Chick brooder heat plate burning chicks' backs?

[Keeperofmunchkins]

OK I got some photos. All seven chicks have the same little fuzz dent. I raised the heater last night and they don't look worse today at least.
Its not clear from the pics but the fuzz is definitely shorter in the sunken area. Not sure if it has been singed or rubbed short.

 

[Blooie]

Believe it or not you’re not the first person this has happened to. There was a series of posts on the Mama Heating Pad thread, last year I think, where another person had the same issue. After a frustrating search for answers from the manufacturer, she finally reached them. She was told that the plates - at least in the case of the Premire that she was using - are manufactured for the European market. Over there power isn’t the 120 volt that we use here, and there are other differences as well. They told her that to safely use their plate in America, you need to add some kind of regulator or something, which, it seems, they never bother to tell customers until there’s an issue, I guess. I wish I wasn’t on my phone right now. Searches (and posting at all got that matter) is more difficult using it. So if you’d like I’ll search for it and post the link when I get home. There were others in on that conversation, so I’ll tag them now and see if they remember.

I’m sorry you’re having a hard time with what should be a fantastic way to raise chicks. Here are some tags and I hope they chime in:

@aart @bruceha2000 @azygous

 

[aart]

Yes, Bruce mentioned the controller in post #10.
Have hear of only a couple burns.

 

[Keeperofmunchkins]

Thanks for the replies. I'm in the UK so the power shouldn't be an issue here. I've raised it to the point that they can only touch it with their heads when fully upright and they aren't complaining about being too cold. Hopefully they won't end up with bald little heads though.
I am keeping a close eye on it because I only noticed this problem when they were five days old. For the first few days I had it much lower and they didn't seem to have a problem. Makes me think it could be overheating with continuous use.

 

[Blooie]

Thanks, @aart! I know there haven’t been too many incidences but I figured that the OP would like to know she’s not alone.

 

[Blooie]

Thanks for the replies. I'm in the UK so the power shouldn't be an issue here. I've raised it to the point that they can only touch it with their heads when fully upright and they aren't complaining about being too cold. Hopefully they won't end up with bald little heads though.
I am keeping a close eye on it because I only noticed this problem when they were five days old. For the first few days I had it much lower and they didn't seem to have a problem. Makes me think it could be overheating with continuous use.

Well, so much for my help!

 

[Keeperofmunchkins]

Well, so much for my help!

I still appreciate your input. I think I would feel happier with some kind of regulator. It was a bit strange to me when I bought the heat plate that there was no way to control the temperature of the plate itself.

I have this dimmer plug thing that can reduce the power to a connected device. Its designed for lamps but do you think I could use this?

 

[aart]

IIRC the UK aspect of the 'too hot' plate was the product was made there and had a regulator for the UK electrical system but not on for the US system, that was 4-5 years ago and I believe they do now have one for the US system.
I don't remember the name of the manufacturer.

Not sure if the dimmer device will work @Keeperofmunchkins ...best to call the manufacturer. Would be also good to use an infrared temperature gauge to see what just how hot the surface of the plate is.

 

[azygous]

Yes, Blooie, I recall that issue. There was a post on your Mama Heating Pad thread where someone declared heating pad brooding unsafe because they had read about chicks getting "seriously burned" when coming into contact with it.

I did some research into how hot heating pads normally get and came up with these numbers - 76 to 82 °C (169 to 180 °F ) The National Institute for Standards and Technology says human skin begins to feel pain at a temperature of 111 degrees (think hot bathwater). At 118 degrees, human skin can sustain first-degree burns; a second-degree burn injury can occur at a temperature of 131 degrees.

So why haven't our Mama Heating Pad brooders reported any serious burns? Direct contact can burn human skin and baby chicks are even more delicate. Well, the difference is that brooding with a heating pad, as your thread recommends, recommends that the pad be place inside of a chick proof fabric covering to both make it safer for chicks, but it also helps to dissipate the direct contact heat over the larger area of the soft fabric cover.

Most heating pads also come with a warning to use only with the covering that the pad comes with. I don't directly recall that we discussed heat plates, but it would seem a fabric covering might help cut down on the risk of burns and raising it so it doesn't actually touch the chicks would help further.

 

[BiggDeal]

OK I got some photos. All seven chicks have the same little fuzz dent. I raised the heater last night and they don't look worse today at least.
Its not clear from the pics but the fuzz is definitely shorter in the sunken area. Not sure if it has been singed or rubbed short.

Rubbed maybe but not highly unlikely singed … get a auto thermostat my stays at temp perfectly within two degrees and it’s not even hot to touch been using one for a long time no loss where with lamp we got a chick or two that wouldn’t make it everytime….