Heat lamp got left outside in the rain...

[Andora]

Posting this in a new thread for quick advice...
My chicks should be here in the morning, and I went to get the heat lamp from the garage and found it outside in the rain. It's been raining all day, I guess the lamp got left outside when we were cleaning out the garage a few days ago.

I don't have time (or $$$) to buy another if my chicks arrive first thing in the morning. Do you think it will dry out and be ok? What's the worst that could happen when I plug it in tomorrow? What would you do?

If it doesn't work and I have cold chicks I'll steal the heat lamp from the lizard while I run out and buy a new one, but my husband will kill me for spending more money on chickens when we have bills to pay...

 

[wohneli]

Let it dry for a while and plug it in. It shoudl be fine once it dries out.

 

[Wildsky]

yeah unscrew the bulb, dry it with a paper towel and then leave it to dry completely on its own.

 

[ThePamperedPullet]

Is this the whole fixture and all? Take the bulb out of the fixture, and with it UNPLUGED, wipe out and off what moisture you can including the cord. You can either place it by a heater or use a hair dryer to dry any remaining moisture out of it. Wipe off the bulb and let it be at room temperature for a couple of hours. Put the bulb back into the fixture and try plugging it into a bathroom outlet which should have a ground fault recepticle. You might want to hold the fixture with gloves or a couple thicknesses of hand towel in case if there is a power leak to the fixture which would cause you to get shocked. The shock, if it happens, will not be too bad but will sure make you jump.

 

[Dar]

if you can put it someplace warm like over the heat vent it will make sure it is dired out in time for your new arrivals tomorrow...

try it out for a bit on a plug that is a GFI (you know the plugs in the bathroom that "pop" when there is a short, and then you press the little button to reset)

my son was cleaning out the reptile tank one day and set the heat lamp on the fish tank,..

he bumped the fish tank and the heat lamp went right in there...we dried it out and it works fine

 

[tattooedchickenlady]

you could also lay it at the base of your fridge on the floor. The intake for the fan is under there and it draws are across the front and pulls the moisture out. It works on wet shoes too!

 

[Andora]

My mom used to always do that to our wet shoes! My husband would trip over it in the morning when he stumbles to the fridge and kill me.

I put it by the bathroom vent to dry out..it was already feeling mostly dry, which I think is a good sign. I'm really nervous about plugging it in because I'm pregnant and I don't want to zap my baby. I can just see me calling the midwife and trying to explain that.

 

[tattooedchickenlady]

I hear ya girl, BTDT myself!

Yeah, try the vent, and like they suggested, plug it into a bathroom outlet that will shut off if something is wrong. Don't want no crispy babies!

 

[needmorechickens!]

Or if you have a power strip (surge protector), that would be a good option to plug it into.
It will probably be fine.
~Rebecca

 

[Cackel]

When I got my baby CHICKS I kept them inside and I used a 75 watt blub .I had them in a plasitic container and I drilled holes all in the sides and drilled one big hole in the top to put hang light through ,worked great .