lights in brooders

[NC Tom]

I am new to raising chickens and have my first 15 chicks ordered, to be delivered in two weeks. I have learned so much from this site, hopefully i won' t make any uneducated mistakes in raising them. I do have a question about the brooder. When using a clear heat lamp for warmth does it create a problem having the chicks in constant light? I will have the brooder in an outside shed that will not have any natural light. I plan on having another source of light other than the heat lamp during the day. At night the heat lamp will continue to supply light, will this create a problem? I am located in coastal NC, so the weather is warm at this time of year, so I won't need too much added heat for the chicks. Thanks in advance for any help Tom

 

[henless]

I raised my chicks last year out in my husbands shop. I got them the first of March. There was not any light in there either, unless I left the doors open or turned the overhead lights on. I didn't want to do that since it would also turn the lights on in the carport. I kept a floor lamp out there and turned it on during the day time, and at night I turned it off.

I've never used a heat lamp. I was concerned with the fire risk when I decided to get my chicks. Then I ran across a thread in BYC about the heat plates. It sounded like that was the way to go.

I bought a Premier heat plate, which I really love. It stayed on all the time, and the chicks would stay under it to get warm, then run around the brooder where it was cooler playing. They didn't have light on 24/7 like a heat lamp, and there was "someone" for them to run under and feel safe.

This is my watermelon box brooder. There are 21 chicks under that heat plate, and its the small one.



They will also get on top of it when they don't need a lot of warmth.



I kept them in the shed for a couple of weeks, until my brooder was finished out in the coop.

Another option is the Mama Heating Pad. It works on the same concept, but uses a heating pad instead of the heat plate. That is what I will be doing when this heat plate goes out. I've used the heat plate for 2 seasons now and love it.