Heat lamps lower wattage
Heat lamps lower wattage
I have heat mats (shared) in each of my farrowing pens, and the farrowing barn is heated. I prefer to have heat both below and above the pigs, in some form of a heat lamp. I like the idea of the Scorpions that QC Supply sells, but the lowest wattage bulb that they well is 250 watts. Last year with the mats and a standard brooder lamp, I had 75 watt bulbs in them and there seemed to be plenty of heat. As the pigs grew, lamps either got damaged, or bulbs broke. Prefer to find something safer. What is available out there that is low wattage or does anyone know of a 100 watt bulb that will fit the Scorpions? Does anyone know what the low setting is the Scorpion in relationship to wattage of the 250 watt bulb? I contacted QC and got a standard answer, that they only offer the two bulbs. Thanks
Re: Heat lamps lower wattage
Rway,
The positives of the Scorpions are they are firmly mounted, heat 2 crates at once, and have settings. Looks like the settings can basically cut the wattage in half, halogen bulbs are easy that way. The negatives are they are pricey, fixed mounted leads to injury potential at older weaning, and basically the pigs on each side need to be roughly the same age. Having 3-4 week old litters next to 1 week olds can lead to some issues in your heat zones. Used a bunch in commercial units where wean ages are typically 17 - 21 Days. Another option would be these: http://www.farmerboyag.com/heat-lamps/a ... t-lamp.asp Have never used them, but like the slim line and plastic housing. Farmer Boy also sell a gasket to seal dust and moisture from the electrical components. If you're weaning at 4-6 weeks, you'll need to raise the lamps to prevent damage. Another option would be to use red bulbs, white bulbs tend to make animals more restless and irritable, then they start messing with the lamps.
The positives of the Scorpions are they are firmly mounted, heat 2 crates at once, and have settings. Looks like the settings can basically cut the wattage in half, halogen bulbs are easy that way. The negatives are they are pricey, fixed mounted leads to injury potential at older weaning, and basically the pigs on each side need to be roughly the same age. Having 3-4 week old litters next to 1 week olds can lead to some issues in your heat zones. Used a bunch in commercial units where wean ages are typically 17 - 21 Days. Another option would be these: http://www.farmerboyag.com/heat-lamps/a ... t-lamp.asp Have never used them, but like the slim line and plastic housing. Farmer Boy also sell a gasket to seal dust and moisture from the electrical components. If you're weaning at 4-6 weeks, you'll need to raise the lamps to prevent damage. Another option would be to use red bulbs, white bulbs tend to make animals more restless and irritable, then they start messing with the lamps.
Re: Heat lamps lower wattage
There's been some very interesting farrowing-heater innovation in the last couple of years for hog farmers. If you've been to the Iowa Pork Congress or the World Pork Expo in the past couple of years, you probably already know about the new Ceramic Infrared Radiant Farrowing Heaters. I think everyone can agree that keeping piglets between 90F-100F decreases mortality and sends more pigs on to the nursery. Profit margins for hog farmers are already tight, so every pig counts. But putting fragile glass light bulbs in a farrowing crate is like bringing the China shop to the bull. And while pads are much better, durability can be a problem and there's been a great deal of concern with not being able to properly sanitize them to effectively kill PED.
The Ceramic Infrared Radiant Farrowing heaters are very durable, last 2 years or more, and don't explode if moisture hits them. They have a very even heating pattern that warms more piglets than light bulb heaters, plus they don't emit light so they don't interrupt the animals' natural sleep and feeding patterns. Nexthermal just released their new Microenvironment system which works great. It has a built-in sow shield that keeps heat away from the mom so she can stay cool at ambient barn temperature, but just inches away the babies are at a perfect 95F. These heaters are so efficient that already some power companies are offering rebates to farmers who buy them. If you don't already have these in your barn, here's the website to check it out: http://www.nexthermal.com/product/elste ... aters.aspx
The Ceramic Infrared Radiant Farrowing heaters are very durable, last 2 years or more, and don't explode if moisture hits them. They have a very even heating pattern that warms more piglets than light bulb heaters, plus they don't emit light so they don't interrupt the animals' natural sleep and feeding patterns. Nexthermal just released their new Microenvironment system which works great. It has a built-in sow shield that keeps heat away from the mom so she can stay cool at ambient barn temperature, but just inches away the babies are at a perfect 95F. These heaters are so efficient that already some power companies are offering rebates to farmers who buy them. If you don't already have these in your barn, here's the website to check it out: http://www.nexthermal.com/product/elste ... aters.aspx