Personally, I've tried both and had a poor experience with the electric heat plate thingy. It barely gave off heat, the ducklings seemed cold, and they would also jump on top of it and poop all over it...eventually I had a duckling die, I think she got too cold. Plus, without the light, the enclosure is dark and gloomy, and the only "warm" place is beneath the plate. I quit using it after that and gave it to my grandma who wanted to try it, and apparently it worked alright for her chicks, but I still am not a fan. I prefer heat lamps because they light up the space and everywhere is warm and comfortable for the chicks.
Other tips:
Putting your feeders and waterers on slightly raised blocks or, better yet, hanging them in the air, will significantly help to keep their bedding from piling up inside their feeders and waterers.
Also, when possible, I prefer to use paper towels for bedding. It makes it 1000x easier to replace bedding and keep it clean, AND it won't get into their feeders and waterers! When you want to clean it, just take out the old paper towels and put new ones in! This works best in smaller enclosures versus big ones that would need a lot of paper towels to cover. Since you're getting a small batch of chicks I'm assuming you won't have them in a ginormous enclosure or anything, so this method might work well.
I hatch my own chicks as well as order from hatcheries. When they come from hatcheries they typically instinctually know how to eat and drink, but when I hatch chicks I usually have to teach them how to drink. If you're worried that they're not drinking, you can dip the end of their beak in the water (be careful not to cover their nostrils) for a moment until they open their mouth. Then set them down and they will swallow, and it will click for them. Once one chick knows how to drink/eat, the others will catch on really quickly.
Good luck!!
