Heat lamp or Heat plate?

[rosemarythyme]

But if you angled that heat plate it kinda works the same way....

Yes, I would say if you're using a heat plate it should be set at an angle so chicks can adjust how much heat they're getting, similar to how heating pads are usually set up.

I set up my heating pad a little differently, so the end result is "upside down," like so:
(frame only w/o pad)
(side view with pad and cardboard on top)

I don't have more than 3-4 chicks at a time, so this shape is fine for the number of chicks. When they're very young they'll stuff themselves all the way under the lowest point, so they get really toasty from the pad. As they get older and need less heat, they can climb into that open U portion in the center and sit with the heat source under them, so plenty of variance in warmer temperatures for them to choose from.

 

[jreardon1918]

Using the MHP this time around got the chicks 10 days ago. They are in the run. The outside air temp has ranged from 50- 80 in the last 10 days. Doing great. No temp readings. A great experience.

 

[AngieDawn]

Hesitant to answer as I didn’t really use a plate but I used this heat pad made for chicks

https://www.amazon.com/Pet-Products...ords=heating+pad+chicks&qid=1591742392&sr=8-3

I have 9 week olds that had a heat lamp with red bulb and 5ish week olds that used the pad

The lamp chicks got much larger much quicker. I believe this is because they ate at night also So they had lots of extra hours of eating and growing. They also feathered faster probably due to the extra eating. They also were all roosting on a baby roost by a week old.

The pad was definitely easier And I didn’t have any worries about safety. But my 5 week olds are much smaller then the heat lamp raised chicks at the same age and still aren’t roosting on roost bar at all.

 

[Doc7]

Hesitant to answer as I didn’t really use a plate but I used this heat pad made for chicks

https://www.amazon.com/Pet-Products...ords=heating+pad+chicks&qid=1591742392&sr=8-3

I have 9 week olds that had a heat lamp with red bulb and 5ish week olds that used the pad

The lamp chicks got much larger much quicker. I believe this is because they ate at night also So they had lots of extra hours of eating and growing. They also feathered faster probably due to the extra eating. They also were all roosting on a baby roost by a week old.

The pad was definitely easier And I didn’t have any worries about safety. But my 5 week olds are much smaller then the heat lamp raised chicks at the same age and still aren’t roosting on roost bar at all.

wow this experience is interesting.

I have had almost sickening experience of seeing chicks someone said were4 weeks old that looked like babies compared to my heat pad 4 week chicks! One of my selling points to get people to use a homemade heat pad is that their chicks will look twice as old as the person who uses the heat lamp. It’s fascinating that your experience was precisely opposite!

edit - I wonder if it’s because the chicks were too cold with slow metabolism with the pad on the ground as the pics show,vs the MHP Setup.

 

[AngieDawn]

wow this experience is interesting.

I have had almost sickening experience of seeing chicks someone said were4 weeks old that looked like babies compared to my heat pad 4 week chicks! One of my selling points to get people to use a homemade heat pad is that their chicks will look twice as old as the person who uses the heat lamp. It’s fascinating that your experience was precisely opposite!

edit - I wonder if it’s because the chicks were too cold with slow metabolism with the pad on the ground as the pics show,vs the MHP Setup.

I guess it’s possible but I put a cutout box over it and it was much warmer ambient temps when I got the younger ones. But they slept all night so I just tossed it up to not consuming the same amount of calories. We have big brooders so they had plenty of space to get away from the heat either way. I only bought the pad because I didn’t want 2 lamps to fool with.

 

[RebelEgger]

I’m a new chicken mama, we used a heat lamp for the first 2 weeks then my heat plate arrived from amazon... I love it, the chicks love it. I will never go back. Can’t wait for roads the next batch on the plate from day 1!

 

[rosemarythyme]

The lamp chicks got much larger much quicker. I believe this is because they ate at night also So they had lots of extra hours of eating and growing. They also feathered faster probably due to the extra eating. They also were all roosting on a baby roost by a week old.

The pad was definitely easier And I didn’t have any worries about safety. But my 5 week olds are much smaller then the heat lamp raised chicks at the same age and still aren’t roosting on roost bar at all.

That's pretty interesting. Are they all the same breeds and from same source? Makes sense that if they're up at night and eating, that they'd grow faster.

Personally I'm not interested in making my chicks grow faster... I feel it's healthier for them to develop at their own pace, even if that means I have to wait longer for eggs. I no longer worry about roosting until they're ready to move into the coop, as chicks playing around on a perch during the day aren't necessarily chicks that roost at night. I have a baby roost bar but haven't yet introduced it to the chicks, I might skip it entirely this time and go straight to adult roosts, not sure yet.

 

[uktech]

In UK so getting the heat pads listed in the US is a bit of an issue, however, I managed to find this one this side of the pond and it seems to work really well.

Have had it running for just over 24 hours and the temperature is at a constant. The downside is this particular one doesn't have any form of temp control, but then I'm guessing that's not needed?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Have had it running for just over 24 hours and the temperature is at a constant. The downside is this particular one doesn't have any form of temp control, but then I'm guessing that's not needed?

Temperature control is nice to help wean them off but not completely necessary. As they age and feather out they'll naturally use the heat less and less

 

[uktech]

Temperature control is nice to help wean them off but not completely necessary. As they age and feather out they'll naturally use the heat less and less

As others have suggested on this forum, I'm just going to slowly raise the height to get that weaning effect. Should be enough I hope.