Heat bulbs

[kirsty b]

Hi all

as you know I now have chicks and tomorrow they will be moved to the brooder. At the mo I have a 60 watt bulb for heat but am concerned that having a light on 24/7 is not all that good for them and will disrupt sleep patterns. (they will be under it a week, max till its replaced)

Have been googling and have come across the infra red bulbs, which I am more familiar with, but also stumbled across a bulb which puts out warmth but no light, allowing the babbas to have normal light patterns.
Has anyone used these, and if you have, how do you rate them? They are more expensive, but if they are better for chicks welfare it will be money well spent.

This is them Dull Emitter Heating Elements | 250w | 150w | 100w | 60w

[Bramble-Poultry]

yep - use them on our reptiles. they work brilliantly but for god sake dont touch them when hot as they will burn you badly.

We use them in the vivariums coupled with a flourescent for the light. The light comes on and off at the correct day length pattern, and the dull emitter is regulated by a thermostat.

As an alternate bulb, why not use a red fireglow bulb? red light is harder to see for the chicks than white light.

[kirsty b]

Thanks for that
Sounds like a plan, may be safer as I have a very curious and interested daughter as well, she would be less likely to touch something she could see glowing like a red bulb.

Can I pick them up from a DIY shop or a pet store? OH had made a heat lamp, but its a bright bulb and I'm after something dimmer that will allow them to sleep.

[Bramble-Poultry]

wilkinsons or supermarkets sell the 60w fireglow bulbs for around £1. they glow red when lit. you can get a 40w as well, but 60w is as high as they will go. they are traditionally used in the electric bar fires that use them to glow red to give an effect of a real fire.

most decent petshops, definately reptile shops sell the dull emitter. be careful as each make varies and you could have a screw fit bulb and a bayonet fitting! for about £3, you can get an adapter to convert screw thread into bayonet. again, i got mine from the reptile shop, it was easier!

[chicken_house_man]

You need to be more careful with dull emitters. They radiate heat in all directions whereas a normal bulb has a built in reflector to reflect the heat downwards. For this reason they are best used with a semicircular reflector not a compact type heat lamp. They also run hotter than a normal bulb so you need to use a ceramic lamp holder.

[Bramble-Poultry]

true - when we fit the ceramics to the reptiles, they have a different holder and a cone shaped metal reflector.

i would still go for the red light bulb personally. i have seen a chap not far from here raise loads of pheasants and chickens using nothing more than old tea chests and 60w fireglows

[matthew2riches]

The dull emitters are a bomb if they get wet. I had one literally explode and send bits of shrapnel around the garage! I'd just shut the door and thankfully no chicks were in the brooder yet...

I use infra red. The intended job of those bulbs are to warm things.

A red fireglow bulb is made for lighting things up. A white light bulb isn't recommended as like you say... it will disrupt them.

Go for the infra red

[kirsty b]

Got fireglow for now it is emitting some warmth, and brooder is close to radiator.
the box is on a layer of insulation and there is thick litter in it too. Did have to cover the shavings for now cos the chicks were pecking at it and I don't want them getting into the habit of eating it instead of their food.
So paranoid my babies will freeze they are currently snuggling up and sleeping, alternating with bouts of activity. Can't hear any chirps that sound distressed and they are having the occasional peck at food/water. They would still be absorbing yolk though wouldn't they? First hatched v. late Sun night, and other late morning yesterday.

Will get infra red as soon as I get paid and put it in.

[matthew2riches]

Got fireglow for now it is emitting some warmth, and brooder is close to radiator.
the box is on a layer of insulation and there is thick litter in it too. Did have to cover the shavings for now cos the chicks were pecking at it and I don't want them getting into the habit of eating it instead of their food.
So paranoid my babies will freeze they are currently snuggling up and sleeping, alternating with bouts of activity. Can't hear any chirps that sound distressed and they are having the occasional peck at food/water. They would still be absorbing yolk though wouldn't they? First hatched v. late Sun night, and other late morning yesterday.

Will get infra red as soon as I get paid and put it in.

This tells you what is happening at any given stage Embryology of the chicken - Poultry Hub

Very useful to know and see why eggs may have not hatched :cool

[Bramble-Poultry]

We don't run infra reds mainly because our electric bill is high enough without it being completely astronomical, we successfully raised several hundred chicks with just fireglows. We use stacker boxes whilst they are very small, then after a week or 2 when they get bigger and more mobile they go into indoor rabbit cages, then finally into brooder tables when they are being weaned off heat ready for the big wide world outside.

Kirsty - they should be pretty much eating by the end of today, they tend to peck and play with it at first but it doesn't take long and then they eat you out of house and home!!

They are so fun - enjoy them!

[Snadger]

I use Philips 60 watt red spotlights that I get off ebay pretty cheaply (if you'll excuse the pun!)

[kirsty b]

Bought 2 fireglow bulbs from focus this morning and one has blown already!!

Just as well I had a spare, was concerned whether they would stay warm enough, but when I popped hand in, its lovely and warm. Chicks seem pretty content too.

Have receipt, so will be going back there for a moan tomorrow.

Just read that article Matthew, going to add it to my favourites for future reference

[its hilly]

I've got a heat lamp from the farm supplies, metal cone with ceramic fitting sort. Its not infra red but yeow it puts some heat out . Its white light, but my babies still kip down at sunset regardless. They only stir in the early morning, good alarm clocks.
My babies go straight from the inci into a dog cage (in the unheated spare room) which is 4' x 3' x 2'6"high. The bulb starts out just above the top and still keeps it at 37c. Then its just slowly dropping the heat/raising the lamp till theyre off heat. Although for the first couple week I put cardboard sheet round the outside to keep draughts out. They finish off with one week in the cage with no heat at home, then get another week in the cage with board round it inside the buildings. After that its in the building free, then out for an hour or two with me around for around a week, by that time theyre getting brave enough to go out with the big chooks during the day,
and by then Im sick of the little hooligans
Works for me

[RichmondHens]

Well as most people know I use good old fashioned broodies - cheap, effective, and keep everyone at the correct temperature!

Failing that though, I have found an electric hen to be a very good brooding heat source - it's a kind of heat pad on legs, is about the size of a large carpet tile and fits into a large cardboard box no problem.

I would also suggest that no bedding is used for the first few days with new chicks as they do have a tendency to try and eat it. Just put them on flat sheets of newspaper instead.

[MaureenHall]

Yes, I agree with you about the bedding Richmond, but all the chicks I've hatched have always tried to eat the paper too!! I've bought some cheap (50p each) hand towels from Asda and I use those in the bottom of the brooder box. It's a bit like washing nappies again though