Brooder plate SOOO much better than heat lamp for my new chicks!!

[MamaWolf4]

Hello! I am a new chicken mama to 5 little cuties (Australorp, Speckled Sussex, Wyandotte, Barred Rock and Lavender Orpington). We just picked them up yesterday from a local hatchery. I have one of the pop-up dog playpens and purchased EVERYTHING lol (too much). The hatchery very strongly encouraged us to use a heat lamp for a couple of days. We put up the lamp with a 150 watt infrared bulb. I also got an infrared temperature gun to check the temps in the brooder. The chicks were doing great - eating, drinking, etc. However, I hated the lamp. The chicks wouldn't settle, I felt like I couldn't get the placement correct (even though the temperature was perfect at 93-95), I was freaked out about the fire risk and it made my room SO hot. Before bed, my daughter and I decided to switch the heat lamp out for the Rent-A-Coop brooder plate I had purchased. We had bought feather fringe and attached it around the outside.

We took each chick and put them under the brooder plate a few times. After about 5 minutes, they all went under, completely settled and were all quiet. They were SO cozy and love the feathers!! I will never use a heat lamp again. I don't have to worry about checking the temperature or burning my house down.

This is just my (first-time) experience but the brooder plate has been 100 times better for us than the heat lamp was.
This morning they are all happily eating, drinking and going in and out from under the brooder plate. Let the adventure begin!!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

When brooding indoors a plate is probably best. A heat lamp works better when chicks are brooded outside in an unheated building as it can provide more heat in colder temperatures and the chicks can be warm and still eat and drink. Both are good options. It just depends on your circumstances.

Congratulations on the new chicks. Mine are 3 weeks old now, and are so active.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Bravo!!! And Welcome to BYC!!I'm SO happy to read this . I too started with a red hot and I swear I smelled chicken cooking! It simply freaked me out and they could never get darkness. And then when I moved them to their new coop I was really terrified that wood chips and straw with a red hot would = fire. So heat plates and MHP it's been for many years. I'm going to share my 2 favorite threads with you below. Congrats on the chicks!! Good Luck and Have fun!!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...and-start-raising-your-chicks-outdoors.71995/

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/956958/mama-heating-pad-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update

 

[FrostRanger]

I started with a heat lamp when i first got chicks too. That lasted 1 day before i got a heat plate. I couldn't get the placement right either and it also made the house very hot especially since it was june. Heat plate is definitely > heat lamp

 

[NatJ]

Heat plate is definitely > heat lamp

For some situations, absolutely yes. For some other situations, maybe not. And there are some situations when a heat lamp is far better than a brooder plate (better as in "chicks thrive" instead of "chicks die," when each method is used safely to avoid fires.)

When brooding indoors a plate is probably best. A heat lamp works better when chicks are brooded outside in an unheated building as it can provide more heat in colder temperatures and the chicks can be warm and still eat and drink. Both are good options. It just depends on your circumstances.

I agree. No one heat source is best for ALL situations.

 

[emyancey]

Hello! I am a new chicken mama to 5 little cuties (Australorp, Speckled Sussex, Wyandotte, Barred Rock and Lavender Orpington). We just picked them up yesterday from a local hatchery. I have one of the pop-up dog playpens and purchased EVERYTHING lol (too much). The hatchery very strongly encouraged us to use a heat lamp for a couple of days. We put up the lamp with a 150 watt infrared bulb. I also got an infrared temperature gun to check the temps in the brooder. The chicks were doing great - eating, drinking, etc. However, I hated the lamp. The chicks wouldn't settle, I felt like I couldn't get the placement correct (even though the temperature was perfect at 93-95), I was freaked out about the fire risk and it made my room SO hot. Before bed, my daughter and I decided to switch the heat lamp out for the Rent-A-Coop brooder plate I had purchased. We had bought feather fringe and attached it around the outside.

We took each chick and put them under the brooder plate a few times. After about 5 minutes, they all went under, completely settled and were all quiet. They were SO cozy and love the feathers!! I will never use a heat lamp again. I don't have to worry about checking the temperature or burning my house down.

This is just my (first-time) experience but the brooder plate has been 100 times better for us than the heat lamp was.
This morning they are all happily eating, drinking and going in and out from under the brooder plate. Let the adventure begin!!

Awesome!!! I love my brooder plate as well! I did the same with the feathers. My babies came to me at a day old and I dipped their beaks in water and stuck them under there and that was all it took. They'd run in and out from underneath and they sleep the night through. I do have a tiny little rechargeable night light on the plate. Once they started laying around the edges, I raised it. Now they're two weeks old and they get on top a lot to perch and poop but they still go under at bed time every night. (The puppy pad is for me - I sit with my legs and feet inside the tent brooder with them. I put it down when I go in and take it out with me when I leave.) Ps. I want Lavender Orpingtons so badly!!