Brooder lighting question?

[ashswag14]

I bought an infrared 250 W reflector bulb and brooding lamp and its really hot. I plugged in the lamp for barely 15 seconds to make sure it worked and was surprised at the amount of heat you can feel even 3 feet away from it. And it smelled like something was burning. Is it supposed to be like this? Sorry, I'm new to this.

 

[chickzndahood]

250 W is way to much and it could cause fire hazards (of what i here). though it does matter how big your brooder is. when i had baby chicks,i used 75 watt but i heard a lot of people used 95W and each week they lowered 5 W or something.

 

[DuluthHomestead]

Mine smelled a little burn-y at first. The smell dissipated after about 24 hours.

 

[DuluthHomestead]

chickzndahood-- I think you might be mixing up degrees and watts. Chicks need to be at 95 degrees F for their first week and then the temperature is lowered by 5 degrees every week.

A 250 watt bulb is safe so long as the bulb and lamp aren't touching anything flammable. You probably won't need that high of a wattage if you're brooding in the house, but if you've got your brooder in an unheated garage, basement, etc. you very likely will need something like a 250 W bulb to keep the temps high enough for the chicks, at least at first.

 

[ashswag14]

I am doing it in the house, but the only infrared bulbs I found were 250 W (although I only looked at one place so I'm sure I could find some others). Will it hurt to use this high of wattage in the house or should I look for a lower one?

 

[DuluthHomestead]

It shouldn't hurt the chicks so long as you adjust the height of the bulb to keep it about 95 degrees in the brooder. My brooder is technically in the house but is in an unheated, uninsulated mudroom, and since we've been having a ridiculously cold spring here (temps around freezing outside today, snow yesterday) it's fairly chilly in the mudroom, so I'm using a 250 W bulb. Once it warms up I'll raise the lamp or shut it off completely.

Your electric bill will go up a touch, though. I suppose you'll have to decide for yourself how much that'll hurt.

 

[ashswag14]

Ahh..well I live in Texas, so by the time they hatch it'll be 110 lol. I'll look around for some lower wattage bulbs and if I can't find any I'll just raise the lamp and make the brooder bigger so they have more shade away from the light. Thanks!

 

[chickzndahood]

I am! oops, lol