Have you ever used an infrared therm to check surface temp?
What type of pads?....there are tons of pet pads out there.
Remember a hen's body temp is 106°F.
Oh, I've come a long way since then!
See this article for the iterations;
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate.67729/
They go under the wood to touch the heating pad.
Plug and Play!
Looks pretty good.....how easy to adjust height?
I don't like the inability to control the heat tho:
"Built-in Thermostat maintains a constant temperature".
Wonders what heat range is....
...and what the surface temp is(got an infrared?).
It's ~6" smaller....I'd keep capacity to...
Agrees 18 should be fine.
I did 16 last year and by the time they didn't all fit under they didn't really need it any more,
they just kind oozed out the front and back.
Not sure 1 of any size pad is big enough for 37 meat birds,
there is still a place for heat lamps and your situation might be one of them.
Put some 1/2" hardware cloth over the edge of lamp shade to keep chicks from hitting bulb.
@Blooie got a link for that thing so we can see a cost.....new...
The heating pad works by the chicks touching their backs directly against the pad.
Creating the 'cave' type set up, like beekissed and many others,
and miss janes towel 'walls' can be good for blocking drafts when they are little,
and kind of form a 'warm room' when they are older and bigger...
Yes, the laser therms are good for measuring the temps on a surface.
The surface of my heating pad and wire rack were about 110-120F.
But do not confuse that with the temps typically given to keep chicks warm with a heat lamp.
When using heating plate/pads you want to go by chick behavior to...