Brooders vs heat lamps

[My backyard chickens]

I’ve looked at so many sites I don’t have enough fingers to count them all! I need help deciding wether it’s better to use a brooder or heat lamp.

 

[AlleysChicks]

It depends on who you ask. I assume by brooder you mean a plate or cave?

I have always used a lamp and never had any problems.

 

[bobbieschicks]

I've used a red heat lamp many times. I added a dimmer dial so I could adjust it to keep the temps in the right range. My brooder boxes were inside the shed and outside in the coop, so both unheated areas except for the lamp. I didn't feel safe with it on, but I also didn't have a fire which was my concern with the lamp being so hot.

Now I have an electric hen (Premier 12x12, $59 Amazon) for the outdoor brooder. I'm loving the electric hen. It wasn't very expensive when I weigh it against the fact I don't have to mess with it other then to adjust it upward in height as the chicks grow. I like that they can go under it or sit on top of it. I don't need to monitor the temps and my birds seem to feather out and be weather ready without problems. It just feels safer to me.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I use a heat lamp with a 125 watt bulb.

That being said from my reading on this site it can depend on where you are brooding and how many you are brooding.

I choose a heat lamp because I brood out in a shed and I like the control I get using one. I can adjust their heat, and from my experiences I see no adverse affects from using one. I like that my chicks can eat around the clock when they are younger and I know they are always warm enough. I think a heat lamp is better when bigger batches are being brooded.

Heat plates and pads seem better for smaller batches and for people who brood in their house. With those you have to rely on the chick knowing how to go in and out of one. They can keep chicks quieter at night.

Both systems can work great as long as they are done correctly. So pick the one best suited to your situation and what you are comfortable using.

 

[aart]

Welcome to BYC!
Hang in there, the first year is filled with steep learning curves.
Like getting a sip of water out of a fire hose


I use both, but mostly my DIY https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate.67729/.

At 12x24 it does have a population capacity of about 12-15 chicks.
That's the biggest con for heat plates of any kind.
I've used it both inside and out in the coop.
It has adjustable legs and can be tipped up and back down easily to see underneath,
both extremely important IMO.

When using a lamp the most important aspect, after secure mounting, is a dimmer so that mounting doesn't have to be adjusted to adjust heat output. I use a red 60-100W reptile bulb.


Here's my notes on chick heat, hope something in there might help:

They need to be pretty warm(~85-90F on the brooder floor right under the lamp and 10-20 degrees cooler at the other end of brooder) for the first day or two, especially if they have been shipped, until they get to eating, drinking and moving around well. But after that it's best to keep them as cool as possible for optimal feather growth and quicker acclimation to outside temps. A lot of chick illnesses are attributed to too warm of a brooder. I do think it's a good idea to use a thermometer on the floor of the brooder to check the temps, especially when new at brooding, later I still use it but more out of curiosity than need.

The best indicator of heat levels is to watch their behavior:
If they are huddled/piled up right under the lamp and cheeping very loudly, they are too cold.
If they are spread out on the absolute edges of the brooder as far from the lamp as possible, panting and/or cheeping very loudly, they are too hot.
If they sleep around the edge of the lamp calmly just next to each other and spend time running all around the brooder they are juuuust right!

The lamp is best at one end of the brooder with food/water at the other cooler end of the brooder, so they can get away from the heat or be under it as needed. Wattage of 'heat' bulb depends on size of brooder and ambient temperature of room brooder is in. Regular incandescent bulbs can be used, you might not need a 'heat bulb'. You can get red colored incandescent bulbs at a reptile supply source. A dimmer extension cord is an excellent way to adjust the output of the bulb to change the heat without changing the height of the lamp.

Or you could go with a heat plate, commercially made or DIY: http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate

 

[Frazzemrat1]

When I brooded my first two sets of chicks, I used a brooder with a heat lamp. When I start adding numbers to my flock to replace older ladies, I plan on letting them raise the babies. If anybody gets rejected, I'll be trying the momma brooder, with the heating pad. This way they can get used to sleeping in the dark right away. With a heat lamp, they raise a ruckus that first time the light goes out.

 

[Zoomie]

For just years and years, I used a heat lamp.

Then I got a heat plate. I will never go back.

I LOVE the fact that the chicks have a period of dark, just like the whole Earth does. Also, in my own experience, the chicks feather out very fast and seem to outgrow the need for heat much faster. (That's just an anecdote though, not scientific evidence.) And I can easily tell, because when they are content they are so very quiet. You would never even know they were there. I never heard anything but peeping with the heat lamp. With the plate, they seem to feel very secure because it's natural for them to get under something like that.

I do fit the profile of small breeder with small batches of chicks. My current incubator only holds 7 eggs but that is a fine fit for my operation and my goals. I got the heat plate from Premier but I know that many make their own with a heating pad. I suppose it's possible that with a bigger operation, a heat lamp *might* be better, although I can't really see how... if I did every decide to go bigger, I would simply get more heat plates. I like them that much.

 

[lazy gardener]

FYI, the brooder is the containment system for the chicks while they are being brooded. The heat source can be any number of things: Heat lamp, heat plate, heating pad. Even wool hen or huddle box. I use a heating pad cave, and have successfully brooded up to 48 chicks outside in the spring by using (2) 12 x 24" pads.

 

[Stephanie Mitchell]

This is my first time brooding. I was so worried about barn fires and heat lamps. Growing up my grandparents always used lamps with their chicks and I can remember the chicks never stopped peeping! Because of my concerns I (last minute) ordered on Amazon an electric brooder hen (Titan Incubators) and I have to say I absolutely love it. Right now my chicks are in their brooder right next to my bed and they at times peep softly in the dark but mostly they are quiet quiet quiet. During the day I have been opening the top, letting light in and the chicks happily come out, eat and drink, peeping all the while happily. They can climb on it, peck at it, run around it and I'm never worried it will injure one. I can't say I'd have been able to sleep myself with a beaming red light in my bedroom, especially with babies peeping all night. They're also very low energy, these plates. 40W is what this plate boasts. For the first time brooding, this has been nothing but a pleasure. My chicks are happy and I am happy!