OK it has been a while since I have been up on this soapbox. So I thought I would once again share this.
PLEASE IF you never read anything else I post please read this and remember it or copy and print if need be.
Coop lights. For anybody thinking about or with questions about using heat lamps PLEASE READ THIS. First let me say that for those of us in western WA & OR. We do not get enough cold weather to worry about heat for fully feathered birds. You only need to be concerned with heat if you have young chicks.
For ANY lights you use please make sure that the fixture is rated for the size of bulb/lamp you are using (or more). If you are going to use one of the common “heat lamps” they are most commonly 250 watt. DO NOT use a fixture with a rating of less than 250 watt. The cheap clamp on lights are not sufficient for this. You want a fixture with a ceramic base where the lamp screws in.
And here is my point. I have a friend who is also my FORMER feed supplier. She called me one day told me her barn had burned. She asked if I would haul the scrap metal and help clean up part of the mess. I was so shocked when I got there. This had been a barn about 60’ x 100’. The entire barn was gone. She also lost all of her breeding hogs including several pigs that had been paid for. She also lost the entire feed mill. When we started cleaning up and trying to find the cause. Everything pointed toward a heatlamp that was being used to keep pigs warm. While we were not able to determine if the fixture caught fire first and began dripping into the bedding or if the fixture fell into the bedding and then caught fire. Either way IF this had been a proper fixture and secured with jack chain or bare steel wire (tie wire or baling wire) there is a VERY good chance my friend would still have her barn, breeding hog business and grain/feed business.
SO again I ask that EVERYBODY using heat lights PLEASE make sure what you are using is safe!!! The best choice is the “brooder fixtures” with the ceramic base.
I post this in hopes of never having to see another person lose their buildings, animals and who knows what else due to using the wrong lighting equipment!!!
Rob
PLEASE IF you never read anything else I post please read this and remember it or copy and print if need be.
Coop lights. For anybody thinking about or with questions about using heat lamps PLEASE READ THIS. First let me say that for those of us in western WA & OR. We do not get enough cold weather to worry about heat for fully feathered birds. You only need to be concerned with heat if you have young chicks.
For ANY lights you use please make sure that the fixture is rated for the size of bulb/lamp you are using (or more). If you are going to use one of the common “heat lamps” they are most commonly 250 watt. DO NOT use a fixture with a rating of less than 250 watt. The cheap clamp on lights are not sufficient for this. You want a fixture with a ceramic base where the lamp screws in.
And here is my point. I have a friend who is also my FORMER feed supplier. She called me one day told me her barn had burned. She asked if I would haul the scrap metal and help clean up part of the mess. I was so shocked when I got there. This had been a barn about 60’ x 100’. The entire barn was gone. She also lost all of her breeding hogs including several pigs that had been paid for. She also lost the entire feed mill. When we started cleaning up and trying to find the cause. Everything pointed toward a heatlamp that was being used to keep pigs warm. While we were not able to determine if the fixture caught fire first and began dripping into the bedding or if the fixture fell into the bedding and then caught fire. Either way IF this had been a proper fixture and secured with jack chain or bare steel wire (tie wire or baling wire) there is a VERY good chance my friend would still have her barn, breeding hog business and grain/feed business.
SO again I ask that EVERYBODY using heat lights PLEASE make sure what you are using is safe!!! The best choice is the “brooder fixtures” with the ceramic base.
I post this in hopes of never having to see another person lose their buildings, animals and who knows what else due to using the wrong lighting equipment!!!
Rob
