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

[Leahs Mom]

I bought my heat plate last year and have never needed to use a dimmer. I have brooded a bunch of chicks and they all loved it. Never had a burned baby. I did lower the back legs and raise the front legs for a while and then just watched as they grew and it needed be raised. I will be buying a cover to use in the future. The press and seal stuff works well but it leaves a sticky film on the top that I don't like.

Just curious - when you touch the plate, is it too hot for you to keep your hand on it?

Some have reported that theirs was too hot to keep a hand on; others have said that theirs weren't that hot. So it seems like they may not all be created equal.

Mine was so hot I couldn't keep a hand on it - and I'm not sensitive to heat so I can usually take a lot.

 

[ladycat]

Mine aren't too hot to keep my hand on them.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Mine aren't too hot to keep my hand on them.

If mine was like that, I wouldn't worry about using a dimmer.

And setting one side lower and one side higher is something that was suggested way back on this thread that I did after reading about it too. That also gives a variation of areas they can go in.

Even with the dimmer on mine, the little ones didn't stay under it much - mostly at night. I usually saw them half under and half out. And I kept that switch at about 1/2 or less.

 

[BuffyBugSlayer]

Just curious - when you touch the plate, is it too hot for you to keep your hand on it?

Some have reported that theirs was too  hot to keep a hand on; others have said that theirs weren't that hot.  So it seems like they may not all be created equal.

Mine was so hot I couldn't keep a hand on it - and I'm not sensitive to heat so I can usually take a lot.

It has been a while since I tested it. I remember it being hot but never hot enough to worry about getting a burn by touching it. Not hot like a heat lamp.

 

[Centreville]

I bought one for my ducklings and they wouldn't go near it. Wish I could return to amazon but I threw the box away

 

[Beekissed]

I bought one for my ducklings and they wouldn't go near it. Wish I could return to amazon but I threw the box away

Wait until night and stuff 'em under it. They'll likely stay there until morning and then may adapt to looking for that warmth on their own. My ducklings used the heating pad brooder of similar style to the heat plate and loved every second of it.

 

[aart]

Quote: Ditto...lol!
I had to hold some chicks new to it underneath for a half a minute or so, until they felt the heat and relaxed.
Took a couple times but they got it eventually

 

[dldolan]

I did just buy the dimmer switch that was suggested, as my plate is too hot for me to touch it more than a few seconds comfortably. But the chicks seem to love it these first two weeks of life! I just keep inching it up, but want to lower the temp to get them ready for outside. BUT, the four meat birds are too big and get too hot under it, so I had to move them to a brooder with a heat lamp that is already pretty high above them and only on one side of the brooder, although they are only two weeks old. I switch chicks around in the two brooders when I clean every morning, but leave the meaties in the bigger tub always. The different groups of Marans or CCL that go in with them daily sit under the light...the Cornish X lay far away!

 

[Robeenop]

I bought the Premier e30; for up to 25 chicks. Picked up 12 more chicks and 2 ducklings. I turned it on about 2 hours before the babies went in. I agree that it felt really hot the first time I tested it; and was a bit concerned. Today felt fine. I think it depends on how COLD your hands are. My were freezing the first tim e. I checked on the babies before bedtime and the were completely content; and not making a "peep". I wished I would have known about the plate last year when I raised my 20 chicks. Would have really put my mind at ease; not worrying about the heat lamps falling or causing a fire. So much nicer. And I put the nipple drinker on top. They found that right away. My Americaunas and Euclid's are happy!

 

[dldolan]

Great testimony!