What kind of bulb/wattage will I need for brooding?

[wordgirl]

We've done a lot of research and I understand we need to get that temp up to 95 degrees in there at first. I've seen everything from 100 watt regular bulbs up to 250Watt heat lamps recommended. Obviously there are a lot of different brooder set ups out there.

Here is what we are doing. We have a wooden cabinet box (my Dad built it for another purpose, but it is perfect for this) - about 40 inches by 44 inches. It's about 18 inches deep and has cool screen doors that open up the top. So the lamp will be over the screen - and the box has a lot of ventilation.

We are brooding in our dining room (a large open room) which has a nighttime temp of maybe 55-60 degrees this time of year and a daytime temp of up to 70 (if we are lucky!).

What lighting set up would you recommend?

 

[CoopCrazy]

I started with red 250 then at about three weeks I changed to red 100 watt Hope that helps

 

[briteday]

I have my brooders in a room that is always 75 degrees since it has a little heater with a thermostat. I start my brooders out at 90-95 degrees like everyone else. And my brooder boxes are on the floor, large cardboard boxes that are about 30 inches deep.

The only way you can figure out the temperature thing is to set up the brooder and turn the lamp on for 24 hours and see what you get.

I started out with a 250 watt red lamp from the feed store. I found that I had to hang it about 4 feet above the box to get anything less than "roasting" temperature. So we ended up getting a 75 watt red reptile bulb at the pet store and that worked fine right around the top of the brooder, then I tilted it up a bit every week to get the desired results, more about the birds reaction than the reading on the thermometer.

This brood I've been using a regular 100 watt household bulb, not a CFL. It has worked equally well except for the white light on 24/7 so I wouldn't want to be sleeping nearby. I also think the red light works better because the chicks seem to be calmer at night vs. the white light.

But you really need to set things up and figure out if what you have will work the way you want it to before your chicks arrive.

 

[NJbirdlover]

75w red bulb for us also - we are going to use a plastic tote for our chicks at first.