Chicks have stopped using heat plate

[Jbugner23]

Hi all,

We have one week plus a day old chicks. They are Easter Eggers and we have 14 of them. We have been using the Premier 1 heating plate since day one and have no problems with them going under it and getting warm.
We found one dead early in the morning today just outside of the heat plate. None of our chicks have been acting sick, tired, lethargic or cold. There were no signs of death coming. We have ultimately come to the conclusion and accepted that it wasn't our faults and this just happens to some chicks.
But now we are worried about some other chicks as they are not sleeping under the plate tonight. I went in the room we have them in just after dark to make sure they were all okay and there were about 2 outside of the heat plate laying/sleeping and a couple right on the edge. I raised it earlier today where when they stand it is touching their backs slightly but laying down it does not touch them.
I think I'm having a hard time trying to figure out the best height for them. The room they are in has natural lighting and I do not want to go in there anymore tonight with a light because its making them confused and makes them get up and once its dark again they may not be able to find their way back to the plate.
Any advice on why the chicks may be sleeping/laying on the outside of the plate? Is it okay?
Also, advice on raising the plate? Really struggling and deciding the height for them.
The plate temp is not too hot either because I can rest my hand on it without having to pull it away from pain.
The overall room temp ranges between 58-72F. We live in northern MN so it is still getting cold at night and only about 50F outside during the day. We have the chicks in the basement in a small bathroom with the door closed, and there is one radiator in there. We have been turning the heat way up high at night to help get the room temp to at least 70F for them. But sometimes gets to 58F because the thermostat is upstairs and it gets blazing hot upstairs when we have it set to 72F

Thanks for the help.

 

[igorsMistress]

Hi there. Based on chick behaviors I've seen using a heat plate, they'll snuggle under when they get cold and the dark isn't an issue. Sometimes they'll get too warm and get out from under it for a while though.

Adjusting...it should be just above their backs when they're under it to sleep. Mine had to crouch to get under it and didn't have to fully stand to touch it. You don't want them trying to belly crawl to get out either. When you watch them go under they should just need to bend over and keep going without having to squeeze in.

I hope that makes sense and helps some.

 

[Jbugner23]

Hi there. Based on chick behaviors I've seen using a heat plate, they'll snuggle under when they get cold and the dark isn't an issue. Sometimes they'll get too warm and get out from under it for a while though.

Adjusting...it should be just above their backs when they're under it to sleep. Mine had to crouch to get under it and didn't have to fully stand to touch it. You don't want them trying to belly crawl to get out either. When you watch them go under they should just need to bend over and keep going without having to squeeze in.

I hope that makes sense and helps some.

Thank you, this does help.

 

[igorsMistress]

Thank you, this does help.

You're very welcome!

 

[silkie1472]

As she stated, they usually only go under the heat plate if they’re cold. Besides, it’s dark under there.

Also, like she stated, they (or at least in my experience) will sleep with their backs faced or slightly under the plate.

 

[gtaus]

...The overall room temp ranges between 58-72F. We live in northern MN so it is still getting cold at night and only about 50F outside during the day....

I don't have the heat plate, but I do live in northern MN and can verify the nights are still cold. A couple days ago, the outside temp here was +25F at 6 am. I use a couple heat bulbs in my brooder. I started off with two 250 watt bulbs for the first week. This second week I have one 250 watt bulb and one 125 watt bulb. The chicks are out in my attached, but unheated, garage which is about +54F. They seem to be doing well and can chose which light they sleep under.

What I like about the heat bulbs is that I can just look down into the brooder and see how the chicks are behaving. I also have a thermometer in the brooder under the 250 watt light and am trying to do the 95F, 90F, 85F.... temp drop each week. I error on the high side.

Anyway, I was looking into getting a heat plate, but the one thing I never liked was that I could not see what was going on underneath the heat plate. In the end, I stayed with my bulbs and reflectors because I still had all that equipment from years ago when I raised broilers and that was successful for me.

One thing you did not mention with your heat plate is if you have the front higher than the back. From what I have read, this allows more options for the chicks to find their perfect spot as the chicks may not all be the same size. Also, you said you have 14 chicks. How big is your heat plate because I have been reading here on BYC that the heat plates over estimate how many chicks they are rated for and you really need a bigger heat plate than what they advertise. Finally, I would suggest having a backup heat source just in case a chick gets pushed out during the night, and/or if the heat plate should ever fail the chicks have an alternate heat source.

Sorry for your loss, but in the end, we all do our best and sometimes the outcome is still negative. Some chicks just don't make it despite our best efforts. Best wishes.

 

[CindyinSD]

They go in and out and often end up sleeping on top (which isn’t as warm as underneath). The babies know how warm they want to be. I put mine outside in autumn (in their coop) with freezing temps at night and had to catch them and put them under because I was worried. (I had old towels draped over with “doors” by each corner.) 12”x12”, 17 chicks. They did fine. After a week I gave up on putting them under. I put some battery-powered Christmas lights inside so they could see to go under if they wanted to.