What lights/heaters do people use in there brooders?

[grace21]

I am thinking about raising some chicks myself in a brooder,
What type of lights do people use to keep there chickies warm? (watts? and stuff like that) I am looking for something fairly cheap. Also how am I able to figure out what height to hang it at?
Thankyou !

 

[azygous]

People use everything from 60-100 watt incandescent bulbs to 250 watt heat bulbs. Then there are ceramic heat bulbs that emit no light, just heat. There are heat plate, but you're talking big money now. You rig it to the height that makes the baby chicks most comfortable, judging their behavior. If they hog the spot beneath the lamp and don't want to move out of the hot zone, then the lamp may be too high. If the chicks hug the far corners, the lamp may be too low.

The hot zone should be directly beneath the heat source, not the entire brooder or environment. The rest of the area should be cool.

My favorite, and cheapest, is the heating pad system, which closely resembles a broody hen. You cut a wire frame, field fencing or other sturdy mesh, and fashion it into a "cave", attach the heating pad to it and the chicks duck under it for warmth just as they would a broody hen. Read about it on this forum, "Mama Heating Pad in the Brooder".

Also, you don't have to brood indoors in a brooder. You can rig any heat source right in the coop in a safe pen, if there are adult chickens, and keep the mess out of your house. It's way better for the chicks than a small box to grow up in.