- Feb 12, 2013
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I am getting my first little brood of 6 chicks tomorrow morning. I set up a 105qt rubbermaid brooder with a light receptacle and dimmer switch at one end. I could not find 100 or 150 watt infrared bulbs and could only find 75 watt infrared that is used for reptiles or the 250 watt, which i think is too hot for the brooder I have. I've read that that 60 or 75 watt should be enough. But in a test run tonight I could only raise the temperature of the inside of the brooder to 80 degrees. Will the chicks body temp raise the temp higher or do I need to put in a stronger watt bulb? I know questions of this nature have been addressed but hadn't found an answer for my specific problem. TIA for any help.