Heat plates

[SandyRiverChick]

I have always used the kind of heat lamp that is a metal reflector with a big red bulb (250 watts). Or a few times, I have used a smaller-wattage incandescent bulb in the same reflector.

I have used many different brooder setups, but they always have the heat at one corner or one end, with enough space for the chicks to get away from the heat at the other end. I've used cardboard boxes, cardboard pieced together to make bigger pens, plastic wading pools, a glass aquarium (12 x 30 inches, not a good choice with the 250 watt bulb), metal dog kennel panels & chicken wire pieced into a pen that filled half the garage, a chicken tractor covered with tarp and an old shower curtain liner (clear plastic to let in daylight), the entire chicken house, and probably a few other things that I've forgotten.

I typically put down a good layer of newspaper, then a single layer of paper towels on top, then the feeder and waterer. (Typical plastic waterer that screws onto a jar, feeder can be a similar style or any dish that is handy.) I often put marbles in the water for the first few days, but sometimes not (it doesn't seem to make much difference, but the marbles make me feel better.) Feed is unmedicated chick starter, water is plain water from either a well or a public water supply (depends on what is available at the house I live in at the time.) I do not add anything to the water or the feed: no electrolytes, no vitamins, no herbs, etc.

One the chicks are a few days old, I might keep them on paper towels with newspaper underneath, or I might add other bedding like pine shavings or dry leaves (varies depending on how many chicks, whether they are inside the house or somewhere else, and what is available with a strong preference for "free" when possible.)

I don't worry too much about the exact temperature under the heat lamp: anywhere from 95 to 110+ is acceptable to me, for the hottest spot directly under the light. I don't want fires, but I am not worried about overheating chicks because they always have a cooler place to go. I have noticed that lowering the lamp will make the warm area smaller as well as hotter, so I sometimes prefer to put it low (small hot spot) rather than high (large warm spot, less cool area left.) I try to keep the water above freezing, so if the chicks are outdoors in cold weather I will put the water in a place that is partly warmed by the lamp, closer to the heat in the first days and further out as they get a bit older. In hot summer weather, I cannot get the "cool" space very cool outdoors, but I make sure it is shaded, and I prefer a brooder 6+ feet long so the chicks can get well away from the heat lamp if they want to. I do not worry much about a brooder being too big (so 6 feet long for half-a-dozen chicks does not bother me.) Chicks are attracted to the light of the heat lamp, so they don't have too much risk of getting lost in a cold corner.

I have never had much trouble with pasty butt (for a small amount of stuck dry poop, just pull it carefully off: it will pull off a little fluff as well, the chick will peep, but it is over very quickly. I think trying to soak & scrub it off would be more stressful for the chick.)

I have never seen a chick with coccidiosis, or with any other disease.

Whether I start with shipped chicks or home-hatched chicks, if they survive the first 24 hours, they usually stay alive and healthy until I'm ready to start butchering the males.

It doesn't feel difficult to me, but maybe that's because I had someone show me how when I was young, and then I've done it many times since, so I've got a set of habits that generally work well for chick-raising.

Thank You! You have a great success rate!! I just picked up only 4 but they're different ages from 2days to 1 week. So I used your advice on a small hot spot. Yesterday when I got them it was 90 floor temp under the ceramic bulb and 90 floor temp under the heat plate. As of today it's 85. I like to cut the ceramic heat as fast as possible, but always based on chick behavior. They're definitely already zooming around the cold zone but this time of year I'm keeping them out in my she shed at *70 instead of coop where we're supposed to get a snow storm tonight, just long enough for me to watch poo and such. I'll move them with only heat plate to the coop by next weekend.

 

[Cwildmon]

I made up a mhp, new chicks were in the garage and the temp went down to 44f..I checked during the night and they were quiet. Turned the light on this morning and they all popped out to eat. Thank you all for showing me how

 

[Iluveggers]

They recommend heat lamps because shipped chicks are stressed and cold, so they need to be warmed as fast as possible. The red infrared heat lamp penetrates the heat faster and deeper into the chicks than a heat plate can. They usually recommend them for the first day at least then you can go to the plate if you like once they are all active and stress is gone.

I order my chicks in the summer (I’m in NY), primarily so they don’t get chilled in the post. Our weather is unpredictable so this works best for us. I’ve only ever used heat plates, we have 3. A rent-a-coop black & red one, the producers supply TSC one, and a friend let me borrow hers (it was yellow and black…not sure of the brand).

I really like them in the summer because it gives the chicks a place to escape the heat completely, especially when it’s hot out. Sometimes I find them sleeping on the edge after a few weeks, and then I know I can raise it up really high or turn it off completely (if we are in the 80s at night). My chicks brood in our garage.

We know a farmer down the road who uses a stock tank for a brooder, with her producers pride plate. She had babies out in the barn in FEB (it is in the 20s right now), and they are doing great! She laughed and said sometimes they will sit on top of the plate when they are playing…first group ever to do that and only group she’s brooded in the winter. They were hatched locally though, so no shipping stress.

I think if your birds arrive unstressed, come out of an incubator at your home, or are from a farm store, the heat plate would be just fine.

 

[MapleLaurelFarms]

I've been using heat plates for years now and I've never had any problems with mine. None of the chicks have ever seemed too cold or too hot and I haven't dealt with pasty butt since I switched. For me the plates are also less of a hassle than the lamps.

Same here. Have used heat plates for nearly a decade in very cold, springtime temps with no issues. I'll have the brooder set up and preheat the plate for a day or so before pickup day, and then once I get the chicks home, I pop them into the brooder and watch them a bit to make sure they find the water and food. If needed, I'll also corral them with my hand until all have discovered the heat plate. They've always done great.

IMO lamps vs plates are primarily a personal preference and whatever works best with your set-up. As long as you provide the few resources that they need, chickens are pretty great at taking care of themselves. Enjoy the journey!

 

[Raubkatze]

I was recommended a heat plate and my chicks seem very happy that I went that way. My heat plate says it runs at 110 degrees, but both thermometers I bought were defective, so I've been relying on the chicks themselves to tell me if they are warm enough. So far, so good. The only downside is that I had to move them inside. I couldn't get the area in my basement or my garage above 30 degrees, even with a space heater going, and I didn't want frozen chicks.

 

[ShotgunDog]

I purchased a "Rent-A-Coop" heat plate, and for this first-time chicken owner, it worked fantastic. I already had the heat plate plugged in and warmed before I picked up the chicks. I quickly learned to adjust the plate so that it is tilted (higher on one side). The chicks then adjust to the spot they are most comfortable under. When they all seemed to congregate at the very edge of the plate, I knew it was time to raise the plate up a notch. The chicks tell you what they need and a heat plate made it very easy to accommodate them. Also, I had zero pasty-butt issues.

 

[peachRN]

I'm using a heat plate and it literally feels hot to the touch. My chicks (day old) seem fine so far. They come out to eat and drink and peck around a little, and then go right back under the plate. They aren't lethargic and they aren't cheeping and peeping their heads off, either.