Ceramic Heat Bulb Questions

[CSAchook]

Awesome! Thanks
I can't wait to get them April 23. With a 5yo, a dog, and new chicks, I'm sure I'll have a billion more questions

This is a great site for answers! Glad you joined us

 

[Chickinie]

I just went off bulbs for good and bought a brooder!

Hated stressing that it'll burn the house down when I'm out! They always blow (the glass ones) and they cost so much to run!

I got a Brinsea ecoglow just last week. Haven't used it yet. But it'll sure take the stress out of leaving the chicks at home!

 

[RoosterML]

I just ordered one to try. Its 100w. Too much maybe? i tried researching on wattage and got so many different answers, nothing truly clear.

I have a 200w one and was thinking of trying it with a dimmer. I think the 100w would work great as you would be able to raise it up higher from the bedding.

 

[RoosterML]

For chicks, I use a 150 watt ceramic heat emitter. I like that it is more shatterproof than a bulb and puts out no light. I use a much smaller wattage one for my gecko

My chicks are sleeping right now but I can get pictures of their setup tomorrow.

Yes please post photos. You don’t happen to have any testing info do you?

 

[RoosterML]

For chicks, I use a 150 watt ceramic heat emitter. I like that it is more shatterproof than a bulb and puts out no light. I use a much smaller wattage one for my gecko

My chicks are sleeping right now but I can get pictures of their setup tomorrow.

How high up off the bedding do you have it? How many chicks do you use it for?

 

[RoosterML]

I just went off bulbs for good and bought a brooder!

Hated stressing that it'll burn the house down when I'm out! They always blow (the glass ones) and they cost so much to run!

I got a Brinsea ecoglow just last week. Haven't used it yet. But it'll sure take the stress out of leaving the chicks at home!

Only thing I don’t like about the plates is the cleaning once the chicks start jumping and pooping all over them. That’s why I am thinking of trying something else beside my current setup with heating pads.

 

[Chickinie]

Only thing I don’t like about the plates is the cleaning once the chicks start jumping and pooping all over them. That’s why I am thinking of trying something else beside my current setup with heating pads.

I never thought of them pooping on it. I haven't even switched mine on yet. I will probably make a little fence-like thing to keep them off, I suppose. Not sure how warm it gets, maybe even a cardboard box and sit it over. Do heat pads get hot on the top?

 

[RoosterML]

I never thought of them pooping on it. I haven't even switched mine on yet. I will probably make a little fence-like thing to keep them off, I suppose. Not sure how warm it gets, maybe even a cardboard box and sit it over. Do heat pads get hot on the top?

The way I have mine set up the chicks actually sit sleep on top of it. So every couple days I need to change the top covering. Usually I use old T-shirt, towels, dish cloths.
I personally wouldn’t buy a heat plate for several reasons.
1) If it stops working your forced to use something’s else and hopefully you notice in time as it is the sole heat source.

2) I can buy two heating pads and a tin cookie sheet and still be cheaper with the benefit of two heat sources.

 

[NewChkinTown]

I just went off bulbs for good and bought a brooder!

Hated stressing that it'll burn the house down when I'm out! They always blow (the glass ones) and they cost so much to run!

I got a Brinsea ecoglow just last week. Haven't used it yet. But it'll sure take the stress out of leaving the chicks at home!

I wanted one of those but they are so expensive here in Canada

 

[SueT]

I have used a ceramic heat emitter for the last 3 yrs, and love it. I use a 75 watt bulb in a clamp light fixture, for small batches of chicks. It keeps them warm under, and they still go out into the cooler area. It has to be fairly low, as you can see in this photo. Like chicks with a mama hen, they don't need heat all the time after the first 2 or 3 days. They spend quite a bit of time not under it, in ambient room temp.
I like that it puts out no light so chicks sleep all night. I keep a thermometer under to monitor.