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VictoriaTemple said:
:thumbsup Seriously thought about getting one, but my heat lamps are still working. Has anyone experimented with bringing a broody hen indoors to care for incubated chicks?
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My heat lamps kept on corroding the bulbs and the red light bugged DH at night (this brooder is in our bedroom). Heat plates are getting hard to find now. I managed to find and order 2 more for my other brooders outside. I did attempt to bring a broody hen to chicks once. She freaked out about being moved and didn't care for the babies. 1 broody turkey was willing to take on the job but the brooder was too small for that.
 
I never recommend using heat lamps indoors, too much chance of starting a fire. I know someone whose house burnt down because they had a heat lamp for their chicks in the garage. Not worth it ever.
I use a lot of 60w to 75w incandescent bulbs. They are still readily available at home centers. They call them "rough service" and are higher quality than the old generics and last longer as a result. I also use tabletop lamp dimmers with the incandescent bulbs to control the temps. Finally, I have an infrared temp "gun" to check the temp on the floor under the light and adjust the dimmer to keep the temp I want.
The combination of these works well for me. I don't like the heat plates because I can't see how the chicks are doing at a glance. Admittedly this is less important if you only have one brooder going at a time. I sometimes have up to 20 brooders in my basement, most off heat because the room gets pretty warm by summer. Being able to do a quick walk through to check the welfare of all the chicks is critical.
 
She may be a senior dog, but not when it comes to her hole-y ball time when I get home from work. She is nearly obsessed with playing fetch with her Hole-y ball as she is with her chicks.
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Meanwhile, Dillon is busy looking for mice and moles under the snow. And yes, they do find them that way!
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Wish PennDot would pay attention to our back roads... majority of my 20 mile drive home from work today was snow covered.
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What Dennis said! I personally don't like heat plates. I brooded in my basement last spring and the babies didn't seem comfortable going under it and my only loss was the one chick who got caught between the side of the plate and the side of the brooder. I switched back to a red bulb with a dimmer switch and every one else is still well and happy--although I don't think my pretty silver Welbars are laying yet, unless they lay a lighter brown egg? On a positive note--Dennis rehomed an aging Legbar to me in 2019 and she is laying up a storm!
 
Lelanae said:
What Dennis said! I personally don't like heat plates. I brooded in my basement last spring and the babies didn't seem comfortable going under it and my only loss was the one chick who got caught between the side of the plate and the side of the brooder. I switched back to a red bulb with a dimmer switch and every one else is still well and happy--although I don't think my pretty silver Welbars are laying yet, unless they lay a lighter brown egg? On a positive note--Dennis rehomed an aging Legbar to me in 2019 and she is laying up a storm!
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I think Welbars are more sensitive to light. My silver welbar was a good layer until November, and hasn't back to lay yet. My Oliver eggers and legbar are laying. I plan to add more Legbars in the future since they lay more years.
 

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