250 watt heat lamp to close or to far

[webbysmeme]

If they're going to be in your house, they certainly don't need a 250 watt bulb. Did your feed store know you were going to start them out indoors? If not, they weren't out of line selling you that one.

I don't know if a heating pad under them is adequate or not. I have never tried it. I would encourage you to go to the "Raising Baby Chicks" section of the forum and find the Mama Heating Pad in the Brooder thread. It's super long, but you only need to read the first few pages, then skip around. I am brooding chicks out in my coop with temps getting into the 30's at night and they are thriving. They are just over a week old.

Do you have an outside space ready for them? They could be jumping out of that pool in as little as two weeks. Chickens also create an unbelievable amount of dust and dander. Something to consider if you or anyone in your house has allergies or asthma.

I posted pics of the heating pad , what do you think?

 

[bobbi-j]

I posted pics of the heating pad , what do you think?

It would be good if you can make it adjustable somehow so it can “grow” with them. You want to start out with it about 2” off the floor because you want them to be able to touch their backs to it. That’s how they warm up under a hen - by contact. You need to be careful for loose fabric where they can become entrapped. Here are some pics of my MHP:

This is the top. Just cardboard. Easier to clean that way.

The under side where they snuggle up to get warm.

On the top picture, can you see the long bolts at the corners? They are adjustable so it can be raised or lowered as needed.

You don’t need a heat lamp with the MHP. My chicks are in the coop outside in temperatures down in the 30* temps at night without a heat lamp. The MHP keeps them warm enough as long as they can make contact with it.

 

[bobbi-j]

@Ecgberht - sorry your thread got sidetracked. I hope you found some helpful responses. I would strongly suggest looking into a MHP.

As mentioned in a previous post, the best way to know if your chicks are comfortable is to watch them. Huddled under the light and chirping loudly, they are too cold. Scattered away from the light, too hot. Moving about the brooder eating, drinking and peeping contentedly, they are comfortable.

 

[Hyroler]

Pictures can be deceiving, so until you know the facts from the OP, don’t make things up. It doesn’t help the OP, and that’s what we’re trying to do here.

I don't want to see someone cook there chicks.going by the pic he posted that was high possibility

 

[bobbi-j]

I don't want to see someone cook there chicks.going by the pic he posted that was high possibility

Let me rephrase my previous response - I don’t want to see anyone cook their chicks either. But pictures can be deceiving. Until we get the facts from the OP, we shouldn’t assume anything. We don’t know how big the brooder is, the distance of the light from the brooder, or whether the chicks are being kept indoors or outdoors. Until we know these things, we shouldn’t unequivocally say that what they are doing WILL kill their chicks.

 

[bruceha2000]

Where are your chicks being kept? What are you using for a brooder? Do they have room to get out from under that heat if they want? There are a lot of factors that determine the size of the lamp you use.

Until this year I used a heat lamp in the coop with my chicks. This year I tried a MHP (Mama Heating Pad) brooder. It's great! The chicks can go in and out of the heat as they need, and you don't have to worry about a heat lamp over heating them. Maybe something for you to consider for future reference.

Bobbi-j, is a light needed? I have the heat on. I have an electric heater going in the room. Can I just put the XL heating pad in the bottom for them to get on? Or do they need a light?

Chicks DO NOT need light all day and night. Natural day/night cycles are best.

So people don't have to hunt, here is the MHP thread
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/mama-heating-pad-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update.956958

And here are my 6 chicks with their MHP cave. They arrived Wednesday morning. I had to raise the flaps on the box, little Miss Adventurous (the barred rock on the right) was already hopping up to the top of the cave (from the front) and then over to the top of the water container (a good 6" over and 3" up) on Thursday afternoon. They hatched at Meyer on Monday morning. They will be going out to the brooder area in the coop tomorrow. Tried to stuff them under a broody hen last night. She attacked the ones she could see so these will be MHP raised as were the ones I got last April.

 

[bobbi-j]

Chicks DO NOT need light all day and night. Natural day/night cycles are best.

So people don't have to hunt, here is the MHP thread
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/mama-heating-pad-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update.956958

And here are my 6 chicks with their MHP cave. They arrived Wednesday morning. I had to raise the flaps on the box, little Miss Adventurous (the barred rock on the right) was already hopping up to the top of the cave (from the front) and then over to the top of the water container (a good 6" over and 3" up) on Thursday afternoon. They hatched at Meyer on Monday morning. They will be going out to the brooder area in the coop tomorrow. Tried to stuff them under a broody hen last night. She attacked the ones she could see so these will be MHP raised as were the ones I got last April.
View attachment 1360403 View attachment 1360404

Thanks for posting the link. I’m on my phone and not very good at that.

 

[bobbi-j]

I posted pics of the heating pad , what do you think?

One more thing - make sure your heating pad doesn't have an automatic shut-off that shuts it off in two hours.

 

[Beer can]

I've used a 250watt heat bulb for many yrs. It will not "cook" them at 90 degrees using a thermometer Lol
Use a thermometer and adjust the light to the correct height, and safely/securely fasten/bolt it so it cannot move and become a fire hazard. I probably had mine about 2.5 feet from the floor of the brooder to get 90 degrees in a 70 degree house.
Thousands of people are using heat lamps to brood chicks as we speak.
That being said right now I'm just using a 75 watt bulb cause I broke the big one and didn't want to buy another. The 75 watt only got a foot from the floor of the brooder 85 degrees, I wasn't happy with that with newborn chicks but they were OK with it and did just fine. At 14 days I put them out in the unheated garage with just the small bulb with down to 20 some nights, they've been just fine. They are naked necks though, tougher than most other breeds

Is there a better way? Heck yeah, brooder plates, 'mamma heating pads'
like bruceha2000 posted above. Much safer and better for the chicks.
I actually passed up a brooder plate on sale at TSC this winter cause it was too small, I wanted to hatch lots of chicks. My last hatch was six.... wish I bought it, would've come in handy but it was before I broke my heat bulb and they ain't cheap either

 

[webbysmeme]

@Ecgberht - sorry your thread got sidetracked. I hope you found some helpful responses. I would strongly suggest looking into a MHP.

As mentioned in a previous post, the best way to know if your chicks are comfortable is to watch them. Huddled under the light and chirping loudly, they are too cold. Scattered away from the light, too hot. Moving about the brooder eating, drinking and peeping contentedly, they are comfortable.

I got my babies! I ordered 10- I received 12!They are so precious. My husband already has a couple of favorites!