What wattage bulb do you put over chicks?

[Folly's place]

Welcome! The babies start at about 95F under the heat lamp, and the temp drops about five degrees weekly. How many chicks? Bantams, standard, or meat birds? I have used a large canine airline crate, a big box, a livestock water tank; Set it up now and experiment with your thermometer and the heat lamp to figure out what you need. Pictures will help here! Chicks raise an amazing amount of dust and humidity; consider the garage or the coop rather than in the house, if possible. Fire safety is MOST IMPOTRANT, and then security from predators for the chicks. Mary

 

[L Mackin]

Hi,
I too am new to this! I am a teacher and have 2 chicks currently adopted by our school. I'm wondering how low or high up a 60 watt bulb would need to be above the chicks for it to be safe? At present, they are underneath a brinsea ecoglow heater but it has to be given back to the farm on Tuesday. The chicks are in a guinea pig cage. It's approx 38cm in height but I'm afraid the bulb may cause a fire if too close to the bedding or plastic tray of the cage. Any advice greatly appreciated!

 

[L Mackin]

The chicks are 1 week old and always kept indoors.

 

[SuperK]

A fluorescent--EEEEEEK!

You use fluorescents for LIGHT--not for heat!

There is a reason that incandescents are called miniature heaters that happen to put out light. Your chicks need WARMTH, not light. Use an incandescent!

Inside a conditioned house (60s Fahrenheit), I never used anything over a 75 watts incandescent.

If your barn gets cool (40s, 50s) you'll want something on the order of 150W, but you'll want to make sure that your fixture has a ceramic base and can support that kind of load safely.

Otherwise, use more than two 75 to 100 watt incandescentse

We can no longer buy incandescent bulbs other than halogen here. Winter here is hot- 80's high humidity too.
But it rains a lot. I mean a lot. Recently our 2 of our new Barred Rock chicks didn't follow adopted mom up into the coop (ramp made for them) and we found them under the ramp, wet and cold. One did not make it, the other is drenched and shivering. We dried her off, and placed her in t shirts and hung a 120 watt halogen flood light high over her. By the lamp it is rocket hot but at 14 inches, it is just a bit warmer than what I would call lukewarm. She did move off into a corner to be a little cooler, but where can we find the right bulbs?

This energy saving culture we live in today is getting rid of 'juice hog' incandescent lights, phasing them out completely by 2018 (This from the California Energy Commission- http://www.energy.ca.gov/lightbulbs/lightbulb_faqs.html ) Sometimes the new way isn't the best way.

 

[lazy gardener]

This is an old thread, and often when you post to old threads, your post gets lost in the shuffle. Don't be at all shy about starting a new thread for info! Re: correct wattage: Many of us have stopped using bulbs altogether, and are now using heating pads. Check out this article: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/yes-you-certainly-can-brood-chicks-outdoors

Wishing you the best with your brooding!

 

[SuperK]

This is an old thread, and often when you post to old threads, your post gets lost in the shuffle. Don't be at all shy about starting a new thread for info! Re: correct wattage: Many of us have stopped using bulbs altogether, and are now using heating pads. Check out this article: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/yes-you-certainly-can-brood-chicks-outdoors

Wishing you the best with your brooding!

Thanks, Heating pads we have!

 

[junebuggena]

Thanks, Heating pads we have!

You just have to make sure that it's not one with an auto shut off. You need one that will stay on all day and night. It is, hands down, the best brooding method ever.

 

[HH0611]

What wattage red bulb? I have mine in a plastic bin because we hatched ours at school

 

[Whateverlouie]

Old thread but chiming in. I have read that a 100w compact fluorescent puts out 100 degrees.

 

[smalinowaki]

How many inches do u keep the 100 w from the bottom of tote?

Using a thermometer starting at 95F and working down 5 degrees a week it's whatever wattage or height from chicks it takes to maintain those temps.

Here we use a 100w over half of a plastic tote for first two to three weeks then move them out to unheated shed (nights getting down to 40's) using same 100w in a dog kennel cage.