Brooder plastic tote

[Michellelee1211]

So I hatched two chicks that are ready to go into a brooder. I have a tote that has measurements of 23.2x15.4 11in in height and he bought a heat long bulb of 250w wondering if that’s too high of wattage and if I could a normal household lightbulb of 75 watts? Or would the heating bulb be okay?

 

[Ebony Rose]

I brood with a 40w bulb and it's plenty hot enough.

 

[Michellelee1211]

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I brood with a 40w bulb and it's plenty hot enough.

Thank you! I didn’t want the plastic to get too warm. Hoping I can somehow keep the lid on so my cat doesn’t get into it at night

 

[SueT]

Yes! 75 watt is fine, if that's too hot, then go smaller, as suggested already. Regular bulbs need to be incandescent and not LED. You can also get a ceramic heat emitter bulb (reptile bulb) which puts out warmth but no light, and screws into your light fixture just like a light bulb.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

So I hatched two chicks that are ready to go into a brooder. I have a tote that has measurements of 23.2x15.4 11in in height and he bought a heat long bulb of 250w wondering if that’s too high of wattage and if I could a normal household lightbulb of 75 watts? Or would the heating bulb be okay?

I would think that might be a little bit hot for such a small area. They will have no way of getting away from that

 

[Ebony Rose]

Uh... don't put plastic lid on that unless you've got that tote fitted with screen "windows" etc. They gotta breathe. Could put tote in bathroom, close door. No cat problem.

 

[Celticdragonfly]

We followed what we'd seen in a webpage, and cut out most of the lid and did an insert of hardware cloth bolted on.

We use a brooder plate for heat.

 

[Celticdragonfly]

The cats cannot get in. But they can perch on the edge of the lid and watch with fascination.