WARNING- westinghouse red brooder bulbs sold at Tractor Supply have a non-stick coating (Teflon?) ac

[bdfive]

HJ731, forgot to say how sorry I am for you and especially your wife witnessing such a horrific tragedy. Those poor little innocent chicks. I would have been a basket case.

I'm going to check all my bulbs made for brooders and my cookware. If they have teflon coated items I intend to call the manufacturers, demand a refund or safe replacement and scorn them for selling the products in the first place. I try hard to not purchase items made in China but it's becoming difficult. There are some things including food I've learned to live without because no longer made or grown in USA.

 

[ShaVirginia]

My brand was also, Havells. It says for home, pig, poultry. No coating, no smells. Only brand sold at local feed store. How was ventilation, other factors?
Regards
ShaVirginia

 

[bdfive]

In my case with the White Bobwhite Quail that died they had excellent ventilation but they would stand right under it so it could have affected them. The bulb was a 250 watt red Plilips (yes, only has one L in the name) Heat-Ray Infrared. Eventually changed it to a red 100 watt Phillips, both made in Korea. I have them here at the computer and hope I can find out some how if they are the bad ones.

Regarding heat lamp bulbs starting fires, I always tie them well so the don't fall. I do have a friend that only a month ago had one fall on hay in her turtle habitat and the turtles died in the fire. She is so distraught none of her friends have seen her. She feels so bad. Her turtles were 2 huge Tortoise's with babies. I tie mine very well but will now be taking added precautions.

 

[bevis]

Sorry for your loss

When I saw the title of this thread, my first thought was Teflon coating on the bulb but you've already figured that out. I agree its very irresponsible to sell them for use in brooders with no warning lables or directions for how long you should run the bulb to let the fumes burn off. I use incandescent bulbs, but they're getting harder and harder to find. My next investment will be a Brisnea Ecoglow chick brooder. They're so much more natural and give alot more peace of mind regarding fires and such. Poor babies.
Nikki

And thats exactly why i bought this and installed it yesterday. Zero fire hazard and heats the chicks, not the air.
Cheap insurance for $90 in my opinion. The chicks LOVE it !!! And no light on them 24/7. The 11" x 16" Sweeter Heater and 3 year warranty.
If its good enough to be used by the San Diego Zoo and Sea World, its probably good enough for my chicks.

 

[KelseyBoxer]

I am now very interested in this heater. I like the way it hangs and its able to be adjusted for even full grown birds. It also has a larger footprint than the ecoglow. I need two heat sorces anyway. I feel the need to hatch some fancy BYC eggs.

 

[bevis]

I am now very interested in this heater. I like the way it hangs and its able to be adjusted for even full grown birds. It also has a larger footprint than the ecoglow. I need two heat sorces anyway. I feel the need to hatch some fancy BYC eggs.

After reading the stories about the ecoglow falling on chicks and killing them, the heating lens falling out, the general crappy
construction of the ecoglow, we went with the sweeter heater. I stumbled across them by accident while looking at the ecoglow.
Boy am i glad i did.
And when you call them, there is actually a person to talk to and they speak english

 

[KelseyBoxer]

The body and legs are made of plastic. Ive never had it fall over, but the tabs on the legs (height adjustment) are brittle and have broken. And I think a chick was caught under the leg the first time I used it and the poor thing died a day later. I am very careful when cleaning now and always do a head count before I leave. Thanks for posting info on this USA product!

 

[Watash]

This has got to be one of the more irresponsible posts on this forum. (I sure hope it is!) You have no reason in the world to blame your heat lamp bulb for the death of your chickens. And shame on all you other folks who jumped on this runaway bandwagon and start panicking about your bulbs. The little chickens died. Was the bulb too close, did these people cook their chickens? Were the chickens genetically challenged? Were there other fumes in the room? Were the chicks diseased? Were etc etc etc? There are all kinds of possible reasons for the death of these chicks. We don't know what killed them, and we never will. But there was no stated reason to blame the bulb's coating over anything else. Shame on the people who made the original post, and shame on all of you who decided to follow them. This is the Internet, people. Anyone can post anything. Use a little common sense, and don't be sheep. This is a chicken forum.

