An external heat source is critical for raising young chicks since they can’t control their own body temperature for the first few days of their life. Their fluffy down feathers do not help trap body heat which makes it difficult for chicks to maintain a stable body temperature on their own. When raised by a broody hen, the chicks can easily scurry under mama’s feathers to get warmed by her body heat. However, without a broody hen, many homesteaders find themselves asking… what should I use as a heat source in the brooder? The two most common heat sources to use in the brooder are a heat lamp or a radiant heater (a common name brand radiant heater for chicks is the Brinsea Ecoglow). This heat lamp vs Ecoglow comparison will walk you through how each one ranks in certain areas such as pricing, safety, health, and more!
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What is a Heat Lamp vs a Radiant Heater?
First, let me do a brief introduction to each heat source in case any of you aren’t familiar with how each one works. A heat lamp or a radiant heater are the two most common (and I dare say, only) heat sources to use when brooding chicks without a mother hen.
I’m almost positive that all of you have heard of a heat lamp. A heat lamp uses an incandescent bulb which emits infrared light. Heat lamp bulbs are often colored red to decrease the amount of visible light. Some say the red light helps prevent pecking and cannibalism in chicks. Heat lamps use electromagnetic radiation to transfer heat to surrounding objects and the air.
A heat lamp will heat the surrounding air in a brooder. The space directly below the heat lamp will be the hottest. As the chicks move away from the heat lamp, the air in the brooder will gradually get cooler.
Now let’s discuss a radiant heater. In this post I have chosen to compare a common namebrand radiant heater, the Brinsea Ecoglow, to a heat lamp. However, there are many other types and brands of radiant heaters designed to be used in a brooder. I use the Ecoglow 20, so that’s why I chose it for this article.
Radiant heaters use infrared heat to warm objects. Infrared heat is not absorbed by air, so a radiant heater will not warm the air in a brooder. However, when chicks come in contact with a radiant heater, they immediately begin absorbing the heat. When shopping for radiant heaters, only choose heaters that are specifically designed for using in a brooder.
#1. Price Comparison
Heat Lamp:
Heat lamps win in this section as far as price goes! That is one reason why they are more common than radiant heaters. At my local farm store, you can buy a heat lamp with guard for around $9 and a double pack of replacement bulbs for the same price. That means you are spending around $20 on a heat source for your baby chicks. Not bad when compared to the Ecoglow.
However, you may need to consider buying two, even three, heat lamps depending on your brooder. If you have a large brooder, you may need more than one heat lamp to provide adequate heat for the chicks. In general, there should be places in the brooder where chicks can get away from the heat of a heat lamp. However, the heat lamp should also cover enough space that all the chicks in the brooder can comfortably fit under the space and receive heat.
If you had to buy two heat lamps, the cost would be around $30, not including extra bulbs for the additional heat lamp. It is always a good idea to have extra bulbs on hand to prevent an emergency when a heat lamp bulb stops working. Your chicks would be without heat until you could replace the bulb.
Ecoglow:
The Brinsea Ecoglow 20 currently costs around $50 on Amazon. That’s about triple the cost of a single heat lamp! It allows enough space for about 20 newly hatched chicks. Depending on the size of the breed you are raising, your chicks may quickly outgrow the size of the Ecoglow 20 and not all the chicks may be able to fit under the Ecoglow at once. Brinsea does make a bigger Ecoglow for around 35 newly hatched chicks. Then again, 35 standard size chicks will outgrow that Ecoglow too. So you may end up investing in two Ecoglows.
So, if you had to buy two Ecoglow 20’s, the cost would be around $130. But, before you pass the Ecoglow off as being too expensive, let’s look at the other factors when comparing these two heat sources! You can also shop around and find cheaper radiant heaters for raising chicks that may be a better fit your brooder and your budget.
Pricing is the most variable factor when comparing these two heat sources, so keep reading!
#2. Eco-Friendly Considerations
Heat Lamp:
After the clear win for the heat lamp in the first section, this second comparison presents the heat lamp as a sorry looser. The average heat lamp is about 250 watts, which uses a lot of electricity. This means your electricity bill will be higher. Considering that a heat lamp has to run 24/7 for an average of 3 weeks (usually longer in cooler regions), that’s a lot of electricity! Depending on how many batches of chicks you raise, the electricity bill could be getting higher and higher!
Also, I have found that heat lamps do not last as long as an Ecoglow. The bulbs burn out at the most inconvenient times (thus you should always have backup bulbs). What if the bulb went out in the middle of the night and you didn’t know it? Your chicks would get chilled and may even die! Depending on how frequently you use the heat lamp, you may go through a lot of bulbs.
