Brooder plate vs heat lamp

[Ilovechickens2525]

I’m sure this has been asked before, but looking for recommendations for my specific circumstances.

I’m hatching two batches of chicks from my incubator. First one will be small, only 6 eggs going in so may only end up with a couple of chicks. They will hatch early Feb. I plan to keep them inside for a week, can be longer if it’s cold out and I only have a couple. I’ll keep them inside a homemade brooder box out of a large Rubbermaid bin.

Then they will move to a relatively large wooden/hardware cloth brooder box out in the heated garage. Garage does have heat, while it’s not quite as warm as the house it’s not that far off, could even turn the heat up.

My second batch is going into the incubator late Feb. 24 eggs! So depending on how many hatch I may need multiple brooder plates if I go that route.

So, brooder plate or heat lamp? Or one of each?

I’m concerned about heat lamp overheating them in the house or a hazard with the plastic and I was planning on using puppy pee pads to keep dust down.

But I’m also concerned they’ll need to stay right up close to the brooder plate and not be able to move freely around to stay warm.

If you recommend brooder plate which one do you recommend? And can you adjust the temp settings on it as they get older?

 

[DobieLover]

Garage does have heat, while it’s not quite as warm as the house it’s not that far off, could even turn the heat up.

If anything, I would turn the temp DOWN in the garage. Certainly not up. I would keep it just above freezing.

But I’m also concerned they’ll need to stay right up close to the brooder plate and not be able to move freely around to stay warm.

It doesn't work this way. Chicks do NOT need to be kept at a constant temperature. Quite the contrary it is best for them to have a heating zone and be kept at ambient temperatures. Think about the way it is for them in a natural incubation and being raised by a broody hen. The chicks do not walk around tucked under their mother's fluff all day. They go under when they need a warm up and to sleep for the night. That's it.
I've had broody hens whose eggs hatched when it was snowing out and the chicks would be out running around her in their built-in brooder with temps in the 20s while she scratched around for them. Granted, they will dart under the heat source more frequently when it's colder but they do far better not being over heated or kept at a near constant temperature.

If you recommend brooder plate which one do you recommend? And can you adjust the temp settings on it as they get older?

I raised 15 chicks with a 12x12 brooder plate with an old bath towel tossed over it to form a cave. This rig was tucked into the solid walled corner of my brooder out in the coop. The chicks did fabulous.
You don't need to adjust the temp setting on a brooder plate. You just need to raise the legs on it as the chicks grow.
A broody hen does not adjust her temperature as her chicks grow. The chicks just stop burrowing completely under her and hang out on the fringes of her fluff instead.

 

[Ilovechickens2525]

If anything, I would turn the temp DOWN in the garage. Certainly not up. I would keep it just above freezing.

It doesn't work this way. Chicks do NOT need to be kept at a constant temperature. Quite the contrary it is best for them to have a heating zone and be kept at ambient temperatures. Think about the way it is for them in a natural incubation and being raised by a broody hen. The chicks do not walk around tucked under their mother's fluff all day. They go under when they need a warm up and to sleep for the night. That's it.
I've had broody hens whose eggs hatched when it was snowing out and the chicks would be out running around her in their built-in brooder with temps in the 20s while she scratched around for them. Granted, they will dart under the heat source more frequently when it's colder but they do far better not being over heated or kept at a near constant temperature.

I raised 15 chicks with a 12x12 brooder plate with an old bath towel tossed over it to form a cave. This rig was tucked into the solid walled corner of my brooder out in the coop. The chicks did fabulous.
You don't need to adjust the temp setting on a brooder plate. You just need to raise the legs on it as the chicks grow.
A broody hen does not adjust her temperature as her chicks grow. The chicks just stop burrowing completely under her and hang out on the fringes of her fluff instead.

Thank you, that is all very helpful and reassuring. Helps me feel more confident going into this! Do you have a recommendation for a heat plate?

It’s not a fire risk to have the towel surround the heat plate? I like that idea to help them feel cozy.

 

[FarmerGirl101]

Thank you, that is all very helpful and reassuring. Helps me feel more confident going into this! Do you have a recommendation for a heat plate?

It’s not a fire risk to have the towel surround the heat plate? I like that idea to help them feel cozy.

Here is the heat plate I use personally. I like it a lot.

I would avoid using a towel around the heat plate. What I do is I clear below the heat plate of the bedding (my brooder has a rubber layer under the bedding) so nothing can catch on fire even if unlikely. This lets me lower the heat plate to about 1 1/2 to 2 inches off the ground (needs to be close to the ground so when they lay down underneath, they are close to the heat). It is much safer than a heat lamp in terms of fire risk, but I still try and eliminate the risks as much as possible.

 

[DobieLover]

I would avoid using a towel around the heat plate.

A heat plate is not designed to get hot enough to catch anything on fire. It is safe to use an old bath towel to trap heat.
If something shorts out in the plate that causes it to catch fire, it won't matter if you have something near it or not. It's going to burn.

 

[MapleLaurelFarms]

I raised 15 chicks with a 12x12 brooder plate with an old bath towel tossed over it to form a cave. This rig was tucked into the solid walled corner of my brooder out in the coop. The chicks did fabulous.
You don't need to adjust the temp setting on a brooder plate. You just need to raise the legs on it as the chicks grow.
A broody hen does not adjust her temperature as her chicks grow. The chicks just stop burrowing completely under her and hang out on the fringes of her fluff instead.

Ditto to this without the towel. The brooder is always on our back deck with no additional heat, and although they're protected from most of the wind back there, it still gets really cold here (below freezing and sometimes much lower) until about mid-May. Just make sure it's low enough for them to feel the heat without it scorching their backs. I sit mine at an angle, and they've always been just fine.

I'll often add another brooder plate when they're about 3 weeks old or so because 15 chicks can get cramped under there as they grow, but they need less heat by that age anyway. Although they'll use it fairly often during the day, they tend to pile up under only one at night to sleep. Love cozy little chick piles!