Red heat lamp

[Agilityscots]

Hi everyone,

My chickies are set to arrive either tomorrow or Wednesday, and I have a heat lamp with a regular white bulb for their brooder. Is it okay to use a white bulb? I thought I read somewhere that red bulbs are better but can't remember where. I show and breed Scottish terriers and would love to use the heat lamp I use in the whelping box for puppies so I don't have to buy another one. What do you all use?

Amy

 

[brooster]

I start with a 250 red bulb then go down to a white 125 bulb and i dont see any difference except price

 

[Agilityscots]

Hello from a fellow Buckeye, Brooster! I'm just west of Columbus.

How long do you use the red bulb for?

Amy

 

[cookinmom]

I used a red bulb with mine, til they were about 8 weeks old. Just kept moving it higher to make it cooler for them. I tried a low wattage white bulb, but in my small (6' x 6') coop, it was like broad daylight in there all night, and they didn't want to go to sleep. I found that the red light was better for not disrupting their day/night cycle, or whatever you call it. I've heard it's supposed to keep them from picking each other too.

 

[brooster]

i use it until the red het bulb cant be raised any higher so i pu tin the white bulb which shouldnt need to go too high

 

[JudyMcKinn]

Don't know how cold or warm it is where you are, but I got by all thru a MO winter with a brooder in the garage (unheated garage) with a 100 watt normal bulb, and hatched chicks all winter. Had the bulb at one end of the brooder, and had a thermometer below it, to make sure there was enough heat, then the chicks could spread out toward the other end of the brooder, if they got too warm. Sure cheaper than the big bulbs, if you don't need all that heat. I hung the 100 watt bulb only 15 inches or so high. Course I only had about 30 chicks, so don't know how large an area you are heating. Good Luck.

 

[AccidentalFarm]

I've only used white bulbs- varying wattage. I've not had any picking or sleeping problems with my chicks.

 

[panner123]

I don't like heat lamps, fire danger. Any 60 watt bulb will do this time of year. Save your money for feed. AND TREATS.

 

[pattycake]

When I first got my chicks, I put a red heat lamp at one end and and a regular 60 watt white bulb at the other ( I wanted an extra light in case one burned out). Though the heat lamp was at 95 degrees as it was supposed to be, the chicks all huddled under the cooler but brighter lamp! They just didn't seem to like the red light.

It worried me because they were obviously feeling cold -- they were huddling -- so I moved the two lamps next to each other. That solved the problem: no more huddling, and now there's a warm end of the brooder and a cool end.