Brooding with Heat Plate Questions

[Fancychicken10]

Hello! I’ve posted here before and am happy to report I have 3 beautiful chicks I got at a few hours old; a Sumatra, an Andalusian, and a Silkie. I have a Brinsea Ecoglow for heat and the chicks love it. I do have questions though- I will preface by saying I am very attached to each chick already and am overly cautious.

I have had a light on 24/7 and the chicks are nearly a week old. When I’ve brooded chicks under lamps before, I wasn’t concerned about darkness at night since the temp is uniform but it is not with the heat plate. Are there concerns about the chicks being able to navigate in and out from the plate in the dark? I handle each one individually every night so its not as straight forward as a clear day and night light cycle where they are left alone. Could a night light be a solution to help them navigate if I start shutting the light off?

How do you introduce roosts with heat plate babies? My Andalusian already has flight feathers and will nap perching on my finger. If I introduce a perch in the brooder is there risk they will choose to sleep on that instead of going under the heat plate to stay warm?

I’d appreciate any feedback. All in all I really like the Ecoglow for the safety but its raised questions for me.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Chicks with only a heat plate and no light will stay under it during the duration of night, just as they would with a mother hen.

I brood with a true day/night cycle. The chicks do not have to be taught to seek out the heat source, their instinct tells them to do so as the daylight naturally dims to night. If you are NOT using daylight (i.e. brooder is indoors) then it's advisable to gradually dim the light of the room they're in so they seek out heat before it gets completely dark. If the nightlight can do that, you can try it instead of a dimmer.

Once chicks no longer need heat you will find them sleeping further out from the heat plate or on top of it, or possibly on a roost if one is provided. They'll know what's comfortable for them.

 

[Fancychicken10]

Thank you, this is very helpful!

 

[ShotgunDog]

The chicks will actually let you know what they need. I found that when the plate was too hot/low, they would sleep close to it, but not under it. That is when I would raise it up a notch for them. It seemed like I raised it one notch a week until they reached 4 weeks old or so. I also set it so that it was higher on one side than the other (to give them options). As they approached 5 weeks old or so, they were nearly fully feathered out and they didn't even need it/want it any more. Each week I also offered them a perch in their brooder cage that was a bit higher than the last. By 5 weeks old their perch was about 12" high. By that age they were really getting the hang of roosting. At about 5.5 weeks old I moved them into their coop with a roost about 15" above the floor. They took to it instinctively, and just knew what they were supposed to do. Two weeks later they migrated to the highest roosting bar and have been there ever since.

 

[Fancychicken10]

The chicks will actually let you know what they need. I found that when the plate was too hot/low, they would sleep close to it, but not under it. That is when I would raise it up a notch for them. It seemed like I raised it one notch a week until they reached 4 weeks old or so. I also set it so that it was higher on one side than the other (to give them options). As they approached 5 weeks old or so, they were nearly fully feathered out and they didn't even need it/want it any more. Each week I also offered them a perch in their brooder cage that was a bit higher than the last. By 5 weeks old their perch was about 12" high. By that age they were really getting the hang of roosting. At about 5.5 weeks old I moved them into their coop with a roost about 15" above the floor. They took to it instinctively, and just knew what they were supposed to do. Two weeks later they migrated to the highest roosting bar and have been there ever since.

I know exactly what you mean about them letting us know. My brood is in the garage and overnight temps this week have been over 50. They are 10 days old now and are already getting huge with one flying out of the brooder and onto my shoulder already. They have been sleeping a lot just outside the heater, including the silkie who is the smallest. It feels wrong to raise the heater as much as I have but they are now on shavings instead of paper towels which alters their level since its not a flat surface. Thanks for the info!

 

[Ilovechickens2525]

How did you make out with this heat plate? I’ve been looking at it. Did your chicks stay under it the whole time or were they ok to come out and explore, get food etc? I worry with the heat plate they won’t be warm enough when they come out from under it.

How did you introduce roosts?

 

[MapleLaurelFarms]

How did you make out with this heat plate? I’ve been looking at it. Did your chicks stay under it the whole time or were they ok to come out and explore, get food etc? I worry with the heat plate they won’t be warm enough when they come out from under it.

How did you introduce roosts?

Saw no one answered your post, and although I'm not the original author, we've used heat plates for years and years with no issues, even in extremely cold weather with no additional heat source.

To answer your questions... A heat plate is designed to mimic a mama hen, so chicks come out frequently and often stay out to play, chest bump lol, eat and drink. They'll only run back under when they need a bit of heat, just like with a mama hen.

They'll sleep under the plate at night, again just like with their mamas, until they're fully feathered at about 5 weeks old. Once you remove the heat plate, they naturally tend to take to any roosts available. It's instinct, so you don't have to "introduce" roosts, so to speak.

Hope this helps!

 

[Raubkatze]

The chicks will actually let you know what they need. I found that when the plate was too hot/low, they would sleep close to it, but not under it. That is when I would raise it up a notch for them. It seemed like I raised it one notch a week until they reached 4 weeks old or so. I also set it so that it was higher on one side than the other (to give them options). As they approached 5 weeks old or so, they were nearly fully feathered out and they didn't even need it/want it any more. Each week I also offered them a perch in their brooder cage that was a bit higher than the last. By 5 weeks old their perch was about 12" high. By that age they were really getting the hang of roosting. At about 5.5 weeks old I moved them into their coop with a roost about 15" above the floor. They took to it instinctively, and just knew what they were supposed to do. Two weeks later they migrated to the highest roosting bar and have been there ever since.

Not to highjack this thread, but where are you finding your roosts? I have two chick roosts in my brooder and they are tiny. The next step up seems too big. I went around my yard looking for sticks, but nothing seemed quite right or not super gross after a soggy winter.

 

[ShotgunDog]

Not to highjack this thread, but where are you finding your roosts? I have two chick roosts in my brooder and they are tiny. The next step up seems too big. I went around my yard looking for sticks, but nothing seemed quite right or not super gross after a soggy winter.

I know this question wasn't directed at me, but thought I'd chime in. For the "roosts" in the brooder cage, I used some stuff I had laying around the house. The first "roost" was just a little piece of wood lying on the floor of the cage. Then I elevated that same piece of wood by hot-gluing it on two empty spice bottles turned on their side. At about 4 weeks of age, I built a small roost from spare blocks of wood. They just 'knew' what to do, so by the time they were moved into their coop, it was an easy transition.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Not to highjack this thread, but where are you finding your roosts? I have two chick roosts in my brooder and they are tiny. The next step up seems too big.

This is my cobbled together chick roost, recycled roost from my old coop screwed into leftover scrap plywood: