Heat Lamp Anxiety is Crippling Me

[noahs_flock]

Howdy.

I have been around here for a few years, long enough to know people have strong feelings on heat lamps, heating pads, etc. I have always used the Brinsea EcoGlow indoors with ambient temperatures from 68-70 (minimum ambient temp is 50 degrees for Brinsea).
However, I have decided to brood my 30-40 (not sure, cause, chicken math ) chicks outdoors this time. We will have lows in the high 40s, occasionally getting down to 32 degrees. Therefore, my plan was to use a heat lamp to heat ambient temperature to 50-60 degrees and let the Brinsea EcoGlow do the rest of the work (I have two of the 35 chick models).

The brooder will be my old coop, a large OverEz coop that has this electrical package installed:
https://overezchickencoop.com/products/electrical-heat-package

The light socket is drilled into the ceiling. I also am looking into a bulb that comes with a cage in the event of a fall. Any other safety precautions I should take? Any other methods besides a heat lamp to raise ambient temperatures to 60s?

Thanks... extremely paralyzed at thought of burning down my coop, but I feel I have a more professional setup than those that burn down... not sure though. Just want to keep my chicks alive at night. No more brooding indoors.

 

[RoosterML]

I would just setup your two brinsea heaters drap a towel and keep one end open. You shouldn’t need any other heat source.

I have 2 week old chicks running around with mama hen and it was down to 20 a couple nights ago with snow on the ground. They run in and out from under her as needed.

 

[aart]

Plates don't heat the air like lamps do, chicks back need to touch the plate.

Brinsea has a CYA that says not to use them at below 50°F ambient temp.
Also, plates are as bad as prefab coops at population numbers.
" 17" long x 12" wide " will not hold " The new EcoGlow Safety 1200 Chick Brooder is ideal to raise up to 35 newly hatched chicks or ducklings (20 to 25 older chicks depending on age and size) " tho I see they have some CYA wiggle words in there.

I use a 12x24 pad, and it barely held 16 chicks until they had enough feathers to not to need heat.

 

[cabincreations]

I use a heating pad method, and life couldn't be easier! I am in Northern Ontario Canada and have always put my day olds straight out to a brooder in my coop from as early as March, to November. I used to use heat lamps until I read about the momma heating pad brooder idea on here.
I have 3 week olds out there with it now with below freezing temperatures, doing fantastic!

 

[cabincreations]

I love the heating pad method, I just do not know if I want to invest another $50-100 into another heating device when I have two of these:
https://www.brinsea.com/p-620-ecoglow-safety-1200-chick-brooder.aspx

Is your heating pad anything special since it has to heat in below-freezing weather? I would just use only my Brinsea in the coop but worried it cannot get hot enough in 40 degree weather.

I dont have any experience with the Brinsea, but looking at it I would say it definitely would need to be skirted to be used like a heating pad over a basket.
My chicks tend to snuggle toward the back away from the open end. If it was open all around it would definitely not be the same effect.

 

[NatJ]

I have always used the Brinsea EcoGlow indoors with ambient temperatures from 68-70 (minimum ambient temp is 50 degrees for Brinsea).
However, I have decided to brood my 30-40 (not sure, cause, chicken math ) chicks outdoors this time. We will have lows in the high 40s, occasionally getting down to 32 degrees. Therefore, my plan was to use a heat lamp to heat ambient temperature to 50-60 degrees and let the Brinsea EcoGlow do the rest of the work (I have two of the 35 chick models).

If you have some time before the chicks get here, I suggest you set up both of the EcoGlows in your coop, then sit a thermometer at chick-height near where the feed & water will be. The brooders may give off enough heat to bring the ambient temperature in the coop up over 50, all by themselves. (I do not know if they will or not, which is why I suggest checking.)

And whatever the temperature with two EcoGlows in the coop, it will be a little warmer when the chicks are there, because they all produce a bit of body heat, even from the first day.

 

[Banty crazy]

I love my Brinsea heat brooder but I’ve only used mine in the house. But you might try using a cozy chicken heat plate that can be mounted on the wall or just stand it up. You could put the cozy chicken plate on the back side of the brinse brooder plate so they can cuddle up to it. It can have 0 clearance so it’s very safe to use! I will mention that the tractor store has a heat plate but I read the reviews and ppl said it got too hot and either singed or caused burns on the chicks!! That’s why I decided not to get one. I used the cozy chicken plate for some young bantam chicks one year and they cuddled right next to it!! I love them both because they work and I don’t have to worry about a fire. I hope this helps.

