What kind of lamp do I use to warm my chicks?

[zeldaslullaby]

They seem to be doing okay with the regular lamp; they're walking around and stuff. But I'm definitely going to get a heat lamp tomorrow.

 

[sanchabird]

Ok , that's good, what temp are you keeping your room at?

 

[KYBOY]

I use the red 250watt bulbs but I have dimmer switches rigged on my brooders so I can turn the heat up or down.

 

[aart]

You can use a normal white light bulb...I used a 100 watt bulb in a metal clamp light shade with a dimmer extension cord to regulate the heat level.

Even a regular bulb can be a fire hazard tho so be careful.. I set my metal lamp shade right on the wire mesh cover on my brooder.

 

[newchickmom]

I use a 125 watt red heat bulb. I set it on top of the screen I have over the brooder box. Right now I am using a cardboard box that is 2 feet wide by 4 feet long and about 2 feet tall for the 10 chicks I just got. I have a thick layer of newspaper on the bottom with wood shavings over it. I have the heat light at one end of the box so they go to the other end if they get too warm. I set the waterer on top of an inverted egg carton to help keep the shavings out. I did the same thing with the feeder. As the chicks get bigger, I will have to raise them higher. The red heat bulbs are a lot cheaper than reptile lights and the red color alows the chicks to sleep at night.

 

[fusgeyer]

The absolute best way to keep your chicks warm is with a brooder heat like the EcoGlow 20 from Brinsea. It provides safe heat and it is adjustable. You should keep chicks at about 90 degrees and lower the heat by about 5 degrees per week until they feather out completely. Do not use a standard heat lamp--they are a huge fire hazard. If you cannot afford a Brinsea, you could try a ceramic reptile heater but that is not going to provide even heat to all the chicks.

 

[MrNick]

Our brooder is our bath tub. I use a $10.00 IR light bulb from HD. But it uses 250w which gets expensive, gives off a lot of heat (so much that I had the bulb up 4ft and it was still too warm), and so bright the little fuzz balls couldn't sleep.

So, I took a grounded power cord from a broken appliance and wired it to a dimmer switch & a grounded receptacle, put them into a 2-gang box w/ face plate. Now I can control the bulb output with the dimmer switch as needed. It's fantastic! It uses much less power (less $ & prolonging bulb life), less heat given off reduces fire risk & less burn risk from touching it. The light is so dim that in the daytime you can hardly tell its on by looking at it and the fuzz balls can sleep all they want.


Things to keep in mind:
1. If bulb is incandescent dimmer needs to be compatable.
2. Know your limitations. Get help with the wiring if you need it.