Heatplate question

[matheny00]

Ok. I have had the chicks for 5 days so they are a week old. We have the heat plate at an angle. Should they be able to stand under the plate on one side or should they need to bend over some to get in? They seem to be ok as they are active and come and go from the plate and do not huddle outside as if they are cold.

 

[casportpony]

I have mine at an angle, too. To get under, the bigger ones have to lower their heads a little.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

I have my heat plate at a tilt. with bantams and standards they needed different heights. For the first 3 or 4 days the front is only a tiny bit higher then i start raising it higher as thy grow once they are old enough to not really need it but because of cold night temps i dont angle it anymore.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Yes that should be fine. I always keep mine low enough that they can lay down with their backs touching the plate on the back side and high enough in the front that they have to duck slightly to get under it. Then I adjust accordingly as they grow.

 

[matheny00]

At what temp is it figured safe that they do not need the plate. They are in the shop and it never gets below 69 at night.

 

[rosemarythyme]

At 69 degrees they'll probably wean themselves off it at 2-3 weeks. You can judge by their behavior, when they no longer want the heat they won't sleep under it or might sleep on top of it instead.

 

[matheny00]

At 69 degrees they'll probably wean themselves off it at 2-3 weeks. You can judge by their behavior, when they no longer want the heat they won't sleep under it or might sleep on top of it instead.

Yeah checked on them in the middle of the night and 3 of them had only half of their body under it.