Chick Brooder

Sbriggs1309

Hatching
Feb 18, 2021
1
2
6
Looking for some advice. We currently use 2 red heat lamps for chicks that hatch. Obviously keeping the temp up in negative degree temps is tough, and I genuinely try and avoid a fire hazard, but that has been on my mind lately.

Is it better or just as good, to use the chick brooder plates? The ones that the chicks stay under to keep warm. This seems like less of a fire hazard than the hot red light.
 
Looking for some advice. We currently use 2 red heat lamps for chicks that hatch. Obviously keeping the temp up in negative degree temps is tough, and I genuinely try and avoid a fire hazard, but that has been on my mind lately.

Is it better or just as good, to use the chick brooder plates? The ones that the chicks stay under to keep warm. This seems like less of a fire hazard than the hot red light.
When I raised chicks, I used the brooder plate in an area of the build-in brooder that is sheltered from any potential wind and tossed an old towel over the top of it to make it more cave like. I raised 15 chicks under a 14"x14" plate in April with temps down in the low 20s. They did great.
I now leave chick rearing to broody hens.
 
It sounds like you brood outside. I do too and use heat lamps. I feel that if you wire or chain them in place so they can't fall they are about as safe as anything using electricity. But that's me personally.

I don't know where you are located or if your negative temperatures are in Fahrenheit or Celsius. There is a difference but either one is cold enough to be dangerous to young chicks.

People use heating pads and heat plates outside and are quite successful. I think that success is dependent on the details. There can be issues with any of them. The more details you can get of how they are set up the better off you will be. I like that Dobie mentioned temperature (in NY that would be F), how many chicks, and the size of the plate. That would be one of my questions, the number of chicks.

Good luck with it.
 
One thing to keep in mind with heat plates is some brands have temperature limits marked on them, i.e. cannot go below 50F ambient temperature. So you definitely need to read the fine print as far as if the product is meant for use in colder temperatures.
 
I agree with whats been said. Heat lamps can generate far more heat, heat plates can only generate a limited amount. In a sealed box indoors they keep things nice and cosy but stick it outside with a draft and it will soon get too cold.

So one always has to use judgement, stick a hand under it, it should feel really warm and toasty, hard to give an accurate judgement of what it should feel like but anyway the point is heat plates can be used outdoors but just like a radiator indoors might be fine, stick it on the porch and it might not do much, the same princile needs to be used with a heat plate outdoors. So sticking into a carboard or wooden box with a doorway is the easiest way to contain the heat it generates and keep out drafts. adding an insulation board on the bottom helps as long as they can't peck it and covering the top of the plate as mentioned .
 
Looking for some advice. We currently use 2 red heat lamps for chicks that hatch. Obviously keeping the temp up in negative degree temps is tough, and I genuinely try and avoid a fire hazard, but that has been on my mind lately.

Is it better or just as good, to use the chick brooder plates? The ones that the chicks stay under to keep warm. This seems like less of a fire hazard than the hot red light.
I use a heat lamp but if I had it to do over again I would use the brooder plate. I think it helps the chicks feel more secure.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom