Can a Reptile Heat Lamp Be Used for Chicks?

If you're raising chicks in the city, access to feed stores with chicken-specific equipment can be hard to find and require a lengthy drive to a rural area. Visit a local pet store and buy an inexpensive reptile heat lamp to provide adequate heating for your brooder.

  1. Chick Heat Requirements

    • Newly hatched chicks must kept at 98 degrees for the first few weeks. As feathers grow in, they will be able to retain more of their own body heat and rely less on an external heat source. You can acclimate them by adjusting temp downward 2 degrees each week until they are fully feathered. Keep your heat source on one end of their environment so they're able to move further away as they require less heat.

    Chick Brooder Lamps vs. Reptile Lamps

    • The most common source of heat for chicks and reptiles are 250-watt infrared heat lamps, which gives heat adequate for up to 300 chicks. Heat lamps as low as 100-watts can be used for very small brooders with just a few chicks. Some reptile lights, such as sunning lamps, use constant light that can damage their eyes and do not have enough wattage to keep your chicks warm without getting close enough to the source get burned.

    Fire Safety

    • Use a fixture adequate for the wattage of reptile heat lamp bulb you are using. Choose porcelain fixtures over plastic, and use a metal reflector to radiate heat and prevent chicks from coming in contact with the bulb. Hang the bulb from a solid object above the brooder area, if possible. Clamping the lamp to the side of the brooder increases the risk of the lamp falling over and coming in contact with materials that could start a fire.

    Adjusting Heat

    • You can adjust the temp by raising the light away from the pen. Make sure the pen is roomy enough that chicks can get away from the heat source if they get too hot. You'll know if you don't have enough heat if they are huddled up as close as they can get to the heat lamp -- make sure they cannot touch the bulb or reflector or they may get burned. You will know if your lamp is too hot if they are as far away from it as they can possibly get.