Heat lamp vs. 60 watt light blub

[Tootie123]

I am expecting 8 baby chicks on Sept 4th. I have
a box ready with a light bulb for heating, 60 watt.
Is this enough warmth for 8 baby chicks.....?
Am in the Atlanta, Ga area and we are not cold
by a long shot as yet....to be 90 degrees this week.
Have hung the bulb relatively low in the box but
not low enough that they can reach it. Just curious,
do I need to go buy a heat lamp bulb?

 

[Fred's Hens]

Chicks need temps around 90 for a week or two, then temps in the 80's is fine until they are feathered out, at which point, they can take quite cold temps, as they are acclimated to them.

The bulb could produce too much heat in 90F weather, frankly. Be careful. It just doesn't take much to cook them. Give them space to get away from the heat circle. This discussion is foggy and lacks clarity if one doesn't speak about the ambient air around the brooder. If you'll have them out in the garage or shed, it will be plenty warm, it sounds like during the day, as is. Just some supplemental heat at night when it drops into the 70s.

Raising 70 degree ambient air is easy and doesn't take much. Raising 50 degree ambient air takes a bit more. Hope that helps.

Watch the chicks. Their behavior is Far Far better than any thermometer. If they pile up ad cheep, they are cool. If they hold their wings or hide from the heat circle and pant, they are too too warm.

 

[1muttsfan]

Sometimes bulbs not made specifically for animal use have a teflon coating which emits fumes that are toxic to birds. It's best to use bulbs made for use with birds or reptiles.

 

[cluck5]

Tootie123. Hello. I got my chicks on June 9th. I had never had chickens before and I had no idea what I was doing. I built my own brooder and purchased a reptile light and a few of the red heat light bulbs in different watts (100, 70, 40watts). I also bought a thermometer from the pet store that is used for checking temp for reptiles. The probe was down at chick level, and the temp readout was outside the brooder so I could keep an eye on the temp. I would adjust the position of the heatlamp and/or change the bulb to a different watt size if necessary to control the temp. I live in Manitoba, Canada. We have cold winters and spring is cold, but we get very hot in the summer, usually! This method worked great for me, as I said I never had chickens before, and I didn't have any farm/livestock supply place to go to purchase these things so I had to make do. The chickens are out in their coop since July when they got their feathers and have had a great time outside eating bugs and eating plants in the garden. They are getting really big now.


Enjoy your babies when they come and good luck to you!!

 

[Tootie123]

Thanks for you thoughts....I am deducing that my 60 degree watt light bulb will be sufficient. I have a rather large cardboard
box with pine shaving in the bottom so they will have room to move around. They will be housed in my garage for the time
being till they are old enough to go outside. They will sit on a table in front of a large sunny window and as I say Atlanta
Georgia USA can get very hot in the summer and winters aren't terribly cold for long periods of time. I shall monitor them closely
to make sure they are not getting too hot and keep light bulb up far enough away from them so they won't be burnt.
I just didn't want to buy a heat lamp bulb if it was not necessary. The bulb is a regular house light bulb that you would
put in a lamp in your house, don't think it is coated with anything, are they?

 

[Fred's Hens]

Wach the sunshine!! It can really solar heat everything. I know, I know I sound like a broken record, but I've been brooding out chicks for well over 50 years and way, way more chicks die of heat than ever die of being cold. In Atlanta, in September, I honestly don't see how it would ever get cold enough to kill any of them, quite honestly.

Why do we love brooding so much? It never gets old. Enjoy.

 

[cluck5]

No the only time they are coated with Teflon, is when they say shatter resistant.

 

[Tootie123]

Okay...good to know that about the shatter resistant thing.
Yes, will be careful. If they get too hot in window, will move them.
No Atlanta is not known for cold weather and think the little
guys will be fine....just pay attention to them. Don't let them
get too hot. By the time it does get cold here, which is
around Jan, Feb and March they will have feathers......
Thanks again.