I have been through 4 heat bulbs in less than a year and I am ready for a change. I've used the same bulb everytime and printed right on the box it says ''bulb wont seperate from base''. The first two bulbs did seperate from the base and re rendered useless. The third bulb burn out only about 60 hours into its life and today the 4th blew up.... thats right I said blew up. The light hangs about 3 feet off the ground and has a wire cage around it to prevent burnt duck heads. I looked at the camera that I have hooked up so I can check on them and I saw that the light wasnt on so I went to check it out. Their night box is 4x8 feet and there was glass from end to end. Luckily they both got scare and went outside and no glass was eaten. It took me about and hour to get out all the shavings and to make sure there was no glass left. So I am open to ideas for a different heat source as long as it doesnt send my electricity bill through the roof.
A ceramic heater may work better for your situation. I would just try and wean the birds off of supplemental heating myself if they are old enough. One thing to consider, is that ducks like their water, and a spash of duck slobber can land on a hot bulb and cause them to fail via explosion or cracking.
that was my immediate thought, blown up bulb means water nearby. I went through 3 bulbs in a week and found out that even know i had it hung high they were still flinging water on to it which made them shatter. Really since they have there own little enclosure and protected from the wind if you put some hay/straw in with them they should be fine without the light.
I use a red, 100 watt outdoor flood light for warmth when it's over a brooder. I put it over one end and the water is at the other end. So far, so good. I got the bulb at an ACE Hardware store, it was much less expensive than a heat lamp and worked just as well.
Same here, don't give it to them, unless you need it to check on them and watch for predators, etc. Then I would use a 40 watt reg bulb. Very low energy usage, and if they are old enough, they don't need the heat. Ducks can stand temps well below 0 degrees, some only migrate when their food and water is covered up. If they never got covered up and had access to open flowing water, some would never leave Canada to migrate, even at 40 below. So for security reasons, use a standard low wattage bulb, unless you don't need it, don't use anything... Travis
Quote:Exactly my first thought "water nearby". Get an outdoor light fixture for protection. Some of them are inexpensive, less than 10 bucks.
Have you considered not providing heat? Ducks can handle cold weather very well. Mine would sleep outside if I let them (I don't, but because of predators, not because of weather). If your coop is draft-free, then you should be fine.
