Heat lamp help

[PTA Chicks]

I was looking through what's available close to me (not USA based) and I can find plenty basking lamps for reptiles. Varying from 40 - 150 watts. They're red. Then ceramic heat lamps. No light just heat. 60 watt.

Which is better? Globe or ceramic?

Would those work for a small batch (say 10-15) of chicks? I want to get broilers in a month or 2 so planning ahead.

Chicken specific ones I can find that cater for 100+ birds are way too big for me.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I know people always want the "best" but in reality either of those can be good enough. Different people will consider one better than the other but they won't always agree which one it is.

You are south of the equator, it's probably pretty warm by now and will get warmer by the time you get those chicks. I don't know how much heat you will need or for how long. One year in a ridiculous heat wave for me I turned the daytime heat off at 2 days and the overnight heat off at 5 days. The brooder was outside and they simply did not need the heat. When it is still getting below freezing I leave the heat in for 5 weeks.

If you are brooding inside you have a different situation than brooding outside. In either case I consider the perfect brooder one that keeps a big-enough area for all of them warm enough in the coolest conditions and an area warm enough in the coolest conditions. 15 broilers are going to get pretty big pretty fast. I don't know how long they will need heat.

I like flexibility. I don't know what the relative costs are but I'd probably go with the one where I could change wattage by changing bulbs. But the other would work fine too.

 

[aart]

I've used the red incandescent reptile bulbs, think it was 100W.
Used a dimmer extension cord to adjust heat output.

Tried the ceramic ones but heat distribution left much to be desired,
too hot right underneath and cooled too quickly farther away.

Now I use a human heating pad on a bakers rack.


Here's my notes on chick heat, hope something in there might help:
They need to be pretty warm(~85-90F on the brooder floor right under the lamp and 10-20 degrees cooler at the other end of brooder) for the first day or two, especially if they have been shipped, until they get to eating, drinking and moving around well. But after that it's best to keep them as cool as possible for optimal feather growth and quicker acclimation to outside temps. A lot of chick illnesses are attributed to too warm of a brooder. I do think it's a good idea to use a thermometer on the floor of the brooder to check the temps, especially when new at brooding, later I still use it but more out of curiosity than need.

The best indicator of heat levels is to watch their behavior:
-If they are huddled/piled up right under the lamp and cheeping very loudly, they are too cold.
-If they are spread out on the absolute edges of the brooder as far from the lamp as possible, panting and/or cheeping very loudly, they are too hot.
-If they sleep around the edge of the lamp calmly just next to each other and spend time running all around the brooder they are juuuust right!

The lamp is best at one end of the brooder with food/water at the other cooler end of the brooder, so they can get away from the heat or be under it as needed. Wattage of 'heat' bulb depends on size of brooder and ambient temperature of room brooder is in. Regular incandescent bulbs can be used, you might not need a 'heat bulb'. If you do use a heat bulb make sure it's specifically for poultry, some heat bulbs for food have teflon coatings that can kill birds. You can get red colored incandescent bulbs at a reptile supply source. A dimmer extension cord is an excellent way to adjust the output of the bulb to change the heat without changing the height of the lamp.


Or you could go with a heat plate, commercially made or DIY: http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate

 

[Birdinhand]

if you haven't already, look into the benefits of a mother heating pad (MHP), they use a lot less electricity, stress the chicks less since they get to sleep at night and don't dry out so much and are much less prone to fires.

 

[PTA Chicks]

Thanks for the replies. I have been reading a lot since I posted the query and I'd probably be able to easily raise them outside in the big coop with a division between them and the big girls. I'd collect them at a day or 2 old,no shipping. So minimal heat lamp usage would be needed.
Still plenty time to think about it all.

 

[aart]

I'd collect them at a day or 2 old,no shipping. So minimal heat lamp usage would be needed.

Does the 'day or two old' go with the 'minimal heat lamp usage'?
Not sure what you mean by that, maybe I've misunderstood.

 

[PTA Chicks]

Does the 'day or two old' go with the 'minimal heat lamp usage'?
Not sure what you mean by that, maybe I've misunderstood.

Appears I deleted half my sentence. It will be about mid summer for me then
Very warm temps. So won't be needing heat lamp on constantly as if it were a chilly damp spring or cold winter.

 

[Folly's place]

I used a brooder heat plate last summer for the first time, and loved it! A heat lamp when ambient temps are high during the day and cold at night is too hard to manage for young chicks, and the brooder plate was perfect.
Mary

 

[Ridgerunner]

Mary I actually like a heat lamp, usually two when it is really cold to spread the heated area when I have a lot. I often have around 20 or more at a time. My brooder is big enough and well enough ventilated that the far end can really cool down so I can have a lot of temperature difference from one end to the other. I put chicks straight from the incubator in there when the outside temperature is below freezing. I find them to be really good at self-regulating when given that option. One reason I like the heat lamps when it is freezing is that I put their water in the heated area so it doesn't freeze.

I have nothing against a heat plate or heating pad, I know they can work very well, even in freezing temperatures. But I have no experience with them. Is there a limit as to how many chicks one heat plate can handle? @Beekissed has used heat lamps and heating pads and did a comparison of the two. I did not keep a link to that, I should have as it was good. One of her comments was that she liked the heat lamps better than heating pads for larger numbers of chicks.

 

[Folly's place]

I've used heat lamp for decades and will continue to use them, but an unexpected June chick arrival was different. The heat plate was a better choice for my brooder, a 100 gal. stock tank, given the summer temps.
Mary