She explained that at 6am as she went to change the water and feeds for the week-old chicks in the brooder box, she found some dead.

She didn’t exactly know how many had died.

“Not again,” I thought. The chicks were due for the first Gumboro vaccine in three day’s time.

Could the infection have started spreading this early? The chicks had not shown any signs of disease the previous day. What about a predator getting into the box?

You see, I have sold off most of my older stock and only remained with hens. I am trying to build a stock for the December season and any loses at this time would disrupt my plans.

For sure, I know farmers who have lost hundreds of chicks during the first month of life and some have confessed to me that they prefer to buy chicks after one month when they don’t have to bother about supplemental heat and vaccinations.

By one month, one should have administered the first two Gumboro and the first Newcastle vaccine, meaning, the risk from these early killers is lessened.

Gumboro, also known as Infectious Bursal Disease (IBD), is a highly contagious viral disease with no treatment and affects the developing immune system of young chicken. Symptoms and death normally occur between three to six weeks.

I rushed to the brooder box and when I checked, I saw a pile of chicks stacked into one corner.

I used my hand to shuffle them around and guess what? About 10 were dead but five were able to rise up, although they were weak. I was relieved.

CROWDED AROUND THE REMAINING BULB

When I checked the lighting system, I noticed that only one bulb, instead of two, was working. I normally use two 100 watt ordinary light bulbs to supplement heat throughout the day and night.

These bulbs provide adequate supplemental heat for about 100 day-old chicks for up to two weeks, after which I transfer them into an ordinary chicken coop.

I observed something else. The remaining chicks, though still alive, were crowded around the remaining bulb at the centre of the brooder.

The wood-shavings in the corner were also a bit wet, possibly a result of water spillage. These two things gave me a clue of the problem at hand.

I quickly figured the chicks had died from extreme cold.

Of course, it had rained heavily during the night and this also contributed to low temperatures.

Immediately, I replaced the light bulb and after about 30 minutes, the chicks were moving about.

Normally, after hatching my chicks, I transfer them to an ordinary carton I use as the brooder box.

It measures about a metre long, a metre wide and half a metre high. I have figured that the two bulbs are adequate to provide heat requirements of about 32 degrees Celsius for the first seven days.

After the seventh day, the chicks can tolerate lower temperature of between 28 and 30 degrees Celsius because by then, they will have started to form feathers.

Of course I don’t have to use a thermometer to measure the temperature and keep a log frame like one would do in a laboratory.

I have taught Rosemary to recognise signs of high and low temperature.

She knows when the chicks crowd around the source of heat, this is a sign of low temperature.

PROVIDE CHICK FORMULA

If they move away from the source of heat, this signifies high temperature and all she needs to do is to remove the top cover from the box.

Supplemental heat is a must during the first four weeks because thermal regulation of chicks is not well developed this early.

However, from my experience, I have learnt that two weeks are adequate, although with exotic birds, I am told two weeks may be too early to remove the chicks from the heat.

By using electric light bulbs, I don’t have to worry about carbon monoxide poisoning if I was using say a charcoal jiko.

However, get a good electrician to undertake the wiring because there is still a risk of fire if it is done poorly.

The other thing I have observed is to keep the light bulbs as far away from the edge of the box because sometimes they get very hot and can burn.

Of course, one can also use infra-red lights but I stopped using them because they are very expensive and yet the risk of blowing up is high. One can also use a stove hover.

During the first week, I also provide chick formula to boost immunity and glucose for energy.

Chick formula contains vitamins and some antibiotics. I also provide liquid paraffin to open up the digestive system.

Liquid paraffin should not be confused with paraffin (kerosene) used as fuel. I offer chick mash for eight weeks before changing to growers mash.

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Obwogo is a farmer and a medical doctor. He works as a senior quality improvement advisor in health policy and systems strengthening with an international NGO.