Which heat lamp to get?

[eggxelent]

I'm making my own brooder, out of a cardboard box, and all is coming along great. Except for one thing:I can't figure out what heat lamp to get. I can't figure out, are there lamps designed especially for chicks? Or do most people use reptile lamps? What wattage should I use? I want to have two lightbulbs in the brooder at the same time so that if one goes out, then the other will still provide heat, and I can replace the broken one. I am brooding five chicks hopefully.

Thanks for your help,
Eggxelent

 

[willowbranchfarm]

I use this heat lamp
http://www.tractorsupply.com/jobsmart-reg-brooder-lamp-3208291

And these light bulbs
http://www.tractorsupply.com/westin...heat-lamp-incandescent-light-bulb-red-3200536

They work great.

 

[eggxelent]

I use this heat lamp
http://www.tractorsupply.com/jobsmart-reg-brooder-lamp-3208291

And these light bulbs
http://www.tractorsupply.com/westin...heat-lamp-incandescent-light-bulb-red-3200536

They work great.

So just to be clear, the first one is a fixture? Or does it have a lightbulb that comes with it but you use the red?

 

[willowbranchfarm]

The first one is the lamp the second is the bulb. The light bulb is separate. Yes I use red, it is better for the chicks then the white.

 

[eggxelent]

The first one is the lamp the second is the bulb. The light bulb is separate. Yes I use red, it is better for the chicks then the white.

Okay. One other concern: is 250 watts too hot for the chicks? I read in the 4-H guide to raising chickens that they only need 150 watts. Is that true? May have been a typo.

 

[willowbranchfarm]

As long as you have a thermometer in there brooder monitoring the temperature, i wouldnt worry about it.

 

[Brookhavens]

I use a 100 W red bulb. 250 is too hot in my opinion. No matter what lamp you use make sure it is attached securely. You do not want a fire starting.You can raise and lower the lamp to get the right temperature. The lamp itself is on sale at Tractor Supply for $8. I have several of those and they work great.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

It depends on where you are brooding them. If out in a garage that's unheated then yeah, a 250w may be what you need. If in your already 70+F home then one lamp is fine, you'll get to them fast enough to replace bulb and I only use a 60W in one end of plastic tote so they have other end to roam if too hot.

 

[gabrielle1976]

I have used a regular light bulb and a lamp befor I have also used a 250 watt red bulb with the needed lamp that goes to that . My boyfriend just got me an ecoglow 20 brooder and I would say If you can get that one , you wont have to worry about them getting to hot or cold , its made so you can change it as they grow. You dont have to worry about a bulb burning out in the middle of the night and all your babies dying , You dont have to worry about fire , and it uses less electricity. Not to mention you wont end up with birds that are scared of the dark cuase they were brooded with light.

 

[gryeyes]

Let me echo Gabrielle in recommending a Brinsea EcoGlow versus heat lamps. I have two of the smaller units and one of the larger ones (which I use when I have more than 20 chicks to brood). No danger of fire, chicks self-regulate, never had a pasty butt issue with chicks since changing to an EcoGlow (oddly enough), only 18 watts of electricity running versus a zillion more with heat lamps since it is left on for weeks at a time.

Happy, happy, healthy chicks who don't have to deal with light at night so they go to sleep like the big chickens do, when the sun goes down.