Plastic Bin Brooder, and preventing fire with heat lamp?

[Orpington71]

Did you know McDonald's uses heat lamps just like the one you have over your tote to keep hamburgers hot enough to serve? 250 watts can "cook" meat. Hanging low over a confined space such as a tote creates an "oven" effect.

Chicks need a heat source to replace lost body heat, but then they need a space far enough away from the heat in order to get rid of excess body heat. At this age they regulate their temperatures as snakes and lizards do, by moving out of warm spots to cooler spots. Just as a lizard will "cook" if it remains in the hot sun, so will a baby chick if it can't get out of the hot zone.

Totes really don't make good brooders. If you go to a store that sells refrigerators and stoves, you can get a huge cardboard box that is free and sturdy. Bring it home and cut windows in it. Cover the windows with clear plastic and you have a chick condo. Cut a door in the side, leaving a hinge at one side, and you have an easy side access to play with your chicks and to clean the brooder.

And instead of 250 watts, try a 100 or 150 watt incandescent bulb.

Better still, ditch the light and use a heating pad rigged into a cave and let your chicks sleep in soothing dark at night. They'll be much happier and healthier.

I have some pictures of what my old brooders looked like in this article. You can see how I rigged a cardboard box to sit on a table, making it comfortable and easy to access your chicks without scaring them by grabbing them from above. http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/r...rooder-and-start-raising-your-chicks-outdoors

Where do you suggest getting the in candesents from? Thanks!

 

[aart]

Where do you suggest getting the in candesents from?

Pet store.... red incandescent reptile bulb.
Hard to find incandescent in household supplies.....not sure the newer ones will generate much eat.

 

[Orpington71]

Pet store.... red incandescent reptile bulb.
Hard to find incandescent in household supplies.....not sure the newer ones will generate much eat.

Okay, thank you so much!

 

[lazy gardener]

My coop is half way done, (it will surely be done by the time they’re ready) and if need be, I can move them to a larger enclosure. I moved the lamp and it’s around 95 under it now, and the cool side (behind the feeder) is around 88. The pic was taken before I adjusted it, so it was over 100 when taken. The lamp is on a chair now, no where near the plastic. I’ve been suggested the incandescent a lot, so will most likely take the red bulb back. Where did you get the incandescent from? Thank you!

Your temp gradient between warm and cool side is only 7 degrees. IMO, this is a recipe for disaster. If you see chicks resting with wings propped out to the side, or panting, you have chicks who are over heated. Over heated chicks are chicks in trouble. The cool side should be as cool as the temp in your living room.

 

[Orpington71]

Your temp gradient between warm and cool side is only 7 degrees. IMO, this is a recipe for disaster. If you see chicks resting with wings propped out to the side, or panting, you have chicks who are over heated. Over heated chicks are chicks in trouble. The cool side should be as cool as the temp in your living room.

Ok, I will certainly work on this, haven’t been seeing them pant too much, but I certainly will try and direct the light even more to the warm side. Any other ways I could keep the cool side cooler? Maybe a fan of some sort?

 

[lazy gardener]

Any time they are panting, you have a pending crisis. Chicks should NOT BE PANTING. We have told you what you need to do. Cut the wattage. Make the brooder bigger. It is too small.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

This is my heat bulb choice. You have to shop these very carefully, one kind ONLY is labeled for birds.

https://www.chewy.com/zoo-med-night...Cdmb04IxlFa4Yftqnx4aAnHHEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[Orpington71]

This is my heat bulb choice. You have to shop these very carefully, one kind ONLY is labeled for birds.

https://www.chewy.com/zoo-med-nightlight-red-reptile-lamp/dp/126589?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=f&utm_content=Zoo Med&utm_term=&gclid=Cj0KCQiAwp_UBRD7ARIsAMie3XYAazIYEuIy7KaQGz1qVB0xPLhXqYe27WcwCdmb04IxlFa4Yftqnx4aAnHHEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thank you, I’ll get it when possible!

 

[Ruralhideaway]

Also when I have used a bigger wattage traditional chick light, i hang it from a 14 inch shelf bracket about 4+ feet above the brooder floor. This allows enough adjustment to keep things cooler.

 

[Orpington71]

Also when I have used a bigger wattage traditional chick light, i hang it from a 14 inch shelf bracket about 4+ feet above the brooder floor. This allows enough adjustment to keep things cooler.

Okay, I am currently using a chair from my kitchen table which, in which the thermometer is showing 95-98 degrees, with the cool side being 85-88. I’m trying to get the bulb to direct more on the warm side, but it does create a large output, and the clip is not very flexible. I’m not able to get an incandescent today, but the chicks had been seeming to be doing fine and were sleeping under the lamp. Thank you for the response!