Heat lamp on while not home?

[ant888]

Hello, I just got 4 day to a week old chicks. My question was, if I leave the house, should I leave the heat lamp on? I always thought there was a fire hazard.

Thanks.

 

[junebuggena]

I have a similar question...I had the 250 watt heat lamp from the farm store for my six 5-7 day old chicks. My thermometer was reading 100-110 in the brooder! They were staying towards one end if it as well. I was nervous that I was going to cook them so I traded it out for a regular 75 watt bulb. They are now running all over and acting fine but my thermometer is only reading 85 degrees.They don't act cold....but this is my first time with chicks. Any ideas???

Forget the 'rules'. Just go by what the chicks are telling you. If they are happy and comfortable, don't worry. They can handle slightly 'cool' temps better than they can handle too warm. They are much hardier than most people think they are.

 

[azygous]

You're confused because the heat guidelines you're trying to adhere to neglect to point out that the temperature is measured just below the heat source and does not mean the entire brooder must be that temperature.

In fact, if the temperature guide were to be truly helpful, it would point out that there are, in fact, two temperature zones every brooder must have. The warm zone to warm the chicks, and a cool zone, a good twenty degrees or more cooler where chicks can self regulate by ridding their bodies of excess heat.

The 250 watt bulb was in fact cooking your chicks within the confines of a small space, effectively turning it into a Suzie Homemaker oven. Small brooders and those wicked heat lamps kill more chicks than any other risk factor during their first week of life.

Some of my friends here on BYC and I are on a quest to change minds about brooding chicks under dangerous heat lamps, and trying to promote the concept of the heating pad system (or the more pricey heat plates) instead. This system virtually eliminates the dangers of overheating, and it has other advantages as well, such as allowing the chicks to have natural day/night rhythms which reduces stress and gives their little bodies a rest during the night when they are doing most of their cell growth.

Please consider switching.

 

[junebuggena]

Azygous...

We are currently using the Ecoglow 50 with one heat lamp. The reason is because our attached garage has been really chilly at night. Below 50 degrees. We now have pasty butt with 7 of the 16 chicks. Do you think it would be OK to turn the lamp off this evening? I'm just nervous

You don't need the heat lamp with the Ecoglow. You'll overheat those chicks. They need that chilly area. It's essential for chicks to decide just how warm they want to be. They won't chill themselves. It's just like if they were with a hen. They run around, eat, and play, then go under the Ecoglow to warm up. The chronic pasty butt is an indication that they are being kept too warm.

 

[ant888]

Oh, forgot to mention. I need some advice soon, because, I have to leave tomorrow. Sorry for rushing it.

 

[realsis]

oh no. you have a kind of catch 22. heat lamps are indeed too dangerous to leave on without supervision. yet if your chicks are young they need heat.. can you possibly get to a farm store before you leave and get something safe you can leave on without fire risk like a Brinsea Ecoglow radiant heat brooder. That's the safest thing I can think of to leave unattended. no risk of the temperature being wrong, no risk of burning anything, and it adjusts to the height of chicks when they grow. they make a 20 chick and 50 chick. it works very much like mother hen and the chicks control if they want to go under for warmth or not. it's got a two year warranty and it's worth it for a piece of mind. honestly, that's the only thing I'd feel comfortable leaving on. most feed stores carry it but being chick season I'd call first to make sure it's available. it's different than the heating plates as it's heat is radiant more like the sun. I think you can get the 20 chick for about 85 dollars. I know it's a lot but you can use it for years to come safely and confident it won't cause fire. it also costs a WHOLE LOT LESS money to run than a heat lamp so that's another plus. Even if you don't get the Radiant heat brooder, please don't leave the lamp on. one piece of dust can ignite a hot lamp. however you will have to find another safe way to warm them.. I hope this helps.

 

[ant888]

Thanks for your answer. How else should I warm them? Can I cover half of the brooder with a blanket? And the other half open for air?

 

[keesmom]

You can use a regular incandescent bulb while you are gone too. At 4 weeks they should be mostly feathered so 60-75 watts should do.

 

[ant888]

Will that be a fire hazard too? Is the blanket idea bad, too?

 

[RobertPlamondon]

Hello, I just got 4 day to a week old chicks. My question was, if I leave the house, should I leave the heat lamp on? I always thought there was a fire hazard.

Thanks.

The chicks need supplemental heat, so don't turn that off!

There's no fire hazard unless your setup is extravagantly unsafe. Sadly, many are. With only a few chicks, the most straightforward thing to do is to realize that you don't need much heat at all, and that non-scary, not-very-powerful bulbs will do the job nicely. For just four chicks and indoor brooding, a 35-watt indoor floodlight bulb is more than sufficient, while being too feeble to represent much of a hazard. A 250-watt bulb is good for 75 chicks. Since you only have about 1/20 as many chicks, you only need about 1/20th the wattage, to warm up a circle of 1/20th the size. But they don't make floodlight bulbs that small, so you'll end up settling for one that's bigger than you need -- 35 watts, say.

I have a blog post about this at http://www.plamondon.com/wp/5-brooder-lamp-safety-tips/

Robert