Heat lamp or Heat plate?

[Naz223]

Which one is better? Safer?

 

[av8torcrj]

Plate plate plate plate. Love mine. Never ever again a lamp... ever.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I think they're roughly equivalent... some plates get too hot, some pads do too. Pads obviously require a little bit of DIY whereas plates are built for this purpose so don't take as much adjusting. If you do go with a pad make sure it does not have an auto shut off, it needs to stay on full time.

 

[qopt]

I used a plate for a bit, but switched back to my lamp since the plate kept getting too hot, something malfunctioned and I was sent a new one, but I just don't trust it anymore. Could have seriously burnt my chicks.

 

[Pyxis]

Heat plate, hands down. I have two and haven't look back since I switched. The chicks like it more, it uses far less electricity, and the risk of fire is much, much lower than with a heat lamp.

 

[mdees88]

I have to go with heat lamps. Plates/pads have limited capacity and have to be rather precise on the temp. With a lamp I can have it as hot as I want as long as the brooder is large enough to have a cool end. The chick's will find the spot in the brooder that's most comfortable to them.

 

[RoosterML]

Love my heat pads. I use the heat pad(s) under an aluminum plate. Chicks get radiant heat from it.

 

[Acre4Me]

When using a heat lamp, doubly secure it. A heat plate is a safer and lower wattage option.

we often use both. Newly hatched quail couldn’t keep warm for the first 4 days under a heat plate-they needed a heat lamp. Then they were fine with a heat plate. chicken chicks are fine from hatch under a heat plate.

I often use a heat lamp for 1-2 days on chicks that are on puppy pee pads in the brooder. This way I can easily observe the chicks activity, and see any mobility issues quickly. Also, I can easily see any poop issues. and they only have food and water, so they are not trying to eat the bedding. Once they are 2-3 days old, I switch to a heat plate and shavings.

so, which is better depends on your style! Both can work well for keeping chicks warm.

note on heat lamp bulbs: only use ones rated for livestock. Others may have coatings on them (like the ones for foodservice) which will off-gas toxic fumes that will kill your chicks/chickens. So, if you are buying at a feed store, they should be the correct ones and will note on the packaging that they are ok for livestock.

 

[Naz223]

I’m using a heat plate, but it seems liked it’s too hot. So I went back to a lamp (from the pet store) until the manufacturer gets back to me.

 

[uktech]

What happens if the bulb pops? Anyone had to deal with that? Seeing reviews of bulbs constantly popping. Are the chicks safe or will they end up eating the smaller shards?

Going to keep mine indoors for 3 to 4 weeks so a 75 to 100 Watt bulb should be enough.