*edit* - With temps in the 90s we reached an agreement that a lower wattage bulb at night is ok! Yay! Our coop and run are almost complete and we have WAY overspent on this whole chicken business. So last night we are at tractor supply getting chick supplies and my fiance FREAKS out over the heat lamp. He flat out said NO heat lamps. I will burn the house down. So, I need to find an economical alternative or NO CHICKS!!! OMG! That means I will loose my deposit on the 12 chicks I ordered that are supposed to be here June 14th. I know about the ecoglow but unless I can find a used one for like half price I need a cheaper alternative. Anyone have any ideas? I could really use some help here! Thanks!
Goto lowes or home depot... get a $7.00 (clip on) drop lamp with the siver dome on it and use a standard 100 watt bulb! Works fine! and no big heat lamp!
Well, you can knock some sense into him by telling him thousands of people use them every day .... Or, you can make him buy you an EcoGlow I say play up his fear and go for the EcoGlow... http://www.brinsea.com/cat-Brooders___Brooder_Supplies-30.aspx Tell him you won't cost you anything more because the wattage used is so low.
Has your fiance also banned light bulbs from your house? How about using the stove or iron? All you need to a 60 watt light bulb if they are not outside in 30 degree temps.
I agree if they are inside the 100 watt will work too . As long as the bulb holder has a ceramic ring where the bulb goes it will be fine. I was nervous too but i raised mine in the dining room and never had an issue. Also keep the bulb away from the water - if the water splashes the bulb it might crack it and possibly start a fire. But thousands upon thousands use the bubls for all sorts of reasons with no fires!
I use a ceramic heating 'bulb', run in a heat lamp with a ceramic base. I hope it's okay to link these, as it's where I got them: http://www.amazon.com/FLUK-REPTA-CL...6?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1305132974&sr=8-6 http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Repti...1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1305133028&sr=8-1 I like the EcoGlow but I felt that for the money invested, I will get more use out of the above combo, because I can also use it in the coop if we have bitter cold, or even for my parrots. It could even be used if I ever have a sick bird, to keep them warm (unlike the EcoGlow). There are fire risks to most heating methods, and if the ceramic heater fell into the wood shavings I have no doubt that it could catch them on fire. But it's less likely to break (like a normal bulb) and drop a hot filament into the wood flakes. As long as I can prevent the ceramic from falling into the brooder I feel it is as safe as I can be. Whatever you decide on, my best wishes! You can make something work!
I have already tried talking sense into him. His response is still NO HEAT LAMPS. He says that leaving ANY light on 24 hours for weeks on end WILL start a fire, PERIOD. I tried showing him pics, I even showed him this forum. He still says no. It does not matter what type of bulbs the answer is no... He also says the ecglow is too expensive. I dont know what to do!
There are also ceramic heaters in the reptile section of the pet store you might look at. Heat lamps can be very safe if they are mounted correctly. They do use alot of electricity though.
I have one on right now-24 hours a day-7 days a week. I do, however, have tile floors so that if the clamp were to fail and the lamp fell-the bulb would break and it's not going to catch any carpet, curtains or anything else on fire. Oh, and I'm married to an electrician-believe me, if it were dangerous, we wouldn't have it in our house. Just use common sense about it and it will be fine.
I have to ask..how did you guys get this far, ordered chicks, built a coop, built a run and at no time did he think or know heat was going to be needed? Are you sure he wants these chickens? I would say fine, no chickens. Lose the money put into the coop and the chicks..if $60 on an ecogrow is going to break the bank..so be it....or..choose the chickens and lose the fiance
