Help ease my heat lamp paranoia

[RabbitMage]

Last time I had chicks I just had a few, and I set them up in my bedroom in a fish tank with a heat lamp and it worked great.

I have thirty-five chicks coming in March, and...I don't know where I'm putting them.

Obviously people do it all the time, but I am terrified of leaving a heat lamp on outdoors 24/7. What if it stops working? Or malfunctions? Or catches fire and the entire property goes down in a raging inferno!

I'd really like to NOT have these guys in the house, but someone has to convince me I'm not setting off the Apocalypse by having a setup in the barn or something.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Ok, here is what I do.

I use a 5 x 8 box side utility trailer, out in my barn. That's easily twice the space they need, but that's good. I put down a bed of shavings.
Yawn, so what? Well, I put two lights over that area. The little chicks migrate from one light to another. Sometimes, they want to be completely outside the red circle and mess around. If they desire the heat, they come in closer.

With two lights, either of which would be enough, i have a backup. BTW, one light is 250wt and the other 150wt. Rarely, after a week, do they migrate toward the 250wt any longer. Chicks self regulate.

 

[ranchhand]

Also, secure the lamps in triplicate. Belt, suspenders and just in case type precautions. I don't use a 250 watt any more, unless they are in our open air shop and it's freezing. I found some red, 100 watt outdoor flood bulbs at the Ace Hardware store, love them!

I'm a little tough on chicks by most standards - but I've only lost one in 18 years. I start at 90F, not 95F, and take the temps down about 6-7 degrees per week. As long as they don't smother each other by piling up we're all good.

Enjoy your chicks!

 

[ARose4Heaven]

OH, your making me feel SO much better. I have been SO scared that mine would be too cold. I moved my brooder from the henhouse to the garage so that the electric would be safer and the building less drafty.

Heat lamps are very safe as long as you have them VERY well secured. I also make sure that I get the water-proof kind. They are a little tougher, and I don't want a chick accidently splashing water on a bulb and having shattered bulb all over my chicks.

 

[kittycooks]

I like the night black heat bulbs from the reptile section in the pet store. The last batch of chicks were in a box on the porch, which was around 65 degrees. The 100 watt bulb was raised up a bit every few days to adjust the temp as my chicks grew.