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

[DuluthHomestead]

This thread had me worried, because I've heard of this issue before, and when I plugged in the bulb I bought from my local feed store it gave off a strong chemical smell. I looked it up online, and it looks like it's the same brand of bulbs that McMurray Hatcheries sell that they say are safe. (Havells 250 watt splatterproof red lamp; the package says it can be used for "pig and poultry brooding.")

But the fact that the bulb smells bad when it's plugged in still worries me. It seems to be slowly fading, but I'm wondering how long I should leave it plugged in to burn off whatever coating/etc that's causing the smell or if there's something else I should do. Could it be dangerous (to chicks or anything else)? We're still setting the brooder up for chicks arriving at the end of the month, so we've got some time to fix whatever needs fixin'.

 

[danideer]

So does anyone have any recommendations on any SAFE bulbs? I have ducklings coming within the next three days and as of right now I don't have a bulb to use in the brooder lamp!

 

[CedarAcres]

I bought some bulbs for our brooder at tractor supply.. Is that the only brand of light that they carry? I threw away the boxes already.

 

[featherz]

Before I got my ecoglows (love love love) I used the red bulbs from TSC without any problems as well as regular old 100W light bulbs. I usually prewarmed the brooder for a while and used the same bulb for multiple hatches, so maybe the chemicals had burned off /shrug.

 

[Eggcessive]

In the newest edition of Chickens magazine there is a letter to the editor concerning this issue. It states that the problem bulbs are a GE Rough Service Light Bulb 100, and Sylvania bulb (they have a red sticker saying " Warning: This product contains PTFE. When heated it creates fumes potentially fatal to confined birds." I am currenty using TSC Sylvania bulbs that have no warning stickers, so I believe they are safe. My Tractor Supply was out of red 250 bulbs last year for the whole chicken brooding season in spring, so I'll bet that was why. They told me that they could not get them from their supplier.

 

[debid]

Hard glass bulbs aren't coated. Like these:
http://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplie...01&langId=-1&division=FarmTek&productId=99792

They are more durable, too. Not sure why they are so hard to find. I have red hard glass bulbs but I couldn't give you a local source (closest is apparently Canada!)

 

[CedarAcres]

I just found the box for our bulbs from tractor supply and they were the brand "Jobsmart" and said on the front for use with animals, so I'm assuming that brand is safe. And then the fact that my chicks are 4 weeks old and have been fine.

 

[debid]

It also helps if your brooder has good ventilation. Ammonia from droppings and the aroma of pine or cedar oils can all be problems in a closed-in space. Sometimes folks are entirely too concerned with heat and not concerned enough with fresh air.

 

[sphillips]

I bought red bulbs from TSC for my first batch of chicks, and they were fine. BUT I have a new batch of chicks shipping tomorrow, and now I'm concerned about using these bulbs with my new chicks. I'm not sure what brand they are, but I'm thinking they're the same brand that the store uses for their chicks. I live in a small town, and I'm not sure I could get red bulbs anywhere else. I'm thinking these should be okay, as my last chicks did fine, but I'm concerned now. I will have to check the brand and maybe call them.

 

[sphillips]

The brand of bulbs I have are Producers Pride, doesn't say Teflon coated on the box, but does say explosion proof/freeze proof. Like I said, I've used them before without a problem, but should I buy some different ones?