Heat Lamp Anxiety is Crippling Me

[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.

 

[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 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

 

[noahs_flock]

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

Can you send what device you use for heating with mama heating pad method? If after my experiment with Brinsea + possible coop light doesn't work, I will opt for this method as it is proven to work. I tried mine with a towel and it rose by 10 degrees and rising.

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.

Great points. Yes, for Brinsea specifically the chicks have to be touching the heat plate. I think heat pads are the same way. That is why I was thinking of using a heat lamp to raise ambient temps to at least 50-60 degrees. I dislike the lamps as it messes up the daylight cycle and has fire risk, but it is cheaper than buying another product. I have to Brinsea 1200 so they claim it would work for 70 chicks... but in reality probably more like 30-35 older chicks...

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.

Thank you again. I am running tests as we speak. And yes, once they are here I can always change course... or bring them inside if it clearly isn't working out. I plan to pre-heat 2 days in advance to be safe. I may pick up a heating pad just to do that method just in case... can always return if I do not use it.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

IF you decide to use a heat bulb, keep the bulb and any cords and fixtures clean from dust. This means turning it off, allowing everything to cool and inspecting the cord and ends for signs of blackness or heat damage. I've used a variety of heat bulbs with different species in different buildings and everything has been fine. Chickens and their feed are dusty.

Also know that you can use a smaller watt bulb if that's all you might need. For the brooder both in the house and outside coop in warmer weather, I use one or two 65-watt flood bulbs. They project the heat downwards. You also have backup heat if one quits.

 

[cabincreations]

Sunbeam king size heating pad with the ability to shut of the 2 hour timer as shown in pic.
Now the ONLY fault I have found with this is that if the power goes out you have to manually go turn it back on. The good thing is though that the chicks can huddle under and stay pretty warm anyway.
I used this dollar store basket to make mine, cut it so that it angles down toward the back. There are many options to how to build these, some us wood and hardware cloth etc.
All I can tell you is that I was leery of trying it at first, but after using it for my last two batches of show silkies and brahmas, I am totally amazed by this brooder!

 

[cabincreations]

4 week old silkie chicks, its snowing outside, they only use the heating pad when they feel like it now...and I went in a few minutes ago, not one of them is using it...but as you can see they do take the hay off the top and sit on top sometimes to get warmed up.
It is wrapped in a towel and then press and seal.
I start them off at 6, now it is set at 4. By next week it will be set at 2 to wean them off for a week or two before removing

 

[noahs_flock]

4 week old silkie chicks, its snowing outside, they only use the heating pad when they feel like it now...and I went in a few minutes ago, not one of them is using it...but as you can see they do take the hay off the top and sit on top sometimes to get warmed up.
It is wrapped in a towel and then press and seal.
I start them off at 6, now it is set at 4. By next week it will be set at 2 to wean them off for a week or two before removing

Thanks. I had not realized only $26 bucks. I may get this one while on sale... return if I do not use it.
Sunbeam Heating Pad for Pain Relief | XL King Size SoftTouch, 4 Heat Settings with Auto-Off | Teal, 12-Inch x 24-Inch

The silkies look GREAT. Thanks for sharing. Congrats on successful brooding.

IF you decide to use a heat bulb, keep the bulb and any cords and fixtures clean from dust. This means turning it off, allowing everything to cool and inspecting the cord and ends for signs of blackness or heat damage. I've used a variety of heat bulbs with different species in different buildings and everything has been fine. Chickens and their feed are dusty.

Also know that you can use a smaller watt bulb if that's all you might need. For the brooder both in the house and outside coop in warmer weather, I use one or two 65-watt flood bulbs. They project the heat downwards. You also have backup heat if one quits.

Thanks. I had not thought of using a 65watt ... I will do testing to see if it raises temperature enough.

 

[cabincreations]

Thanks. I had not realized only $26 bucks. I may get this one while on sale... return if I do not use it.
Sunbeam Heating Pad for Pain Relief | XL King Size SoftTouch, 4 Heat Settings with Auto-Off | Teal, 12-Inch x 24-Inch

The silkies look GREAT. Thanks for sharing. Congrats on successful brooding.


Thanks. I had not thought of using a 65watt ... I will do testing to see if it raises temperature enough.

Not that heating pad! It too only has the auto off feature that you cant turn off. I will see if I can find you the US price and link to the one you need.