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Heat lamp failure made me question the whole brooder setup
Last month my cheap heat lamp bulb blew out overnight in March and I woke up to 12 chicks huddled and shivering at 55 degrees. I grabbed a backup lamp from the garage but now I'm torn between sticking with lamps or switching to a radiant heat plate, since the plate costs $60 more but seems safer. Anyone else had a close call that made them change their brooder game?
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xena_rivera631mo ago
You know, I hear what you're saying about the scare, but I actually went through nearly the exact same thing two winters ago and I still stuck with the lamps. I had a bulb pop at like 2 AM, chicks were cold, but honestly the fix was just buying a better quality bulb and a backup thermometer with an alarm. The radiant plates are nice, but they don't heat the air in the brooder the same way, and if your power goes out for any length of time, the plate does nothing while a lamp at least gives off some residual heat. I've also seen chicks pile up under the plates and smother themselves if they get too cold and huddle too tight, which is a risk people don't talk about. Plus that $60 can buy you a good backup lamp and a few spare bulbs, which solves the real problem of not having a backup ready. I'm not saying plates are garbage, they're totally fine if you've got the money and a stable setup, but I wouldn't call the lamp the unsafe choice if you just prep a little better.
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