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How to Safely Heat Your Chick Brooder

Chicks under heat lamp
Baby Chicks under heat lamp
I have a new batch of chicks in the brooder!

Heat Your Chick Brooder Safely!

Knowing how to safely heat your chick brooder is extremely important. Every year there is another news story about a barn or home burning down. Often it is due to a heat lamp falling or being set up improperly. It could be a life or death situation for your chicks, livestock, and even for your family. So let’s look at how to properly use a heat lamp and what other alternatives you may use to keep the chicks in your brooder warm.

Keep a broody hen instead! 10 Best Broody Hen Breeds for a Self Reliant Chicken Flock

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turkey poults
The turkey poults have adjusted to the brooder box and are doing well.

Heat Your Chick Brooder with One of These Options

Heat lamps are a popular choice for heating brooders because they aren’t very expensive and they put out a lot of warmth for your baby poultry. However, there are some things you should know before you choose a heat lamp.

Heat Lamps and Safer Alternatives

Before you place an order or put eggs in an incubator, consider alternatives for using a heat lamp. If the chicks will be arriving during cold weather, can you keep them in the house? Or could you time your chick arrival so that you don’t need a heat lamp?

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If you can order or hatch chicks during mild weather, this is a great option. When the ambient (room) temperature in the barn is 50 degrees or warmer, you can use safer heat sources than heat lamps. This may not be possible, but if you’re raising just a few chicks it is easier to keep them in the house where the temperatures are warmer.

Finally, if neither of these options will work for you and you really need to use a heat lamp to heat your chick brooder, make sure that you do so as safely as possible.

My first Brinsea EcoGlow Brooder

EcoGlow Brooder Safely Warms Your Chicks

The Brinsea EcoGlow Brooder is a popular option for mimicking a mother hen. It has a heating element similar that provides warmth for chicks. The heating element is in a plastic housing with ‘legs.’ It may be raised or lowered to allow different sizes of baby poultry to nestle underneath. This is one of the easiest ways to safely heat your chick brooder, as long as you don’t need as much heat output.

I’ve used the Brinsea EcoGlow Brooder and they worked well for keeping chicks in the house. They are fine when the room temperature is at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit. They are not designed for keeping chicks warm in a barn where the ambient temperature can be quite cold. You will need extra heat for those conditions.

The Eco Glow Brooder didn’t last as long as I had hoped. They were used in the house and moved to the brooder room in the barn to use along with a heat lamp. Two of these brooders stopped heating within 3 years of purchasing. Part of the problem may have been the dust in my barn.

I have not used similar brands so I can’t tell you if they hold up better. I’ve read online reviews from people who’ve had much better luck with their brooders.

I put a seedling heat mat in the bottom of the box, and cover it with an old towel.

Seedling Germination Mat

This is a less expensive option that provides heat similar to the EcoGlow Brooder. I used two seedling germination mats to create my Redneck Chick Brooder. That has worked very well as a replacement for the EcoGlow Brooder when keeping chicks in the house. It is not warm enough for using in the barn when the temperatures are cold.

That set up has lasted for several years and my seedling heat mats are holding up well. They have the added advantage of being fairly water-resistant in case your chicks spill their water dish.

If you decide to try this option, you may need to place a towel over the heat mat if it feels too warm for the chicks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oLSJOUE-8c
Tips for setting up your heat lamp.

Use Heat Lamps Properly to Prevent Fires

This is usually the least expensive option for supplying a lot of heat for your chicks. When using heat lamps, be sure that you follow all of the safety instructions on the labels. Use the proper lamp fixture and fasten the lamp securely to avoid causing a fire.

Your heat lamp should have the following features:

  • Ceramic ballast
  • Ballast designed and labeled for 250-watt heat lamp bulbs or higher
  • Sturdy clamp
  • Hanging bracket that is attached firmly
  • Polarized plug

Above, there is a video I created sharing some tips for the proper setup and use of a heat lamp. I also discuss how much it costs to operate per day.

In the video below I share tips for securing a heat lamp with several fail-safes to prevent it from falling. Please use caution when using heat lamps in your barn, home, or brooder.

Checking Your Old Heat Lamps

Before using an old heat lamp, give it a thorough safety check!

Check the cord to make sure there is no damage. Make sure the hanging bracket is secure. Don’t use the heat lamp if the safety guard (shaped like an X and fits over the bulb) is missing. Make sure that the ballast is ceramic, not plastic.

Make Sure You Safely Heat Your Chick Brooder!

Heat lamps can and do cause fires. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions when using them! In addition, the heat lamp bulbs don’t last very long. You can expect to replace them every year or even more often.

If possible, raise chicks during warmer weather when safer options will keep them warm enough. Be sure to safely heat your chick brooder no matter what time of year you have chicks!

Do you use another heat source for your brooder?

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How to Safely Heat Your Chick Brooder by The Self Sufficient HomeAcre

7 Comments on “How to Safely Heat Your Chick Brooder

  1. Thanks for sharing this! A friend mentioned using seed germination mats in addition to a lamp in her unheated garage. I’m wondering if I could get away with the mats and a heating pad (the kind meant for chickens) in our garage since I’d rather not use the lights (I’ve heard way too many horror stories).

    1. Hi Stephanie,
      You’re very welcome. I use the seed germination mats in a brooder box in the house and it works well for that. If your temperature in the garage stays above maybe 60 degrees it should be fine. I also shared a post about my Redneck Brooder Box that you might want to look at… I showed how I put the seedling heat mat over a small rack and one underneath to keep them warm. I am not sure about the chicken heating pad… is that a radiant heater? I would look at the directions for that heater to see if it gives an indication of how warm it will keep the surrounding temps. I hope this helps!

  2. Seedling germination mats – such a good idea. I’m going to have to try this with this year’s batch of chicks. Thanks for sharing at The Homestead Blog Hop!

  3. We have hatched chicks in the fall this year for the first time. I would definitely say we decided from that experience to only have baby chicks in the warmer months. Our winters get cold, and it was too difficult to keep them warm. They ended up living in our sunroom until they were old enough to go out with the older birds.

    1. Hi Amy,
      It is much better to do it that way. I have hatched chicks in fall or ordered from a hatchery, but it can be a bit dicey to keep them warm enough.
      Have a great day!

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