Beepers Keeper
In the Brooder
- Jan 28, 2020
- 5
- 16
- 21
I saw a Brinsea safety brooder on eBay for £70 and I knew it must be possible to save some money with a little creative thinking!
"There's no way I will spend that much on a heat mat", I thought.
So I spent £14 on a heat mat.
It was too cold so I bought another, bringing the total to £28.
I didn't like the heat mats as the temperature was very hard to balance out, sometimes way over 40 degrees C, sometimes just over 30.
I bought a heat lamp for £25, meaning I had spent £53 so far.
I noticed the lamp kept the chicks horribly awake all day, and with any disturbance at night. They were stressed and I was too.
So I bought a "dull emitter" - a bulb that gives only heat, no light. It was £5 on eBay and the chicks loved it. The trouble was it went bang. Thank heaven I found it in time, all the chicks might have got too cold.
I went to a local pet shop and bought a decent dull emitter, this brought my brooder spend up to £78.
At this point I realised that with just one heat source i was "putting all my eggs in one basket". So I went to a local Mole Valley farmer's supplies and picked up a Brinsea Eco Glow, I genuinely thought I had wasted my money on a heat mat glued to a Fisher Price toy. That said, it was cheaper at Mole Valley, just £36. 12 watts, I thought, what can you do with that?
Total spend £124 on brooder equipment. I only use the Brinsea and the chicks love it!
But look how much I managed to save...
"There's no way I will spend that much on a heat mat", I thought.
So I spent £14 on a heat mat.
It was too cold so I bought another, bringing the total to £28.
I didn't like the heat mats as the temperature was very hard to balance out, sometimes way over 40 degrees C, sometimes just over 30.
I bought a heat lamp for £25, meaning I had spent £53 so far.
I noticed the lamp kept the chicks horribly awake all day, and with any disturbance at night. They were stressed and I was too.
So I bought a "dull emitter" - a bulb that gives only heat, no light. It was £5 on eBay and the chicks loved it. The trouble was it went bang. Thank heaven I found it in time, all the chicks might have got too cold.
I went to a local pet shop and bought a decent dull emitter, this brought my brooder spend up to £78.
At this point I realised that with just one heat source i was "putting all my eggs in one basket". So I went to a local Mole Valley farmer's supplies and picked up a Brinsea Eco Glow, I genuinely thought I had wasted my money on a heat mat glued to a Fisher Price toy. That said, it was cheaper at Mole Valley, just £36. 12 watts, I thought, what can you do with that?
Total spend £124 on brooder equipment. I only use the Brinsea and the chicks love it!
But look how much I managed to save...
