Help with heat lamp ?

[ValerieJ]

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

Babies!

 

[rosemarythyme]

I assume you're talking about using a "traditional" heat lamp bulb marketed for birds. I find those to be way too hot, even for young chicks, especially with a small, enclosed brooder like a tote. You can find reptile bulbs at the pet store that come in a variety of lower wattages.

 

[gtaus]

I assume you're talking about using a "traditional" heat lamp bulb marketed for birds. I find those to be way too hot, even for young chicks, especially with a small, enclosed brooder like a tote. You can find reptile bulbs at the pet store that come in a variety of lower wattages.

I agree that a 250 watt heat lamp, used indoors, in a small brooder like a tote could get too hot. But the heat lamp can be raised higher and a thermometer would tell OP what the temp really is in the tote. The heat lamp does not have to shine directly down in the center of the tote - it could be offset to one end or just in a corner. I'd give the 250 watt heat bulb a try and measure the temp in the tote, if too hot, then raise the light or get a lower wattage bulb at that point.

I always had my brooder chicks outside in an unheated garage, about 35F in early spring, so the 250 watt heat lamps were needed. In fact, I always have 2 heat lamps on in case one burned out. After a few weeks, I start to swap them out with 125 watt heat bulbs which usually works fine as the temp needs in the brooder go down every week. But I also used a remote thermometer sensor which sent the temp to my weather base station inside the house. Sounds like OP will be brooding the chicks in the house and probably not have as many concerns as I did in the unheated garage.

 

[cmom]

The 250 watt may be a bit much. Check the temperature. As long as it's around 95 or a little less the chicks should be ok. I do the same thing with my brooder and use a regular incandescent bulb as a heat source. I made a brooder out of a styrofoam cooler. It works great. I put a wafer thermostat in it to control the temperature. I have two 15 watt incandescent bulbs in it in case one should burn out. I usually put foil in the bottom for easy cleaning.

 

[aart]

I have a 250watt heat lamp is that to much heat for indoor ? What bulb is good ?

Waaayy too hot!
100W red incandescent reptile bulb....with a dimmer extension cord to adjust heat output.

Here's my notes on chick heat, hope something in there might help:

They need to be pretty warm(~85-90F on the brooder floor right under the lamp and 10-20 degrees cooler at the other end of brooder) 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 acclimation 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'. If you do use a heat bulb make sure it's specifically for poultry, some heat bulbs for food have teflon coatings that can kill birds. 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.



Or you could go with a heat plate, commercially made or DIY: http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate

 

[gtaus]

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.

That's a great idea. Never seen one. Will have to look into that for my next order of chicks. Thanks, @aart.

 

[Folly's place]

I also think that 250w is too much for (most) Rubbermaid boxes, especially at 75F. What is that thermometer telling you?
Mary

 

[GC-Raptor]

I use a dimmer cord with a 250 watt red incandescent bulb. . You plug it into the outlet and plug the light into the other end. You slide the switch to control brightness of bulb, and heat output. . I kept them in the largest tote I could find for 10 days. . Then I put them in a much larger box with 2 large adjustable window screens to keep them from flying out. . . GC
ETA; I got my first dimmer cord at Wal-Mart and my second from Amazon. I use one in my coop.

 

[aart]

That's a great idea. Never seen one. Will have to look into that for my next order of chicks. Thanks, @aart.

SOOOOO much easier than dinking with the height of lamp.

 

[rosemarythyme]

SOOOOO much easier than dinking with the height of lamp.

Also sometimes no matter how much you raise a lamp, it's just not enough. If brooding in a large space like a garage, that's not going to be a problem. But inside a house, especially in a smaller room (for example I initially brooded in a bathroom), it can be difficult if not impossible to get the temperature down if using a 250 watt bulb without dimmer.