barn fire caused by heat lamp

[haphaz_farm]

just a warning to those using heat lamps. please be careful.

they said a dozen animals died, some pigs and goats. they were trapped in the barn and the fire department couldnt get them out.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/vide...66/detail.html

[steff bugielski]

That is so sad.
I went through two barn fires when I was a teen, horses both times.
I do not understand why people think animals, meant to live outside need a heat lamp. All of you using them stop and think about the goat's closest relative , the deer. Do they need a heat lamp?
Horses living on the Plains do not have a heat lamp, they do just fine.

Just because it is cold does not mean the animal can not adapt. Even the young and newborn can handle it very well.
Shelter from the wind and rain or snow is all they need.

Sorry I get very emotional about this.

[sammyd]

we have lost more goats to cold than I care to.
At least 2 sets per season in the beginning.
So we use a heat lamp as part of our rearing procedures.
Deer lose fawns and wild horses lose foals. I do not care to lose kids.

[Backfourty,MI.]

Originally Posted by sammyd

we have lost more goats to cold than I care to.
At least 2 sets per season in the beginning.
So we use a heat lamp as part of our rearing procedures.
Deer lose fawns and wild horses lose foals. I do not care to lose kids.

That is why I plan all my kdding for April & May, then the coldest weather is past us.

[Backfourty,MI.]

Originally Posted by steff bugielski

That is so sad.
I went through two barn fires when I was a teen, horses both times.
I do not understand why people think animals, meant to live outside need a heat lamp. All of you using them stop and think about the goat's closest relative , the deer. Do they need a heat lamp?
Horses living on the Plains do not have a heat lamp, they do just fine.

Just because it is cold does not mean the animal can not adapt. Even the young and newborn can handle it very well.
Shelter from the wind and rain or snow is all they need.

Sorry I get very emotional about this.

I totally agree with steff here, it is so sad & not needed. Those poor animals. I can not even imagine standing there watching my animals die in a fire that no one could get them out of!
Our outdoor animals adjust to the cold. Make sure they have proper housing, bedding & feed & they should be just fine.

[Oat Bucket Farm]

That is incredibly sad, I couldn't imagine losing my animals that way.

As far as deer and such, they are not having babies this time of year. Wild animals have babies when the weather warms. Wild babies will die in the cold just as easy as tame babies which is why mother nature timed it so most babies are born in warmer temps. I am not sure why there is the assumption that wild animals never die from the cold. They do, just usually not in your barn where you can see it. You cannot say for sure that wild horses on the plains never succumb to the cold or that a baby deer born too early in the season never freezes to death because you are not out there with those animals 24/7 to see it.

[michael1]

We had a barn fire caused by a heat lamp. About 4 years ago my wife came home from work to find the barn smelling strongly of smoke. We had heat lamps over 50 cornish cross chicks. It was February and temps were in the 20's. We think a full grown chicken had gotten into the chick's stall to eat their food and pecked one of the lamps. The hot filament fell into the hay and caught fire. Damage wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. Much of the brooder box was burned, about 12 feet of 2x4 at the base of the barn wall was gone, a 4" x 8" support post was missing about 4 feet, a 4 gallon plastic waterer had the rim melted down (let out all the water) and we had one wounded chick. There were few flames when she saw it and she hosed it down. The 4x8 post was still burning inside and I cut that off a foot above the fire and got rid of it. We were REALLY lucky as this had happened when we were gone and it had mostly put itself out. We don't use heat lamps in the barn anymore.

[farmmom]

This is one reason I'm glad my barn is built of cinderblock. It will greatly decrease my chances of fire. Of course, precautions must be taken that the animals can't knock the lamp into the hay or other flamable stuff. I feel so badly for the poor critters that died and for their owners as well.

[Wingdo]

The only farm animals we use supplimented heat with are chicks... we brood in Jan/Feb/March mostly. The kids we had on Nov. 29, were subjected to temps in the single digits at night, but giving them an isolated shelter, plenty of hay, and their mama to snuggle with left them healthy, happy, and quite active when they'd venture outside with her. I think as long as they're out of the wind in those temparatures they do fine, and probably thrive to a certain degree as they quickly become acclimated to a not always easy life style.

