Ecoglow with blanket?

[Nellzmom]

I'm hoping to get my 3 chicks in a couple of days. My brooder is a tote with an Ecoglow at one end, on our screened-in porch (porch is tucked into the house, so 2.5 walls are brick and 1.5 walls are screen). Day temps will be 70/80s and night will be 60s when the chicks arrive. I really like Blooie's heating pad mama idea/concept of raising chicks. My questions are: (1) at these temps, should I put a thick blanket around the entire tote (leaving air of course) to make it as warm as possible, especially at night, and (2) could I make a cave with the Ecoglow by draping a towel around it? Has anyone done this/is it safe? Thanks!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

They should be fine without the blanket, but if you feel they need it, then drape over just the "warm" end.
Chicks need just one warm spot, so the cooler temps should be good - they will be sleeping at night anyway unless you were planning on providing light.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I wouldn't do either - the beauty of using a heat pad or plate is that the chicks have the obvious warm area, and everywhere else is cooler "normal" temperatures. They'll harden up much better with exposure to cooler temps.

I have chicks under a week old under their heating pad, and it's 46 F tonight. They're doing just fine.