worried my chicks will hit the heat lamp

[ufgrad98]

has anybody ever had a chick that hit their heat lamp? i have 2 11 day old orps and 2 4 day old ee and the orps have started "flying" a bit and i'm worried they are going to hit the lamp. But if i raise the lamp higher, than the ee will be cold. help!

 

[WallTenters]

I put some wire mesh (aka chicken wire) around it so ours don't hit it. I have not had one hit it yet, but better safe than sorry.

 

[wsdareme]

I kept my heat lamp above my brooder with screen mesh over the top of the brooder. That said, after reading about people's heat lamps exploding and seeing several barns burned to the ground on the local news because of brooder lamps, I bought a Brinsea EcoGlow brooder. It only uses 18w and does not get hot enough to catch anything on fire, even shavings. I calculated my energy savings and realized it would pay for itself in energy savings over a 250w heat lamp in only 8 weeks of use. If you want peace-of-mind, get an EcoGlow.

 

[chickee]

Yes, my chicks fly up and hit the heat lamp. Because I was afraid of the regular bulbs breaking or starting a fire, I use the ceramic reptile heat lamp bulbs. You can get them at the pet store. They last 5 years and won't burn your chicks. You hang them lower to provide the proper amount of heat for your chicks.
Have fun with your new chicks!

 

[colonel sander]

Well my brooder is 2 feet tall. With the lamp inside of it the temp gets to 110 degrees under the lamp! So mine is on the outside and has chicken wire to protect it. I do not see how you can have a lamp so close to the chicks??

 

[NellaBean]

I have my lamps covered with hardware cloth. Just a small square wrapped over the bottom side of the lamp. I had a bulb explode once and i think it saved the entire place from going up......found all the charred bits inside the hardware cloth screen.

 

[ufgrad98]

I have now put hardware cloth over the brooder and have moved the lamp to the outside of the brooder. Can the clamp heat lamp lay directly onto the hardware cloth (instead of clamping it onto something) or is that a fire hazard?