Heard a guy at the feed store say heat lamps are always safe for chicks...

I was at Tractor Supply in Eugene last week getting starter feed and overheard this older gentleman telling a newbie that heat lamps are the only way to go for brooding. But I lost two birds back in 2021 to a lamp that got knocked down in the night. I run those flat panel heaters now and never looked back. Anyone else stop using heat lamps after a close call?

3 comments

3 Comments

oliviabennett22d ago

Hold on, does that mean you think every single person who has lost birds to a tipped heat lamp was just clumsy or set it up wrong?

parkernelson1mo ago

Those flat panel heaters are fine for small batches but they don't put out enough heat for a big brooder of 50 or 100 birds in a cold barn in January. I tried one a few years back and the chicks were huddled up shivering on the second night. Had to drag out the old heat lamp anyway at 2am. A properly secured lamp with a good guard and a wire hanger won't tip over unless you're clumsy setting it up. Grandpa's methods worked because he knew how to use them right, not because he was too dumb to buy a new product.

beth5591mo ago

You ever notice how people get real stubborn about the old ways even when there's been better stuff out there for years? My neighbor still insists on using metal waterers with those little red glass bases even though plastic ones with the screw-on tops don't leak and don't break when you drop them. It's like they think if something worked for their grandpa it must be the best option forever, not just what was available back then.