My heat lamp broke

[SweetLittleChicks]

Hi I have 2 almost 3 weeks baby chicks and ducklings my heat lamp broke down it’s not working anymore idk what to do I can’t buy a heat lamp rightt now I just need to keep them warm what do i do?

 

[Sammi_0411]

Hot water bottle not burning hot but warm? Keep them in a warm room if they in shed etc xxx can i see a pic how feathered they are? Mine manged to come off heat at 4 weeks no issues try not to panic xx

 

[LeoTheUnicorn]

Heat up rice bags for a few minutes, just enough to be warm.

 

[Adam B]

Our heat lap blew as soon as I plugged it in . I ended up used a regular light bulb and painted it red that was 3 weeks ago night temps have been as low as upper 60s but most nights they are in the 70s

 

[rosemarythyme]

How cold is it at night? A regular (not LED) light bulb should do in a pinch as long as it's not too cold. Or better yet, if you have a heating pad or even a seed heat mat, those will also work.

 

[Ryguy3684]

Our heat lap blew as soon as I plugged it in . I ended up used a regular light bulb and painted it red that was 3 weeks ago night temps have been as low as upper 60s but most nights they are in the 70s

How did they do last night?

 

[HenKat]

Our power went out last May right after we got 5 chicks! That was NOT fun, but taught me to be creative. Fortunately I could light our gas stove, and heat water. I couldn't find a rubber hot water bottle anywhere, so we just filled jars and wrapped them in towels, and completely lined one half of the brooder with them. I also have a pizza steel (pizza-sized thick steel plate) which we heated over the stove and slid underneath the brooder, making sure there were lots of towels under the plate, and one between it and the brooder so we didn't burn holes in anything. This would stay warm for hours! I used a meat thermometer to make sure I wasn't making it too warm, and adjusted a lid to help maintain a good temperature. They had room to snuggle close to the heat, or get further away. It was super tedious, but they all survived the THREE DAYS without power! Microwaving bags of rice and using a heating pad sounds like it would be easier. When the power was on we also used a heating pad under the brooder. Just make sure yours doesn't have an auto shut-off as many of them do.

 

[Adam B]

How did they do last night?

They did great

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi I have 2 almost 3 weeks baby chicks and ducklings my heat lamp broke down it’s not working anymore idk what to do I can’t buy a heat lamp rightt now I just need to keep them warm what do i do?

Hi, welcome to the forum, glad you joined. I know I'm late to this thread but could you let us know how it went? What did you do?

What conditions are you keeping them in? Are they inside your house in a climate controlled area? If so how warm is it? Are they outside? If so how cold does it get at night? Where I am it's so warm outside 2 to 3 week old chicks and ducklings wouldn't need any extra heat but I don't know where you are or what conditions they are in.

Your actual conditions would have a lot to do with what I'd suggest. Also what you have. Any incandescent light will provide heat. A heating pad can work. Warm water bottles or containers can be used. If you have a few they can keep each other warm by huddling up. A wooley hen might work, strips of cloth hanging down somewhat like a mop that they can crawl inside. You can build what we call a hover, a flat box upside down slightly raised so they can get underneath. The shallow box traps their body heat or you can provide heat from a different source.

Many people find that chicks or ducklings as young as yours often don't use any method to stay warm, they just don't need it. They might sleep on top of a hover instead of under it. But that will depend on your situation. Yours might need extra heat.

 

[SweetLittleChicks]

The chick are in my house 4 weeks there actually doing great thank you. but I got new chicks today from tractor co supply just now and I saw one Isa brown chick poop a wet stringy poop is that normal I give my chicks organic purine chick food and I have beding and a new red heat lamp even a water and food feeder