Help with heat lamp ?

[Linda1218]

Hello ppl , I need help
I'm using a rubbermaid container as a brooder to 3 baby chicks . I have a 250watt heat lamp is that to much heat for indoor ? What bulb is good ?

 

[ValerieJ]

That wattage is good, just adjust the height to get the temperature you want. For the first week of life the chicks should have a place to go that is 98 degrees. Then you turn it down each week 10 degrees by raising the light until you get down to about 70, which should be during week 4.

You also need to make sure they have a place to get out of the heat. So only put the light over one side of the bin. Add a thermometer so you know for certain the temperature is right.

Also, the chicks will let you know if they are too hot or too cold. Hot chicks will be running around and making a lot of noise, not soft little peeps, but unhappy ones. If they are too cold they will be huddled in a corner and not come out. Keep in mind they huddle a lot anyway, because they sleep a lot, but they wake up often and run around eating, drinking and scratching.

 

[DobieLover]

Hello ppl , I need help
I'm using a rubbermaid container as a brooder to 3 baby chicks . I have a 250watt heat lamp is that to much heat for indoor ? What bulb is good ?

Put a 100 watt bulb in it and see if that is better. Better still would be a MHP or an electric hen.
Where are you brooding them?
Can you post pictures of your setup?

 

[ValerieJ]

Put a 100 watt bulb in it and see if that is better. Better still would be a MHP or an electric hen.
Where are you brooding them?
Can you post pictures of your setup?

Good questions! And where are you? What is the general temperature of your house? Are they in your house or in a brooder in the coop?

 

[Linda1218]

Indoor and I live in arizona ... but inside are house is always 75 degrees or so ..

 

[Folly's place]

You should have a temperature gradient in the brooder at ground level, from about 95F the first few days, to nearly room temperature at the other end of the brooder. The chicks will warm up under the lamp, and then run around the whole brooder, eat and drink near the other end, and return to warm up.
If they are huddling under the lamp all the time, it's too cool. If they are at the cooler end and never near the lamp, it's too hot.
It's easy to overheat a Rubbermaid box!!!
Start with your thermometer under the lamp, and then see how the chicks are acting.
Mary

 

[gtaus]

Hello ppl , I need help
I'm using a rubbermaid container as a brooder to 3 baby chicks . I have a 250watt heat lamp is that to much heat for indoor ? What bulb is good ?

I use heat lamps for brooding my chicks. I start the chicks at 95F for the first week and drop the temp 5F every week until you reach outside temps, or until the chicks are fully feathered. I always use a thermometer to check the temp in the brooder, but as mentioned, chicks will huddle under the light if cold, run away from the light if too hot, and scamper around in and out of the light if in the happy zone.

A small Rubbermaid container could heat up fast if you don't watch the temp. Chicks should have a warm zone under the light, but a cool zone to go to if needed. A 250 watt bulb can get very hot, so either raise the lamp above the brooder higher, or use a lower wattage bulb. In any case, I always used a thermometer in my brooders and measured the temp under the heat lamp, and on the cool side of the brooder.

Please update the thread with pictures when you get a chance. Everyone loves pictures.

 

[50-45-1]

i brood my chicks in a cardboard box in my basement.
i have a heat lamp and 4 different size bulbs. 100, 75, 60 and a 40.
i start out with the 100 and cut vents that i can open and close on the edges of the box. i gauge the temps by the behavior of the chicks.
huddled under the bulb..to cold.
spread out the the edges of the box...to hot.
i switch down the bulb wattage about once a week. by the time i am using the 40 watt they really only are dependent on the light for comfort, not heat.
i dont like plastic totes because there is no air movement and the plastic can release a plastic smell sometimes.
i have one of those 250 red heat lamps, but it was always too hot for my system.
good luck!

 

[Folly's place]

I use a leaking 100 gal. stock tank, with a hardware cloth lid, in my garage. The 250w heat lamp is hanging from a chain over one end of the tank, so there's a warm and a cool area in the brooder. it works very well in cool weather. The brooder plate is safer in summer warmth, never too hot.
Mary

 

[Linda1218]

So far I have 3 hatched still waiting for 3 more if even hatch..