Question on lighting for chicks

[ursus]

OK, so the light itself is for heat, but as my chicks grow when should I start turning off the light at night?

Should this be governed by temp alone? I.E. only turning off light at night when night-time indoor temp becomes OK by the 5 degree per week rule.

I heard they tend to peck when the lights are on 24 hours, I haven't noticed this being a problem, but I'm probably going to obsess about it anyway so I figured I'd just ask!

Thanks to all.

 

[airmom1c05]

I can't answer your question, but I'm curious as to what Watt/style light you are using. I bought a 125 Watt flood light looking bulb today at the hardware store with a reflector with a clamp good up to 150 Watts. They were out of the infrared bulbs, so I got the clear. I also got a small digital thermometer to attach to the inside of my Sterlite plastic "brooder" box. Now all I have left to do is cut out a portion of the lid and attach the hardware cloth and get some chicks!

 

[ursus]

Hey, seems like the 100 watt bulb is the conventional recommendation, and it certainly worked for me. In a large tub with solid sides the light kept an even 90 degrees. Now they are a little larger, and in the larger pen I raised the light to get down a little under 80 degrees.

My only thoughts about a larger wattage light, like the 150 you have is to make sure that the heat doesn't create a fire hazard! Make sure there is plenty of room around it so pine shavings do not catch fire, and the chicks can get away from the light if too warm. Otherwise that should work just fine.

Good luck to you!

 

[Moonwalker]

one thing that makes a great lid for the Sterlite (or similar) containers is an old wire refridgerator shelf. I drill a few holes along one side of the box and use zip ties to make the hinge. Stands up much better than hardware cloth to my cats jumping on top and much easier to attach! The stop bar makes a nice handle and doubles as an anchor point for the clamp light

 

[airmom1c05]

Thanks! I bought the 125 Watt bulb, but my fixture is safe up to 150 Watts. The feed store uses a regular 60 Watt bulb, but they have unseen heaters in their brooder pens. I should have made a list before I shopped. Seems like I read that ceramic bulb sockets were best, too. They had those sold seperately at the hardware store, but none of the ones they had could be used with a reflector so I bought what the salesperson thought would work best for me. I hope my light will provide enough heat when it is hanging above the hardware cloth. My plastic container is quite deep, so if the temp is good enough at a higher height, I won't have the worry of shavings or paper towels igniting!

 

[Moonwalker]

Oh, and if you use larger sized containers, the modular wire shelving you can get at Lowe's, Home Depot etc is great. If your containr is wider that one shelf, simply overlap two of them and secure with zip ties (Zip Ties, the new Duct Tape!)

 

[airmom1c05]

Moonwalker, what wattage are you using? From the picture it looks like you have a white light, too. We have an old refrigerator, and I wasn't quite sure how I was going to attach the hardware cloth, so I really appreciate your suggestion. My clamp looks like it will have to be attached to something and hang down (if that made any sense). I think if I clamped to the stop bar, my light would be shining towards the ceiling! LOL!

 

[Moonwalker]

It's amazing how much heat those containers can hold in, so make sure you have a thermometer to make sure they don't get too hot. Once they get their body temps up, the little guys produce a lot of heat of their own. A 125 watt can be too hot sometimes. If it is, just pick up a cheap, plug in light dimmer switch and plug the heat lamp into it and turn it up or down as needed to keep the temp right.

 

[airmom1c05]

All excellent advice! Now all I need are some zip ties and a dimmer with prongs! I'm betting I can pick those up at WalMart.

(Might be cheaper just to get a lower wattage bulb.)???

 

[Moonwalker]

I do have a regular 100watt bulb (household, SoftWhite) that keeps the brooder at 100 nicely. The thing on the side in the pic is just the flash reflecting off a food bowl in the box next to the brooder. (the room is my "critter" room. I keep all my caged pets there and my igs, who free roam)

You can just set the clamp light on the top if you don't have things like cats that might knock it off!The clamp on the reflector can be loosened a bit and turned in different directions. Then you just tighten it back up again. Don't loosen it too much or it will fall off and it's tricky trying to hold the pieces together and tighten at the same time!

This is a very small brooder so the regular 100watt is fine. If yours is one of the big, deep ones, then the 125 will probably be fine, just use a thermometer to make sure.