Chick die off using brooder plate

[NameIwish]

"that size is very common. It works well"

OK, but, according to the OP, it is NOT 'working well.' All I am sharing is my personal experience with 'day old chick' mortality rates relative to environmental variables - primarily temperature.

If the OP gets a 15% mortality and (in the picture) the chicks are away from the heating element(s) maybe she got some sick chickees.

The OP didn't exactly detail the parameters - How old were the chicks when she got them? was the (Large INMHO) metal enclosure warmed up when the chicks were introduced? What were the temperatures in that enclosure ends, middle, base? Where was this enclosure housed? In conditioned space? What was the temperature range in the space it was kept in? How many hours before the first fatality? Were any adjustments made prior to the second, the third fatalities?

True the chicks are able to regulate their temperature somewhat. Also true that significant changes in temperature are beyond a chick's ability to compensate for. True they are better able to do so after 'feathering out' - which is how momma keeps them warm and toasty.

As I wrote somewhere in this thread, I would leave the little carrying containers Tractor Supply or Rural King provided for bringing the chicks home right in the brooder (after turning the little 'window' into a chickee-sized door. I figured they were as accustomed to that as anything else and it seemed to work out well. They have the room to roam to get a meal or a drink, can got out to set under the light or cuddle up inside their own little corner of the world for warmth and companionship.

That they, ever after weeks, prefer those small quarters (absent any encouragement from me) would seem to support my contention that, for raising itty-bitty birds bigger ain't necessarily better.

 

[Tahai]

It's sad you lost some chicks. I'm happy they are thriving now.

I'm not convinced the heat plate was the issue. You changed a lot of factors when you took the plate out - you sterilized, changed bedding, and added nutients. It could also be that those 3 chicks had failure to thrive, or shipping stress they never recovered from.

The reason I say the above is because I don't want future readers to see this thread and decide brooder plates are horrible things. I used a brooder plate for my last 2 batches of chicks. They are the most healthy and robust chicks I've ever had. They've feathered out well before my heat lamp babies ever did and are significantly bigger faster.

It is important to understand that brooder plates work different from heat lamps, and you cannot take the temperature under the plate and compare it to a temperature under a heat lamp. Future Reader: If you google how brooder plates work, you will find an abundance of information explaining the differences.

Again, it is great news that all your remaining chicks are thriving.