 

[noahs_flock]

If you have some time before the chicks get here, I suggest you set up both of the EcoGlows in your coop, then sit a thermometer at chick-height near where the feed & water will be. The brooders may give off enough heat to bring the ambient temperature in the coop up over 50, all by themselves. (I do not know if they will or not, which is why I suggest checking.)

And whatever the temperature with two EcoGlows in the coop, it will be a little warmer when the chicks are there, because they all produce a bit of body heat, even from the first day.

Yes, I have about 15 days to test things out. I will start a demo...

Quick Q: it is 60 right now. Is the strength, wattage, etc needed to heat 10 degrees from 60 to 70 the same as heating from 50 to 60 degrees? I do not know if that question makes sense. It will not be in the 40s so I cannot test it but I assume heating something 10 or 20 degrees is the same amount of "work" no matter what temperature?

I would just setup your two brinsea heaters drap a towel and keep one end open. You shouldn’t need any other heat source.

I have 2 week old chicks running around with mama hen and it was down to 20 a couple nights ago with snow on the ground. They run in and out from under her as needed.

Thank you, I am going to try the towel method and test it out before chicks come.

I love my Brinsea heat brooder but I’ve only used mine in the house. But you might try using a cozy chicken heat plate that can be mounted on the wall or just stand it up. You could put the cozy chicken plate on the back side of the brinse brooder plate so they can cuddle up to it. It can have 0 clearance so it’s very safe to use! I will mention that the tractor store has a heat plate but I read the reviews and ppl said it got too hot and either singed or caused burns on the chicks!! That’s why I decided not to get one. I used the cozy chicken plate for some young bantam chicks one year and they cuddled right next to it!! I love them both because they work and I don’t have to worry about a fire. I hope this helps.

Thank you, I will look into the cozy chicken plate. I like the zero clearance aspect as there is a reduced risk of fire. Thanks again.

 

[NatJ]

Quick Q: it is 60 right now. Is the strength, wattage, etc needed to heat 10 degrees from 60 to 70 the same as heating from 50 to 60 degrees? I do not know if that question makes sense. It will not be in the 40s so I cannot test it but I assume heating something 10 or 20 degrees is the same amount of "work" no matter what temperature?

Um, sort-of.

It should take the same amount of energy to heat the air 10 degrees, no matter what temperatures you are dealing with.

If the brooder plate is always the same temperature, it will lose more heat into the air when the air is colder--so it would heat the space more degrees in cooler weather. A 90 degree brooder plate (or whatever temperature it is supposed to be) is farther away from 40 degrees than it is from 60 degrees, so it loses more heat and thus must use more energy to keep itself at the right temperature.

But, if the brooder plate is only able to use a certain amount of energy, it might only be able to heat X degrees above ambient temperature. So it might be literally unable to reach its own proper heat when the temperature drops too low. Which might be the reason they say the room temperature should not drop below 50 degrees.

Pre-heating for a few days before the chicks arrive might warm the bedding and walls, so the air temperature might go progressively (but slowly) up for the first several days. Which is probably part of why people are told to set up brooders a day or two before chicks arrive.

Given that you've got two weeks, you can certainly measure how much difference the brooder plate makes at the temperatures you have now. And the weather forecast for when the chicks arrive might change between now and then, just to add another variable to the situation!

Once the chicks are there, of course you can also judge a lot by their behavior. And "too cold" means different things once they are a few weeks older, so even if you do need to use a heat lamp at first, you may only ned it for a week or two.

 

[cabincreations]

I would just setup your two brinsea heaters drap a towel and keep one end open. You shouldn’t need any other heat source.

I have 2 week old chicks running around with mama hen and it was down to 20 a couple nights ago with snow on the ground. They run in and out from under her as needed.

I Second this, yes Drape a warm towel over the Brinsea. Mine do great under the momma heating pad in subzero temps as well, and definitely seem to be healthier and feather out faster than with heat bulbs