I have just bought myself my first incubator.And I would like to start preparing for when my first chicks hatch,but I have no idea what brooder bulb I should use.
The red ones are great! The size would depend on how large your brooder is I would think. Mine was a 250 W (make sure the housing is appropriate for the wattage), but some use less. I got everything at Tractor Supply company for a decent price.
RSAChickenDude, most people use a red, 250-watt heat bulb. A good source for the bulb plus a metal lamp with a clamp to hold it is Tractor Supply. You will need to improvise some way to raise and lower it above the chicks so that you can start with 95 degrees the first week and lower the temperature 5 degrees each week. Here's a set that's on Amazon; however, it's more expensive than TSC's. http://www.amazon.com/Watt-Weatherproof-Shape-Diameter-Medium/dp/B0002AB10G
Will you be brooding these chicks inside or outside? I keep mine in the house for the first week in the frigid months. Mine are in clear rubbermaid type boxes with hardware cloth sections in the lid in my mud room. I use utility clamps and clamp down a metal shield type work light with a 100 watt bulb directly on the wire (it keeps kids & cats from knocking the light off). With them inside at 65 degrees or so and no major drafts, the 100 watt bulb is plenty warm, even for the tiny seramas I hatched a few weeks ago (THEY are still in the house~LOL). With temps down into the low teens this week, my 1-4 week old chicks in brooders in the barn all have 250 watt red heat lamp bulbs, directly on the screen fronts of their brooder boxes. They sleep literal inches from it when it's temps like this. During the day, they are hanging out closer to the back of the box, playing & eating.
