No practical brooding equipment

[RainForestBird]

I guess this is more of a rant than anything else - for the last two years since I've been raising poultry and gamebirds I've noticed that there is no practical brooding equipment on the market except for maybe brinsea that is out of my price range and ridiculously overpriced. Broader lamps are dangerous and fall apart easily. The clamps are the dumbest thing I've ever seen. I have so many broader light clamps lying around because I can never get them to fit securely back on the ceramic lamp base. Last fall I suffered a sever burn on my wrist from a 240 watt brooder lamp that took months to heal and I've heard that they have started many barn fires. It is simply too dry here this year to risk it so I've been moving my hatchlings around my property all day and night to get the right temperature without electricity. It's stressful and traumatic whenthey get too hot or cold. This would be a great opportunity for someone to create drinkers that didn't leak brooder heaters that didn't burn and brooder that didn't endanger chicks and duckling at a reasonable price and make a bundle off all of us#

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I use a heat lamp, I find them cheap and simple to use. I only use a 125 watt bulb, and I get my chicks during warmer weather so I only use it for a week or two.

I hang mine from the ceiling with a piece of baling twine, never use the clips except to clip to the cord to keep it out of the way, and to tie the twine to for hanging.

I hadn't realized how many folks have troubles with them until I joined this site.

 

[RainForestBird]

I use a heat lamp, I find them cheap and simple to use. I only use a 125 watt bulb, and I get my chicks during warmer weather so I only use it for a week or two.

I hang mine from the ceiling with a piece of baling twine, never use the clips except to clip to the cord to keep it out of the way, and to tie the twine to for hanging.

I hadn't realized how many folks have troubles with them until I joined this site.

is your ceiling low? Do you worry about the breeze causing the lamp to sway? Maybe I'm just too anxious to raise hatchlings and I should start with pullets and half grown ducks. They are so small and helpless and sometimes so hard to find if they are rare.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I brood in a shed, the ceiling is about 6-7 feet up. I do have a window that may or may not be opened. If it's warm the door is open. I haven't seen my light sway. My chicks go outside during the day usually in the first week, so I'm running the heat lamp mostly during the night.

Once you get a system worked out it's pretty easy. If you are uncomfortable with doing it than older birds are better.