Can I use a plastic storage bin with my heat lamp?

[BalesBgarb]

Hi everyone I’m super new to this. Thank you for your help. I’m not loving the cardboard boxes and the chicks are getting bigger anyways. I’d really love to use a nice big plastic storage box but I’m afraid of the heat lamp attached to it. Any experience or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Can I do it? Here’s the lamp

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I found those storage bins get too hot for the chicks with a 250 watt heat lamp. a 75 or 100 watt ceramic emitter would be better. To use the 250, you would have to raise it up significantly. I accidentally hatched a couple chicks when going out of town. A friend of mine stayed here to care for the animals and he fried the chicks.

 

[Khaki mama]

I did a plastic storage bin for a couple weeks but then I switched to a kiddie pool when mine got too big. So I would say yes, but I would get some kind of post to clip the light on.

 

[wamtazlady]

Just recently some wrote to the forums about using a plastic bin and heat lamp. They were using that system and their chick was showing signs of being overheated even though the temperature was what they were told it should be. Problem is a chick does not have to be at 90 degrees all the time. They need an area that is 10 to 15 degrees cooler to go to if they feel they are hot. A bin like that holds in all the heat and gives the chick no escape from all that heat.

The person who wrote in solved the issue by getting a bin that was twice as large. No more chicks panting. A heat lamp is really over kill for a plastic bin. A regular light bulb would probably do just fine without getting too hot. That is what I used the first time I had chicks.

The best thing you could have done is not buy a heat lamp in the first place. Heat lamps can be very dangerous and can cause fires. A brooding plate is so much nicer and better and the chicks can decide when and if they want heat. Without a light on 24 hours a day they also can sleep at night like they should.

A brooding plate is a square heating plate with legs at all 4 corners. You adjust the height of the legs so that the chicks can put their backs against the plate. You raise the plate as the chicks grow. No light on all the time. It was scary using one the first time. The chicks tend to be so content that they are quiet. I was not used to quiet chicks.

 

[cmom]

I have used the melon boxes I get from the grocery store. They are big and work great. I put plastic in the bottom with shavings on the plastic. Good luck and have fun...

 

[Mamatomany123]

I didnt like using

I found those storage bins get too hot for the chicks with a 250 watt heat lamp. a 75 or 100 watt ceramic emitter would be better. To use the 250, you would have to raise it up significantly. I accidentally hatched a couple chicks when going out of town. A friend of mine stayed here to care for the animals and he fried the chicks.

I agree with this. I used a storage hin in the beginning and noticed my chicks were breathing with their mouths open. I checked the temp and it was 110 and rising. I'm lucky I didn't kill them.

 

[WhatTheDuck1177]

I put a fan behind my heat lamp to prevent it from getting too warm.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Before I put chicks in one of those Rubbermaid tubs, I put a thermometer on the floor and clamped the heat lamp on the side. The thermometer exploded.

 

[GC-Raptor]

I’d really love to use a nice big plastic storage box but I’m afraid of the heat lamp attached to it.

I use a plastic tote with a heat lamp for the first 10 days.
I don't clamp it to the tote. I clamp to a solid object like a cabinet next to the tote so it's higher.
I also use a plug-in dimmer cord to control temperature.
This is the one I use, it's rated for 300 watts. . It's available at Wal-Mart and Amazon. . GC

 

[The Moonshiner]

Plastic tote + heat lamp = Easy bake brooder.