Can You Use a Regular Light Bulb for Young Ducks?

During the first weeks of life, ducklings require a supplemental heat source to help them maintain their body temperature until their feathers grow in. Although a regular light bulb provides adequate heat when used in a draft-free brooder, it's not necessarily the best choice for you and your ducklings.

  1. Types of Bulbs

    • A 250-watt bulb is usually used for brooder purposes, although it you have a small brooder with just a few ducklings, a 100-watt may do. Ninety percent of the electricity consumed by a traditional incandescent light bulb produces heat, with a 250-watt bulb able to provide adequate heating for ducklings. Fluorescent bulbs produce little heat and are not suitable for heating your duck's environment. Infrared bulbs produce heat with very little visible light and are commonly used in brooders.

    Day-Night Cycle

    • A regular incandescent bulb of 250 watts will produce 3,955 lumens of visible light, creating the equivalent of it being "high noon" in your chick's environment 24 hours a day. Ducklings will still sleep as needed, but can be active throughout the night, which may keep you awake if you have your brooder box in your home. Infrared light bulbs produce light invisible to duckling's eyes, allowing a natural day-night cycle with daytime activity and nighttime rest.

    Health Concerns

    • Make sure the incandescent light is hung above the ducklings well above bedding and pointing straight down so they cannot look directly into it and damage their eyes staring into the bright light. It should be far enough away that they cannot come in contact and burn themselves. The red light of infrared bulbs is felt as heat without the brightness and ducks tend to peck one another less than in a brooder heated with bright white light.

    Other Considerations

    • Whichever type of bulb you choose to use, use a base appropriate to the bulb's wattage. Porcelain bases are better than plastic, which can melt. A traditional heat lamp base has a metal reflector and comes with a sturdy clamp. Hang the lamp above the brooder area rather than clamp it on to the side to prevent accidental change in the lamp's position that could cause dramatic fluctuation in temperature or start a fire.