Need help with Brooder Temp!

[Domestic_goddess]

I'm going to be keeping my chicks in the basement until it's warm enough outside. I'm having a hard time getting the temps to rise in the brooder. I was hoping at least 90-95 degrees. I seem to be stuck at 85. Do you think it would be okay to keep a space heater in the room? Any advice would be great!

 

[bisonbaby1995]

well my dad keeps his in the garage and he put a space heater and i think it raised the temp alot so i think u should put 1 in there and try it

 

[CARS]

Quote:
What do you use for a brooder? What do you have for a heat source??

I've brood in a cold garage (40 degrees) with a couple 250w lamps. Sometimes you need to cover a portion of it but as long as you clean the brooder often, the cover wont hurt the birds.

 

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

I would opt for adjusting the light/changing the bulb until you get it just right. A space heater is horribly inefficient and the results are not likely to be so great.

I've had peeps outside, on the grass, in a little brooder tent with just a 100W and a 250W. This ain't Idaho, but we were down to the high 30s some nights.

By contrast, my space heater sucks up 1600W and I'm freezing!

 

[JustMandy]

Go for more or higher wattage bulbs.

We had a 100 watt bulb in our house and it wouldn't get ofer 80 without being covered. We added a bulb and switched to 150 watts and the girls are nice and warm!

 

[clothdiaperingmom]

We started by using a regular bulb and it was cold in the brooder. When I got the actual heat bulb, it got warm fast....like 103 (especially when part was covered). I ended up taking the cover off and pulling the light up.
I was going to try the regular 200w bulb, but it was cheaper to get the 250w heat bulb at TSC then the other at walmart.

 

[Domestic_goddess]

Thanks everyone for your comments! I am using a 250 w heat bulb......I moved it around and found the perfect angle..now I'm showing 90 degrees. I don't even have my chicks yet, so i'm trying to make sure everything is working well before they get here tomorrow. Thanks!

 

[Ariel301]

We have had to use a space heater at night for our chicks. We have them in a plastic box in our bathroom with two lamps (in case one burns out, that way there is always a back up). As long as we don't open the door too much the temperature stays ok in there, but our house does not have a central heating system, just a wood stove, which does not heat the bathroom at all. I've got the space heater in there on a low setting so that if it gets really cold, it kicks on for a while. It's hard to keep the temperature stable in a fireplace heated house, plus the bathroom is all stone tile (holds cold really well!) with no windows, and the temperatures in our area outside fluctuate wildly from day to night. It can be 80 degrees in the day and then go down to 35 at night.

You could turn the space heater on for a few hours each day maybe, or just at night, to help boost the temperature. Also, trying a cover of some type over the brooder can help to hold heat in. Keeping the birds in as small a room as you can with the door shut--like a bathroom-- can also help, because then you have a smaller area to heat.

 

[tnchickenut]

The chicks will tell you...

if it is cold, they will chirp ALOT and huddle together.

if it is too hot, they will be very spaced apart, lay down alot... and maybe even pant.



I don't even put a thermometer in the brooder anymore. Of course, I've been doing it a long time in the same location. You kinda get to know where the lamp should be. BUT the chicks behavior will tell you alot.

 

[jettgirl24]

The heat thing has been a difficult thing for me to regulate as well... I'm finding that it takes adjusting pretty much daily. I didn't have trouble getting it warm enough but I've been having a heck of a time getting it to stay steady.

This week I'm supposed to get it down to 85. I'll get it right then go check it after a few hours and its back up at 90. Its driving me nuts

I almost think it would be easier if they were out in the shed because the house heaters won't kick on and raise the ambient temp. They're getting big enough now that I'm thinking abut moving them out there before my house starts smelling like chickens