People use the ecoglow, heat lamps, hovers, reptile emitter heaters, heating pads, and who knows how many other methods. Dad used a 60 watt incandescent white bulb. They all can work if they are set up right. Since they pretty much all use electricity there is some danger but if they are set up right the danger is minimized. If they are not set up right any of them can be a risk. The key is setting them up right.
I use a heat lamp and brood out of doors in my coop, winter and summer. I throw that clamp away that comes with the heat lamp and wire the lamp in place so it cannot fall. I’m very comfortable with how my coop is wired, all according to code although I’m in a rural area where I could have legally not followed code. I’m really comfortable with my set-up but I’m not going to say you have to do anything my way. There are lots of different ways that have worked for decades or, in some cases, over a century. How is best for you will depend on your unique situation. Where are you brooding, in a climate controlled area or someplace you get big temperature swings. How many chicks will you have? Your outside weather and how you raise them will affect when you can take them off of heat. Chicks fed a higher protein Starter diet will feather out faster than chicks fed a lower protein diet. Chicks exposed to colder temperatures, even just occasionally, will feather out faster than chicks kept constantly in subtropical conditions.
To me, whichever methods you use, the basics are straightforward. You do not want to overheat your chicks and you don’t want them to become too cold. While the chicks can survive in a wide range of temperatures, there is no perfect temperature for all chicks. Just like people, some chicks like it cooler or warmer than others.
To me the easiest way to achieve all this is to make your brooder big enough so you can provide heat in one area and let the rest cool down. I find that straight out of the incubator my chicks are really good at self-regulating. I’ve had chicks in my outdoor brooder with the daytime temps very hot. Even with a 75 watt heat lamp bulb raised way up it’s too hot in that area. So the chick don’t stay in that area, they go to a cooler part of the brooder. In winter I use a 250 watt bulb and keep one end toasty, but the far end might have ice in it. The chicks tend to stay in the warmer areas but after they get a little age on them they will spend a surprising amount of time in cooler temperatures, just going back to the heat when they need to warm up.
It’s easier if you brood indoors, you don’t have to deal with temperature swings. While a lot of chicks are raised indoors in fairly small aquariums, rubber tubs, and things like that, I prefer something bigger. It’s just easier, you don’t have to worry so much about overheating them. But indoors without those temperature swings you can do OK. Plenty of people do. I personally don’t like to brood indoors because of the dust, noise, and potential smell, but lots of people do.
It really doesn’t matter to me what heat source you use, as long as you keep one area warm enough in the coolest temperatures and cool enough in the warmest temperatures they will do great.
Thanks so much!
