Heat lamps

[sadhbhl]

Hi everyone,
I have chicks that are due to hatch during the week and I have just realised that I no longer have the infrared bulb that I used last time, I will be keeping the chicks indoors and they have a brooder but is that enough heat or will I also need the lamp? TIA

 

[goodb]

You will need the heat lamp unless your house temperature is 95 degrees. The chicks need 95 degrees for the first week and the required temperature drops by 5 degrees each subsequent week.

 

[kmartinez]

You need a heat lamp, i keep my house at 75 and that was not enough i had to have a heat lamp until they could withstand the temp in the house with no problems.

 

[aart]

You need some kind of heat for them, doesn't need to be a heat bulb.
I've used an incandescent bulb successfully...60-100W with a dimmer extension cord to control heat output.


Here's my notes on chick heat, hope something in there might help:
They need to be pretty warm(~85F on the brooder floor right under the lamp) 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 integration 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'. 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.

 

[peanutshark]

Right now all I have is a heating pad I borrrowed from my lizards aquarium (the kind that sticks on the underside of the aquarium on the outside of the glass) and an incandescent buld in a brooder lamp. That's working really well for me, even during cold nights (this is relative since I live in Florida). My 7 babies are not even a week old and this is plenty warm for them.