Ecoglow:
The Ecoglow uses 12 watts of electricity which is much lower than a heat lamp! The heat is also put to better use since it warms the chick on contact and doesn’t have to warm the air in the brooder. According to Cath Andrews from Raising Happy Chickens, she calculated the savings at about $11-$15 dollars per 4 week period. If you have to use a heat source for a long period of time or are raising multiple batches of chicks, the Ecoglow would be a big electricity saver!
I have found that the Brinsea Ecoglow lasts a long time. Mine gets used every year for extended periods of time and sometimes multiple times in one year and it is still running! I bought my Ecoglow in 2014, which means it has had 8 years of use and it’s still going strong! Granted, I have to be careful about how the cord is bent so that it doesn’t fray and break and the heating panel has come loose on the bottom. The tabs that clip into the sides for easy height adjustment have also started breaking off, but nothing that presents a hazard to my chicks.
Plus, Brinsea has updated and revised their design of the Ecoglow 20 since when I purchased it. It now looks even more sturdy and durable. I plan on upgrading mine soon and can’t wait to see how long the new version will last!
The Ecoglow is a sure winner in my book when it comes to saving on electricity and longevity of use!
#3. Chick Health
The heat source you choose for the brooder does play a role in how healthy your chicks stay. It is not only keeping them warm, but it is also affecting their behavior and growth. Due to the intense, constant heat of a heat lamp, it tends to provide some negative health concerns.
Heat Lamp:
Chicks tend to grow faster when raised under a heat lamp. Careful monitoring of the height of the lamp could prevent this, but generally you can’t refine it enough to meet the exact needs of all the chicks. Fast growth may sound great, but it is actually detrimental to the chick. When a chick grows faster than it is supposed too, its body systems don’t have enough time to fully develop and its bones can’t develop properly as during a normal growth pattern.
The heat lamp also provides light 24/7, which does not allow for the normal daylight hours accompanied by dark hours for sleeping. Now, I know chicks have been raised just fine in this type of light pattern, however, I do feel that it would be healthier for them to stick to a more natural day and night sleep pattern.
Due to the constant light, chicks may be prone to bully, peck, and even cannibalize each other. Using a red heat lamp bulb is supposed to help with this since it restricts the amount of light that is emitted. However, red bulbs will not prevent the issue entirely.
Lastly, heat lamps allow for a greater chance of chicks over heating if they can’t cool off in a cooler area of the brooder. When considering heat sources you are often thinking, how can I keep my chicks warm enough? However, you should also be considering the problem of chicks overheating, which is just as dangerous, if not even more dangerous than them getting chilled! Even small amounts of too much heat can lead to problems such as pasty butt, fast growth, brain damage, and dehydration.
Ecoglow:
An Ecoglow, or radiant heater, simulates a mother hen more closely than a heat lamp does. Much like chicks would run under a mother hen for moments of warmth, chicks can also run under the Ecoglow to get warmed up again. That means the chicks can cater to their own heat needs. No overheating and all of the issues that come with it! Chicks grow at a more normal rate and can keep a more natural sleep pattern.
Since the Ecoglow does not provide light, you will either have to place the brooder in a well lit area or provide an additional light (not a light that produces heat though) so that the chicks can see during the day to eat and drink.
When I compare my early batches of chicks who were raised with a heat lamp to my more recent batches of chicks raised with an Ecoglow, I can tell that the ones raised with an Ecoglow were healthier. I had less instances of pasty butt and I wasn’t constantly worried about whether they were too cold or too warm.
I have also found that it is easier to wean the chicks off of the Ecoglow than the heat lamp. The chicks just naturally outgrew the Ecoglow and would spend less and less time underneath it. Whereas it seemed like chicks would become addicted to a heat lamp and constantly want it even though they were old enough to be without extra heat.
#4. Brooder Safety
Heat Lamp:
Probably the biggest issue with a heat lamp is the safety hazards it presents. I just recently read a Facebook post about someone who lost their entire flock to a coop fire caused by a heat lamp. It is devastating to hear about! All those chickens’ lives lost due to a fire caused by a well-meaning chicken raiser. It doesn’t just happen in coops either, brooders are prime places for heat and debris to start a fire.
The main reason why a heat lamp is such a fire hazard is because of the heat it emits. The heat lamp bulb can get extremely hot. So hot that you should not touch it with your bare hands. Most heat lamps will come with a guard to be secured in front of the bulb, however, that does not stop debris from floating through the guard and coming in contact with the hot bulb.
Any piece of litter, feather, or dander that comes in contact with that intense heat is liable to catch on fire. Even dust that gathers on the bulb can start a fire.
The second most hazardous part about a heat lamp is how insecure it is. Yes, you can tightly screw the bulb in and securely latch the lamp to something, but it is still not entirely secure. The screw that keeps the bulb in is notorious for coming loose, the clamp can easily become un-clipped or slide off, the bulb can become loose and un-screwed…..
Heat lamps are a safety risk and a gamble.
