Is anyone using the Premier "heat plate" brooder for chicks?

[Beekissed]

LOVE your brooder! I need a 2nd one that is cat proof and this looks like it would work perfectly!! How did you attach the netting to the tote, by the way?

Looks like zip ties, my favorite little fastener! And plenty of them...someone did a very neat job on that...kudos!

 

[LindaB220]

Thanks so much!

Totally enjoyed your blog. Lots of good stuff there.

 

[Tomtommom]

Yup, it's a scrap of hardware cloth we had left from building the coop last spring, attached with zip ties. Hubby dearest is mr.Meticulous, I am ms.Sloppy, fix-it-with-ducttape. I built the first brooder, he made the second..... that about tells you all

BUT, I came up with the idea for the side view, we were going to put the screen in the top at first. So glad we did it this way, now Ms.Sloppy can stack plenty of junk on top

 

[YlwBrchHobbyFrm]

Totally enjoyed your blog. Lots of good stuff there.

Thanks so much ! Just one of my many...many hobbies, haha.

 

[Branch Chickens]

I was JUST reading your blog review of the brooder and thought, "I wonder if this has been posted on the thread at BYC yet?"

Thanks for the great review! This is our first time raising chicks, but I'm sure it won't be the last. I think the plate is probably a good bet. Looks like it's back-ordered right now, but the in-stock date is tomorrow.

 

[RookieChicken15]

So here's a newbie question: if I use a heat plate-type warmer for my new chicks, do I still need to monitor the temperature with a thermometer? Or do I not need to because they can escape the heat if they want?

 

[Beekissed]

So here's a newbie question: if I use a heat plate-type warmer for my new chicks, do I still need to monitor the temperature with a thermometer? Or do I not need to because they can escape the heat if they want?

I never measure brooder temps with a thermometer, so it's not really even necessary. If they have a heat source and they seem comfortable, it's most likely that they ARE comfortable.

 

[RookieChicken15]

Okay, thanks!

 

[Tomtommom]

Hatching chicks is like baking a cake, accuracy matters... Raising them is more like making a stew. You can toss anything you got at them and it'll turn out alright, unless you do really weird things. Once they're grown up it gets even better, then it's like a trash disposal. Insert food, retrieve eggs

 

[henless]

So here's a newbie question: if I use a heat plate-type warmer for my new chicks, do I still need to monitor the temperature with a thermometer? Or do I not need to because they can escape the heat if they want?

This is per the instructions that come with the Premier Heating Pate:

"Some users think they need to use a thermometer to check the temperature underneath the heating plate. This is incorrect and not necessary. You don't put a thermometer under a brooding hen either. The behaviour of your chicks shows you if they are satisfied or not! Important is that you frequently check their behaviour!"

Mine love it. I have them out in an unheated shop, and the heating plate is the only source of heat for them. I do have a lamp out there for them since there are no windows, but it has the energy saver bulb, so no heat from it at all.

When I stick my hand to the under surface, it is warm, but not hot to my touch.