 

[BlackBriars]

This has got to be one of the more irresponsible posts on this forum. (I sure hope it is!) You have no reason in the world to blame your heat lamp bulb for the death of your chickens. And shame on all you other folks who jumped on this runaway bandwagon and start panicking about your bulbs. The little chickens died. Was the bulb too close, did these people cook their chickens? Were the chickens genetically challenged? Were there other fumes in the room? Were the chicks diseased? Were etc etc etc? There are all kinds of possible reasons for the death of these chicks. We don't know what killed them, and we never will. But there was no stated reason to blame the bulb's coating over anything else. Shame on the people who made the original post, and shame on all of you who decided to follow them. This is the Internet, people. Anyone can post anything. Use a little common sense, and don't be sheep. This is a chicken forum.

No shame at all.

It's obvious the OP was made in good faith. Everything the OP described has been well documented since at least 2003.

http://www.ewg.org/research/pfcs-global-contaminants/teflon-and-other-non-stick-pans-kill-birds

stick pans kill birds
April 2003

Bird enthusiasts and veterinarians have known for decades that Teflon-coated and other non-stick cookware, if heated to high temperatures, is acutely toxic to birds. The peer-reviewed literature contains numerous reports of bird deaths linked to the use of Teflon and other non-stick pans and appliances in the home, beginning about 30 years ago. The birds die abruptly, usually shortly after new non-stick pans are heated for the first time. The ubiquity of the deaths has spurred mention of the problem on at least 100 websites devoted to the care of pet birds.
In 1975, in one of the early peer-reviewed articles on bird deaths, the authors describe the deaths of five pet birds following the owner heating a non-stick (PTFE-coated) pan:

“Five cocatiels (Nymphicus hollandicus) died within 30 minutes following exposure to fumes from a frying pan coated with the "non-stick" plastic polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) that had accidentally overheated. Within an hour the owner developed symptoms of "polymer fume fever" but recovered in the next 24 hours. Clinical signs and post mortem lesions of the cockatiels are described and reference is made to the unusual susceptibility of parakeets to the pyrolysis products of frying pans coated with PTFE.” [1]​

Bird deaths related to nonstick coatings are not restricted to exotic species in the home. A recent article recounts that hours after moving 2400 broiler chicks to a research warehouse at University of Columbia-Missouri, veterinarians noticed that substantial numbers of chicks were dying. Four percent of the chicks died in the first four hours, and within 72 hours more than half of the chicks were dead. After investigating the possibility of many common gas toxicants, scientists traced the deaths to lightbulbs coated with the Teflon chemical PTFE: “Further investigation revealed that the only change in management practice in this facility prior to the onset of the severe mortality problem was the replacement of 48 heat lamp bulbs (one for each pen). The new heat lamp bulbs were polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) coated. PTFE gas intoxication has been reported in several exotic avian species, but this intoxication has not been previously reported in a poultry flock.” [2].
Scientists have not identified the particular offgas compound from Teflon and other nonstick pans and other kitchen equipment that is responsible for the bird deaths, but among the many chemicals that have been measured in the air when nonstick pans are heated are PFOA and other gases that scientists consider highly toxic [3].

References:

1. Blandford TB, Seamon PJ, Hughes R, Pattison M, Wilderspin MP. 1975. A case of polytetrafluoroethylene poisoning in cockatiels accompanied by polymer fume fever in the owner. Vet Rec 1975 Feb 22;96(8):175-8.
2. Boucher M, Ehmler TJ, Bermudez AJ. 2000. Polytetrafluoroethylene gas intoxication in broiler chickens. Avian Dis 2000 Apr-Jun;44(2):449-53.
3. Ellis DA, Mabury SA, Martin JW, Muir DC. 2001. Thermolysis of fluoropolymers as a potential source of halogenated organic acids in the environment. Nature 2001 Jul 19;412(6844):321-4.