Heat lamps and why you may be burning money!

[bluetitan26]

I thought this morning as I had an hour or so before I cleaned out the chickens before next batch of snow blew in I would do my first proper post.
With the times being what they are and everyone trying to save a few pennies, I thought I would do an article on the system I use to rear chicks which will save you money and works in my mind better than heat lamps, so off we go. ( I will do this in a couple of parts so as not to lose readers interest 09 ) Over the past two years I have worked on my chick rearing system and fine tuned it to save money and get better results, and looking through my records I have achieved my target. It all came about after getting fed up with seeing my electric bill sore between January and July as brooding lamps and incubators, took their toll. I started using electric hens as an alternative to lamps a few years ago, I had already used similar systems when I ran a tropical fish and reptile shop in London quite a while ago. firstly the power stats that are worth taking note of, I can raise 60 chicks under each electric hen burning 75w per hour or use a lamp holding 20/25 chicks and burning anything between 150/250w per hour. Lamps blow bulbs and are both a fire risk and fragile. The electric hens come in varying sizes, burning as little as 25w per hour for a small one that will hold 15/20 chicks. You can even put them side by side, mix sizes for the number of chicks even start with a small one and put a bigger one in as chicks grow. You can get different makes and even some with switches that lower heat although I have never found the heat to be a problem, the ones I use are made in Holland and come in about 4/5 sizes ( not all shops stock every size available) price guide a 30 x 30cm 15/20 chick 25w £28.99 a 40 x 50cm 40/50 chick 55w £35, a 40 x 60cm 50/60 chick 75w £42.50 the layout cost may put you off but ask yourself how many bulbs do you get through a season? How many times has one blown at night and cost you a batch of chicks? And more importantly if like me you have 4/6 running 24/7 from late Jan to July how much are you over spending on power? Now for the technical bit (bare with! ) I have done a quick calc on one normal size lamp with 20/25 chick capacity and a electric hen with 50/60 chick capacity the lamp burns 175w per hour the hen 55w per hour over a 6 week brooding period both on 24/7 the lamp burns 176,400w the hen 55,440w that's a difference of 120,960w break this down to Kw (1000w = 1kw) which is the unit you pay the electric company in, on average a kw is 12p that means you will have saved around (£14.52) need I say more and you have around twice as many chicks for another plus. Work out your saving over the course of a season especially if like me you use a few. Even if you use just one heater 4 times this coming season, you could save £58.08; That's it for now I will add the second bit very soon, highlighting some pitfalls and how to avoid them.

 

[valeriebutterley]

Many thanks for your post.
I already decided to change from bulbs to electric hens as a method of keeping chicks warm.
Mine will be pets but may get rid of the odd one or two if the hatch is successful.
I worked out the lower cost of an 18w brooder compared to a 60w heat bulb, which as you say sometimes suddenly go.
It has to be cheaper with the electric hen method, and possibly cosier when surrounded closely by friends and family!

 

[Marigold]

I'm only going on my limited experience of raising quail chicks, which are really tiny, using both methods. I found that, under a lamp, they scattered over the whole area of the brooder and appeared to eat and drink more continuously than when I introduced an electric hen - a small Brinsea Ecoglow, on the lowest height setting for such minute babies. They seemed to spend nearly all their time under the electric hen, although the brooder was indoors in a centrally heated house in February. The difference, of course, was that the lamp heated the whole brooder box but it was cold for them outside the electric hen. I did use the hen once they had feathered up by about three weeks, and put it in their cage in the unheated shed outdoors when they went out at 4-5 weeks. Actually since its so economical I have it running in their cage at the moment, to keep them a bit more cosy ths weather.
Maybe quail are less resilient to cold external temperatures than bigger chicks for he first couple of weeks, but without a heat lamp I couldn't get anywhere near the 95F they needed in the circulation areas of the brooder when they came out of the incubator. Whilst I understand the economics, for me their welfare and evident comfort was more important than what in the circumstances was a very small saving.

 

[chrismahon]

Hi Bluetitan. We've gone off lamps because of the cost and have an electric hen. But at the moment Octobers chicks still need some heat and are protected with lamps coupled to a frost stat set at 7 degrees. Being in sheds they sometimes need daylight as well. It's still costing a fortune and I must get some smaller bulbs next week.

I have it in mind to build a thermostatically controlled brooder box for the first week, to save the cost of using a 250W red light. Afterwards we will use a recently acquired large electric hen up to 6 weeks. Then they are so big they can't get under it. There was a post a while back mentioning a good thermostatic controller, although that degree of accuracy isn't needed for a brooder, it may subsequently get used for a large incubator or hatcher.

 

[Chuck]

Heat lamps have the advantage of giving off a little light - certainly enough for them to eat and drink by. If an electric hen is used out of season even in a lit room, I still find it necessary to use light to extend the day to allow them to feed and drink. The only thing I don't like about the e.h. is that you can't see all the chicks together which I like to do. With the increasing cost of feed, it will be as well to keep an eye to see where other savings can be made.