[natty threads]

Originally Posted by steff bugielski

That is so sad.
I went through two barn fires when I was a teen, horses both times.
I do not understand why people think animals, meant to live outside need a heat lamp. All of you using them stop and think about the goat's closest relative , the deer. Do they need a heat lamp?
Horses living on the Plains do not have a heat lamp, they do just fine.

Just because it is cold does not mean the animal can not adapt. Even the young and newborn can handle it very well.
Shelter from the wind and rain or snow is all they need.

Sorry I get very emotional about this.

When your does kid in minus twenty fahrenheit I bet you soften on people who use heat lamps.

Bless up!

[Minelson]

Originally Posted by natty threads

When your does kid in minus twenty fahrenheit I bet you soften on people who use heat lamps.

Bless up!

I don't think Steff is being hard. I think she is sharing an awful tragedy that has had a significant impact. I appreciate that because I want all the info...good or bad...on practices before I implement them on my own place. There are ways to keep things cozy when it's minus twenty. One fairly easy way is to build a "cube" with hay or straw bales. With an opening that they can come in and out of but you can close off with a bale at night and shut them in (give them a big drink of water first) it will be warm as toast inside there in the morning. They will snuggle up.

[natty threads]

Straw is $25 a bale here.
A cube would cost a minimum of $150 to make.

When it is minus 20 for weeks on end I think they need a heat source.
I am fine using a heat lamp.

I don't believe a pair of newborn kids can generate enough body heat to stay warm, even in a straw hut, in the weather conditions here.

[Molly Mckee]

One of our neighbors burned down her house when she put a heat lamp on for some kittens in the garage. We have had foals born when it was well below zero. Once they are dry and in a well bedded stall in the barn they do fine. We had pig heat pads for baby pigs when we had them in the winter. It is terrible to watch a house or barn burn especially when there are animals trapped inside. There are ways other than heat lamps to keep babies warm, and if you are going to bred for winter babies it's a good idea to prepare.

[Sonshine]

We have heat lamps in the goat stall as well as the chicken house, but in both cases they are up high enough that none of the animals can get to them. The main reason we use them is to keep the water from freezing.

[nehimama]

I do use heat lamps when the temps are in the single digits, or worse. Have had a barn fire before - many years ago, but was using the cheap, aluminum type. It wasn't securely hung, either, allowing one of the animals to knock it down.

I switched to these:

http://www.premier1supplies.com/deta...266&cat_id=132

I feel they are well worth the price, and I think they are 100x safer than the el cheapos.

Just my opinion.

[Kazahleenah]

Originally Posted by natty threads

When your does kid in minus twenty fahrenheit I bet you soften on people who use heat lamps.

Bless up!

exactly. I used either a heat lamp in a 55 gal drum with a "door" cut out.... or when I had many goats, had heat lamps in calf hutches with rubber strip doors. Both worked very well, and never had a problem with them as they were protected from the animals knocking them about.

[steff bugielski]

Originally Posted by natty threads

When your does kid in minus twenty fahrenheit I bet you soften on people who use heat lamps.

Bless up!

No I do not soften.
Oh my does kid in minus twenty all the time. They wait till it is cold and snowy out to kid.
Inside the barn door closed it is cozy.
Sorry if I came across harsh , but you asked I answered.

Use them if you wish, I will never take such a chance again.
I would rather loose one to the cold than all and my barn to a fire.

[Minelson]

Originally Posted by natty threads

Straw is $25 a bale here.
A cube would cost a minimum of $150 to make.

When it is minus 20 for weeks on end I think they need a heat source.
I am fine using a heat lamp.

I don't believe a pair of newborn kids can generate enough body heat to stay warm, even in a straw hut, in the weather conditions here.

Where do you live?

[Backfourty,MI.]

I don't understand why you folks that WANT to use heat lamps for kids plan to have kids in the middle of winter, of course it's going to be cold we just don'e know from year to year how cold.
Have the kids a little later in the year & not so many worries about the cold.


Sonshine, the electric waterers are probly much safer to use than a heat lamp & probly would cost less to run for you too.

[steff bugielski]

I would just like to add...

Have you ever heard and smelled animals dying in a barn fire?

Can you imagine a 13 yr old girl hitting the fireman who was holding me down so I would not run into that barn as I listened to my beloved horses scream in horror and agony.

All I wanted to do was open the door. They would not let me go.