Ecoglow:
The Ecoglow uses radiant heat that only heats objects on contact. Since it is used for baby chicks, the heat it does produce on contact is not intense enough to start a fire. Ecoglows are much safer then heat lamps. The cord on the Brinsea Ecoglow is sturdy and manufactured in such a way that the electrical connections do not present a fire hazard when they are used properly.
You also don’t have to worry about where you place the Ecoglow. It can’t be knocked down and it would be extremely difficult for chicks to tip it over too.
Radiant heaters designed for raising chicks are much safer and present almost no fire risk! Peace of mind is what you’ll find!
#5. Adaptability
When it comes to setting up a brooder and maintaining it, you want to keep things as simple and easy as possible! Which heat source is most adaptable to brooder location, growing chicks, and space restrictions?
*both a heat lamp and the Ecoglow need an electrical outlet where they can be plugged in (never use an extension cord)
Heat Lamp:
When using a heat lamp, you will need to consider how the heat lamp can be securely fastened to reduce the risk of it falling. This may depend on how the brooder is built. The heat lamp must be secure and even have a back up clip to prevent it from falling and causing a fire hazard.
Adapting to the heat needs of growing chicks is a challenge when using a heat lamp. There are general guidelines for how far away the heat lamp should be from the floor of the brooder during each stage of growth. However, since you are not a chick, you don’t know the needs of each individual and breed. This could lead to overheating or chillness. Also, when raising and lowering the heat lamp, it still needs to be securely fastened to reduce the risk of a fire hazard.
On a positive note, heat lamps are typically located above a brooder. This saves brooder space which is nice when you raise large batches of chicks.
Ecoglow:
An Ecoglow allows chicks to monitor their own heat needs. You will need to raise and lower the Ecoglow as the chicks grow so they can fit under the heat panel. However, the chicks themselves can choose how much heat they need. The Ecoglow also allows you to raise different age or size chicks in the same brooder. One end of the Ecoglow can be lower than the other to allow smaller chicks access to the heat. This is handy for chicks of different ages or breeds.
Despite the fact that the Ecoglow sits inside the brooder, I don’t think that it restricts brooder space. The chicks can still go under the Ecoglow and they can even go on top of it too! So if anything, it increases brooder space and presents a launch pad for beginner flyers.
The one limitation that the Ecoglow does have is that it works best in a room that is at or above 55°F. This may narrow down the places you can have your brooder. The reason why it needs to be in a warmer room is because it does not warm the air in the brooder. That means when the chicks come out from underneath it, they still need a relatively warm environment so that they can get food and water before going back under the heat source. If the air is cold, than the chicks will be more inclined to stay under the Ecoglow and perhaps starve and become dehydrated.
You will also have to be careful about where you place the Ecoglow in the brooder. Don’t place it in or near a corner. If the chicks pile under it, they could become trapped next to the wall or in a corner and suffocate each other.
#6. Ease of Cleaning
Heat Lamp:
Lastly, I want to go over cleanability. Yes, a heat lamp still needs to be cleaned! Dust gathers on the bulb… and lamp reflector…. and guard. This dust presents a fire hazard. Thus you will need to clean the heat lamp frequently.
Cleaning a heat lamp can be somewhat tricky. You must take the lamp part off, let the bulb cool, then clean off the dust. You can either blow off the dust or wipe it off with a damp rag. Then you must re-assemble the lamp and securely put it back in place. You may have to clean the bulb several times during the brooding season.
Before you store your heat lamp away for the next season of raising chicks, clean it thoroughly with soap and water.
Ecoglow:
I find that the Ecoglow is much easier and simple to clean! Once the chicks learn how to jump on top of the Ecoglow, you will have to regularly clean the droppings off the top of it. This task is actually quite simple!
On the old versions of the Ecoglow, I simply put cling-wrap on top of the Ecoglow. All I had to do was peel off the cling-wrap when it got dirty and put a new piece back on. With the new version of the Ecoglow, Brinsea has made clear covers to place on the top. That means once the cover gets dirty, you just take it off, clean it and put it back on. Or, you can even buy replacement covers! Just throw away the dirty one and put on a clean one.
Before you put your Ecoglow away for storage, I do recommend doing a thorough cleaning with vinegar and water. This will make the Ecoglow last longer and will wash away any bacteria to keep your next batch of chicks healthy!
Heat Lamp or Radiant Heater?
In my opinion, the Ecoglow (or radiant heater) is a sure winner! It’s safer, healthier, and saves on money in the long run! Now that you have a complete knowledge of how a heat lamp and an Ecoglow compare, you can make your heat source decision wisely! I strongly recommend going with a radiant heater since it simulates Mother Nature more closely, saves on electricity, is easy to clean, and is way safer! My chicks love their Ecoglow. They happily zoom around their brooder or bask in the heat under the Ecoglow. It makes them happy and healthy!
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by Alexa
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