Help! I'm meltiiiiiiiiing...

[Snakeoil]

Here is another version using the plastic storage boxs from Wally World. If I had chicks I would have two lights on.

 

[Lucy4]

I don't understand... why was it impossible for me to get a high enough temp with the 100 watt bulb then? And the brooder really is 95 with the 250 watt. I believe y'all that it's too hot a bulb, but two thermometers have told me otherwise.

Now I'm just really confused.

I'm afraid to go back to the lower wattage and have it be 80-85 degrees. Isn't that too cold for them at this age?

 

[briteday]

I'm using a 75 watt reptile red lamp screwed into a typical reflector (Home Depot) in a cardboard box (3 x 3 x 3). Are you sure that you're reading the thermometer correctly? And no worries (well, not too much) about the heat lamp with cardboard. Paper burns at 451 degrees. Your chicks would be goners by then anyway. We're careful not to let the reflector touch the cardboard, but otherwise not too many concerns.

The 75 watt bulb easily got the brooder up to 100 degrees and we've been raising it up every few days, a few inches at a time. I started out with the chicks on paper towels and now they have some paper shredded bedding on top of that as they have gotten older.

 

[ChooksChick]

I would find a way to hang the lamp. Also, if they aren't leaving and you haven't any animals which will get them, there's no reason you couldn't have a gap.

Remember, melting or softened plastic releases toxic gases, and birds are far more susceptible to them than humans- be very careful with the heat and plastic.

I have a clamp light that is clamped to a bathroom cupboard and angled at my kids, but the temp is very warm some times of day, and I then move the cupboard farther away...close it some. Very unscientific, but it works. You might try hanging your lamp on a coat rack, or over plant hook if that will give you a greater distance to cooler temps.

** Edited to add_

-Also, I think I have the same bulb- mines at an angle, pointed at the far side of my rubbermaid tub (green tub) across the airspace of the tub, and the distance is 28" from front of bulb to far side of tub. Granted my chicks are 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 weeks old in that tub, but it keeps the ambient air temp at 85 F. The bulb is just 8" above the near side, angled down at far side.

 

[ChooksChick]

Good golly, I should've just posted a picture...

this was a few days ago, and I've had to cover the far bin because all the 3-4 week-olds are getting out, pooping on my closet/bathroom floor, and invading the bin of the younger kids, who don't think it's as fun as they did a few days ago. An old window screen does the trick on that, and as they don't need it so warm anyway, it's okay that they are that far from the heat always.

The green tub is now turned lengthwise, so the aim is on the far end the long way.

The ambient temp in that room is around 80 with the light on at night, 85-90 in the close tub, 80-85 in the far tub.

 

[LoveMyBirds]

Quote:
Hmm.. I'm not understanding why you can't keep your little critters warm with a 60 watt bulb..

This is what I used in mine last year for chicks and then some turkeys..

I had those large plastic containers with the bulb on one side. When the chicks needed heat they could get under the light.. When they didn't they could move out from the heat ...

 

[cgmccary]

I have never used anything over a 100 W incandescent bulb & would NEVER use a heat bulb like that-- I would be afraid I would burn the house down. I tried a 150W incandescent but it was too hot.

That bulb you have is dangerous for you & the chicks. They are not so delicate. Put a regular 75-100W bulb and you won't have a problem.

 

[cmom]

With your lamp on top of your brooder from the picture, I would put a 40 watt bulb in the lamp. A 250 watt is way to much. I put a 60 watt in my lamp. There are pictures on my BYC Page.

 

[Akane]

If you have chicks in there let's ask them if the thermometer is accurate.

What are they doing and how much are they under the light?

 

[Lucy4]

If you have chicks in there let's ask them if the thermometer is accurate. What are they doing and how much are they under the light?

Well, at the moment, they're sleeping right in the middle of the brooder (half-way between the light and their food.) But they do walk back and forth from the from one end of the brooder to the other. They're my first chicks so I don't have a lot to go on, but they seem content. No unusual behaviors. (Except that one of them is really loud. As soon as I walk to the brooder and she sees me, she quiets down and goes to sleep. Weird.)

I had two other people look at my thermometers, just in case I was reading them incorrectly. They both said they were around 90 degress. Maybe it's my outlets?

I've had them in there for 20 hours now. If it was too hot, wouldn't I be seeing some erratic behaviors? Or could that come later?​