brooder question

[lovinlife]

I'm expecting my order of chicks to arrive on Wednesday morning, so I plugged in my heat lamp to make sure it would make the brooder box warm enough. Now, I have a couple of questions.

(1) How close to the bottom of the box does the heat lamp need to be in order to heat it up properly?
(2) How long does it take to heat it up enough? Should I plug it in the night before?

In the past, I've only used one heat lamp. Today, the one lamp didn't seem to be doing anything to heat the box. (3) Do you use more than one lamp?

(have to admit, I'm taking the easy way out by asking you all. I'm sure I could spend two days figuring all this out on my own: or I can ask for the collective knowledge here and get the answers faster... so, thanks!)

Another question: I have a chicken wire top on the cardboard box I'm using for a brooder. (4) Do you think it's safe to rest the heat lamp directly on the wire?

(5) Also, do you use a white bulb or a red one?

(You'd think I've never done this before... actually, I've never planned in advance before. I usually just get what I see at the feed store, and I've never lost a chick doing it that way. This time I have 62 chicks arriving for me and some friends. I want to be prepared.)

 

[Kelly G]

It only needs to heat a partial area of the box - you want the chicks to be able to move away from the heat if they get too warm - and they will self-regulate by moving towards the warmth if they feel cool and moving away if they feel too warm.

I used a 250 watt red heat lamp (more wattage than I really needed, but it's what I could find). I had it hanging about 12" over the chicks heads (bantams this time) and have raised it a little each week as they've needed less heat to keep them warm.

I set mine up a couple of days before the expected arrival date - and I kept a thermomete directly under the light & checked it several times in the days before they arrived - making small adjustments to get it "just right". The few pennies I spent heating it up, was a small price to pay for the comfort of knowing that it was warm enough.

I would probably not rest the heat source on top of anything - heat travels easily, and that can have unintended consequences. IMO, it would be best to find a way to securely suspend it from something.

Post pictures when you get your babies!

 

[lovinlife]

I will definitely post pics when they get in. My mail carrier drove back to the house to deliver a package today (we will out in the country) and I asked her how our post office handles shipments of chicks. She said they'll call me very early in the morning when they arrive and I can pick them up from the back door at the post office before they even open. At least I know they won't be sitting around waiting for someone to get around to calling me. I'm going to stop by there on Monday and make sure they have my number clearly posted.

I think I'm going to have to rework my brooder box. It's not deep enough to hang the lamp above the shavings and below the chicken wire top.

 

[Kelly G]

Good luck with your chicks! I've had a blast with mine...and I'm getting another shipment in April! Yeahhhh!