Red light bulb

[humblehillsfarm]

All of the incandescent type lightbulbs with filaments inside will give off heat. Generally speaking the higher the wattage of the bulb the hotter it will get (as a quick guideline).

Incandescent type bulbs with infrared or tinted glass "filter" the light but still offer heat. This is much kinder on the eyes of your babies, and as mentioned in previous posts, is generally accepted to be better for their wellbeing (imagine if you had a bright light on 24/7!).
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There are now also ceramic heating elements in a variety of different formats. These provide heat but NO light whatsoever. There are the heating plate arrangements (like described in the previous post) but also ceramic "lamps" which can be used in a lightbulb socket. Arcadia make nice compact black and white ones that can easily be used in your lamp fittings.
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I use a combination of both the Incandescent Infrareds and the Ceramic Heat Lamps - depending on which brooder and purpose I need it for.

For chicks I usually use the Infrared Incandescent and the brooder also gets natural light.
For a hospital cage I usually use the Ceramic Lamp where I want the bird in a darker but warm environment.

With both these bulb options I use the lamp protector cage to protect the chicks. I simply ziptie the lamp cage and lamp socket to the brooder - that way it can be removed easily if needed (to wash the cage or reposition the lamp).

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I just learned something new! I was not aware of the ceramic bulbs.

 

[mamajos]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/brooding-with-mama-heating-pad.67728/

I made one of these thanks to Blooie and her excellent article. Easy to make, chicks loved it. They went under it and laid on top of it.
(Edited to add photo)

 

[jreardon1918]

We used the Momma Heating Pad (MHP) as an alternative to heat lamps the last time around. It worked out great. I highly recommend some sort of heat plate/pad over a lamp. Seemed much easier. No dealing with high temps. We did the brooder in the run which we also loved. Versus brooding in the house. Here is an article I did this past summer. Brooder in covered run - Updated 7/11 Six weeks

 

[The Kooky Kiwi]

Here is a picture of my brooder setup. I have one of those longer style cages and I "ziptie" my bulb socket and protective cage at one end. This allows my chicks the ability to sit under the lamp where it is warmer or move further away to the non heated end.

I start with food and water close for young chicks and by the time they are a week old I have moved the food and water to the far end to encourage them to use all their cage.

You want your brooder to be draught free (I wrap a towel around mine at night for the babies) and preferably to also get natural light so your babies learn the natural day/night cycles.

 

[Jan Croot]

Be careful with Brooder plates; The fine print says they are not sufficient under ambient temperature under 50 degrees, so they are not enough to use solo in your coop in winter (or Wyoming in summer)

I tested a rent-a-coop version: 10 degree difference from one end to the other. Raised air temp under the plate by only 10 to 15degress. NOT enough to get to the 95 degrees need in the first week.

I found that seed germination mats, on the underside of a home made "table" raised the temperature just as much. This is also a nice spot for chicks to get away from older birds.

I do use mine in later weeks, with seed germination mate UNDER the bedding and the brooder plate above. But not in first weeks.

For those with cold winters, you can put an extra waterer on top of the brooder plate. It will not freeze and you can switch it for the frozen one in the morning. Faster then fighting to remove ice.

 

[The Kooky Kiwi]

I just learned something new! I was not aware of the ceramic bulbs.

Yeah I really love mine for the hospital cage and the brooder that gets lots of natural light - where you either don't want or don't need an additional light source.

You'll find them most often advertised for use in lizard terrariums as "basking lamps".

When rescuing or rehabilitating wildlife the non-light source heat is essential. Lightbulbs of any kind stress them out.

 

[Picklethequail]

This is the heating plate that I might get tell me if its good for a brooder
https://www.amazon.com/Brinsea-EcoG...ucklings&qid=1609873758&s=pet-supplies&sr=1-1

 

[rosemarythyme]

Be careful with Brooder plates; The fine print says they are not sufficient under ambient temperature under 50 degrees, so they are not enough to use solo in your coop in winter (or Wyoming in summer)

I tested a rent-a-coop version: 10 degree difference from one end to the other. Raised air temp under the plate by only 10 to 15degress. NOT enough to get to the 95 degrees need in the first week.

I found that seed germination mats, on the underside of a home made "table" raised the temperature just as much. This is also a nice spot for chicks to get away from older birds.

Some are designed for use down to 50F, some can go down lower, so gotta read the fine print.

Your germination mat set up really isn't different from a heating pad set up, or even a heat plate actually. You weren't happy with the plate because you were measuring air temperature, but heat plates do NOT work by raising air temperature. They require direct contact for use. That means the rest of the brooder can be nice and cool and the chicks will acclimate to cooler temperatures much faster.

Also IMO the recommended 95F is too hot even for first week - I'd start at 90 and then drop from there, unless a chick is really struggling for some reason and needs the extra heat.

 

[The Kooky Kiwi]

This is the heating plate that I might get tell me if its good for a brooder
https://www.amazon.com/Brinsea-EcoG...ucklings&qid=1609873758&s=pet-supplies&sr=1-1

Brinsea is a quality brand and they make well produced, fit for purpose, equipment for chickens any many other animal uses. So the answer is yes - that brooder plate would be a good choice!

 

[Picklethequail]

This is the heating plate that I might get tell me if its good for a brooder
https://www.amazon.com/Brinsea-EcoG...ucklings&qid=1609873758&s=pet-supplies&sr=1-1

Brinsea is a quality brand and they make well produced, fit for purpose, equipment for chickens any many other animal uses. So the answer is yes - that brooder plate would be a good choice!

Ok thank you for your feedback then I will buy some of these. I had another question too can I mix breeds of chickens in the brooder? Because I am going to get 3 speckled sussex 2 cochins 1 male cochin 3 wyandottes and 1 blue bantam silkie.