Red light bulb

[Picklethequail]

Hello there I am Going to get some baby chicks and I am doing a lot of research but one question that I have that google won't answer is, what is the red light bulb used for for the brooder? I know alot about chickens but the question I have always had is what is the red light bulb used for. I know this is a stupid question so thank you for listening to whomever read this. ☺

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Red light bulb is a heat lamp. It is for heat. You want red because chicks need darkness to sleep too and the bright white light would keep them awake. Chicks need to be kept in a warm place until they are fully feathered. The temperature at the bottom of the brooding area should be 95-98 degrees for the first week and then reduced 5 degrees each week until chicks are a month old. Use a brooder lamp (heat lamp with red bulb) clipped on one side of the brooding area so the chicks can choose whether to be under the light or not. You want to have an area without heat that they can escape to. If chicks are crowded together directly under the heat source, then they are cold. If they are around the edges of the brooding area, then they are too hot. Adjust the height of the lamp accordingly and give them enough room to move in and out of the light to regulate their body temperatures.

I personally recommend a mother hen brooding plate. It is a radiate heat plate which mimics a mother hen's heat. They are a much lower fire risk and much easier to use than finding something to clip the heat lamp to.

You can buy them anywhere, but here is a link to one at Tractor Supply: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...MImYOvsquF7gIVBkqGCh2ZzQAnEAQYASABEgLrN_D_BwE

 

[Picklethequail]

Thank you but then what about the other bulb that is a heat lamp too right?

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Thank you but then what about the other bulb that is a heat lamp too right?

What other bulb? The white bulb? I stated previously the white bulb is too much light. You wouldn’t want to live in a fully lit room for 24 hours a day would you?

I would strongly consider the brooder plate that I mentioned. Far easier and safer

 

[mcdze]

any filament bulb emits heat ... regular or red .. if you have a large tub for a brooder i'd use the red heat lamp, theyre about 250watts .. otherwise if your like me and use a small carboard box a regular filament 60w bulb is better (and cheaper to run) .. in either case be sure to use a shield and secure it well so thers reduces fire hazzard .. the dedicate heating pads are super slick .. more to clean though lol ...

 

[humblehillsfarm]

any filament bulb emits heat ... regular or red .. if you have a large tub for a brooder i'd use the red heat lamp, theyre about 250watts .. otherwise if your like me and use a small carboard box a regular filament 60w bulb is better (and cheaper to run) .. in either case be sure to use a shield and secure it well so thers reduces fire hazzard .. the dedicate heating pads are super slick .. more to clean though lol ...

The chicks hide under the heat pad, not on top. You can purchase them with sloped covers to keep them from standing on it when they get older. The one I use, and the one I linked to doesn’t have a sloped cover but I’ve still preferred it to a lamp. I’ve used a lamp twice and a mother hen radiate heat plate twice. I’ll never use the lamp again if I don’t have to.

 

[Picklethequail]

oh ok thank you I will definitely buy the mother hen radiate heat plate then. Thank you

 

[humblehillsfarm]

oh ok thank you I will definitely buy the mother hen radiate heat plate then. Thank you

Good luck! You will always get different opinions when you ask for help, but most of the time they are all still good opinions. You'll learn what you personally like and don't like as you gain experience. You've found a good community!

 

[black_cat]

I'd always steer towards a heat plate. It lets chicks get away from the heat (mother hen doesn't keep them warm every second of the day!) It keeps them on a natural day/night cycle, and there's a much lower risk of fire.

 

[The Kooky Kiwi]

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!).


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.


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).