Got chicks today

[PD-Riverman]

My house is very cold and I used a 250 watt bulb with no problems. I can get a lower wattage bulb as they grow older, but they only come in white and I don't like having a bright light on all the time. My brooder is pretty big, and the chicks usually start by huddling under the lamp until they are about a week old.

If your chicks are huddling under the lamp---they are to cold. Just for info you can get black light bulbs for sure in the 100 watt because I got some. Just curious---how high is your 250 watt bulb from the floor the chicks are standing on?

 

[ForrestGump]

If your chicks are huddling under the lamp---they are to cold. Just for info you can get black light bulbs for sure in the 100 watt because I got some. Just curious---how high is your 250 watt bulb from the floor the chicks are standing on?

I actually had to lower it for my last batch of chicks because our house it so cold. It was about 18 inches off the floor. Now the chicks are 2 weeks old and it is 24 inches off the floor. The brooder is 4 feet by 2 feet so they have plenty of room to get away from the heat if they want to. I've been using the red lamp for 3 years and never had a problem. It uses about $5 a month to keep it on. My local hardware store doesn't have a good selection of bulbs.

 

[PD-Riverman]

I actually had to lower it for my last batch of chicks because our house it so cold. It was about 18 inches off the floor. Now the chicks are 2 weeks old and it is 24 inches off the floor. The brooder is 4 feet by 2 feet so they have plenty of room to get away from the heat if they want to. I've been using the red lamp for 3 years and never had a problem. It uses about $5 a month to keep it on. My local hardware store doesn't have a good selection of bulbs.

See I use like a 60 watt bulb for 10 to 15 chicks and on really cold times it might be 6" off the floor. Here your 250 bulb would cost me about $5.46 for 1 week or $23.50 for a month, where a 60 watt would cost me $1.31 a week or $5.63 a month----But that $23 is not to bad, BUT I have 19 heated brooders----lets say they all were heated with 60 watt bulbs all 19 would cost me $107 a month, to heat all 19 with 250 watt bulbs would only cost me $446.80 per month---So I do not use any more wattage than is needed to heat the amount of chicks that are in the brooders---now dealing with facts---12 of my brooders are thermostat controlled, 6 have 250 watt heating elements, but the thermostat only lets them run when needed to keep the temp at a set temp.

Now how is your electric so cheap where it only cost you $5 to run 250 watts per hour for a month and mine cost me $23.50? Run me a drop cord over here---LOL