Brooder questions

[TimG]

I built one of those upside-down boxes on stilts brooders. It's a 30"x48"x12" box lifted off the ground 4". I cut two holes in the top for lights and used a 100 watt bulb in one and a 200 watt flood light in the other. The room this was in was in the 50s, and the temperature on the floor under the brooder was only about 10 degrees higher. There was a two foot wall around the brooder at most two feet away from the brooder, so there wasn't easy access for a draft. The lights fit over the holes in the top such that there weren't any gaps (though it wasn't airtight).

The search engine isn't working too well (hasn't been for weeks, it seems) and I can't locate the threads with pictures of these type brooders. Is mine too big, or perhaps the height off the floor too high? There is a world of difference if I drop the lights another 4" into the brooder. But, it seems to me that there must be something else going on that's preventing the brooder from getting warm.

ETA: I posted this in the meat bird section because the pictures of these brooders that I've seen have been in this forum.

 

[jaku]

Do you have a picture of yours?

 

[SteveH]

Hopefully you bought a heatlamp bulb rather than a floodlight bulb ?

 

[anthonyjames]

Sounds like you built brooder recommended by Robert Plandon's site. Similar to this website http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z7gCdmd-ja4/Sd2J47VySVI/AAAAAAAAA1g/o1fbZcBCg9E/s1600-h/brooder+005.JPG

Which is the same brooder I use. I use 1 red and white heat lamp each at 250 watts. I keep in in my insulated detached garage with no electric and during the winter here the coldest it got was about 28 degrees in there. The temp under the box was comfortable at 97 degrees and they could come out 2 ft on each side to get food and water as I set it that far away from the heat so the would get their exercise in there.

 

[TimG]

Quote:
No pictures, but it's similar to the one linked to in the post above. I didn't buy special heat bulbs, so probably that is the problem.

I brought it inside, flipped it over and hung the lamps over/inside it. The chicks seem happy.

 

[scubaforlife]

I have a red and a white heat lamp and I can get over 100 degrees if I point them near eachother, my guess is the type of lamp.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Quote:
No pictures, but it's similar to the one linked to in the post above. I didn't buy special heat bulbs, so probably that is the problem.

I brought it inside, flipped it over and hung the lamps over/inside it. The chicks seem happy.

Go to your Home Depot or Lowes and get that rolled bubble wrap insulation and line the inside with it. It looks like aluminum foil bubble wrap. Hang two 250 watt heat lamps in there for them. It will keep them nice and warm, keep the feeders and waters outside the box.

But yes, it seems the problem is that you need some heat lamps (red ones) and your not getting enough heat.