Heat plate issues??

[Kayjax86]

We bought this heat plate today, put it in the coop (heating setting, not brooder setting). We just checked the coop after an hour of having it on, the plate itself is barely warm and not putting out much heat at all! Anyone else experience this?? We have 5 week old chickens and ducks in there and now I'm super worried!

 

[Iaseye]

I got one off Amazon and I lost a few chicks due to inadequate heat from the plated chick brooders. I will never use one again and will take my chances with a heat lamp.

 

[Kayjax86]

I got one off Amazon and I lost a few chicks due to inadequate heat from the plated chick brooders. I will never use one again and will take my chances with a heat lamp.

We just put the heat lamp in there secured with a heavy duty clamp on the clamp the lamp has itself, I wasn't risking dead babies in the morning.

 

[Iaseye]

We just put the heat lamp in there secured with a heavy duty clamp on the clamp the lamp has itself, I wasn't risking dead babies in the morning.

Yes those heat plates don't give off any heat idk how they are supposed to keep chicks alive

 

[JacinLarkwell]

The heat is more like a living animal than a heat source. If you hold your hand against the black part, it will stay warm. It has to be above 50 degrees too though to work

 

[coach723]

Heat plates work on radiant heat, so the plate heats but it doesn't heat the air around it. So the chicks have to be in contact with the plate. I have a Brinsea Ecoglow that I've been using for years. It's warm to the touch, have never had any issues. I prefer it's horizontal positioning rather than the vertical ones, it's more natural for young chicks to run under something, just like they run under mom, and it's adjustable as they grow, so they can still get under it til they are done with it (I have the large one). By 5 weeks many do not need extra heat anymore unless the ambient temperatures are low. But most radiant heat sources won't be enough for keeping very young chicks warm if the ambient air temperature goes below a certain point, that should be listed somewhere on the product packaging or literature. They are safer than heat lamps as the risk of fire is much, much less.

 

[SeaCity]

I have a brooder plate also (rent a coop), love it! I have a cloth overhanging it to make it more cozy & "safer" feeling for the chicks. Highly recommend.

 

[gtaus]

I have been successfully using heat lamps for over 30 years, so I have had no reason to try those heat plates. But I love reading comments about them. FWIW, here are some of my thoughts on the previous comments.

the plate itself is barely warm and not putting out much heat at all!

A mother hen's body temp is 105F. So, I would think any "heat" plate should feel at least warm to the touch. Do you have a contact thermometer or one of those temperature guns that you can point at the heat plate and get a reading?

I got one off Amazon and I lost a few chicks due to inadequate heat from the plated chick brooders. I will never use one again and will take my chances with a heat lamp.

I have read many reviews about people finding dead chicks under the heat plate. As I said, I've never used them. But with heat lamps, you can actually see how the chicks are doing in the brooder and nothing obstructs your view of them.

We just put the heat lamp in there secured with a heavy duty clamp on the clamp the lamp has itself,

Not exactly sure how you secured your heat lamp. I always recommend anyone using a heat lamp should have at least 2 points of safety to secure the heat lamps. I usually have 2 chains on each hanging heat lamp, but if the heat lamp has a clamp, I might use the clamp plus another chain. I just don't trust those cheap clamps that come with most of those heat lamps.

In any case, if one point of securing the heat lamp fails, like a chain breaks or the clamp pops off, the other method of securing the heat lamp should always be capable of keeping the heat lamp up and out of the brooder litter. You don't want the heat lamp down in the litter potentially starting a fire.

If you hold your hand against the black part, it will stay warm. It has to be above 50 degrees too though to work

I don't understand that. For years, we were told that day old chicks should be under the heat lamps at about 95F. How does a heat plate warm a chick if the night time temps drop lower than 50F?

I live in northern Minnesota, and my night time temps in the garage, where I keep my chicks in the brooder, can get down into the 30F's in early spring. I am always paranoid about losing a heat lamp at night and having frozen dead chicks in the morning. So, I always have 2 heat lamps in my brooder, each big enough on it's own to keep the chicks alive if the other heat lamp fails.

I also put a remote temperature sensor in the brooder which sends a signal to my temperature base station inside the house. I have my base unit to sound off an alarm if the remote sensor drops below my safety setting. For example, if I want the temp under the heat lamp to be 85F, I might set my low level alarm at 80F.

I have a Brinsea Ecoglow that I've been using for years. It's warm to the touch, have never had any issues.

I have also read many positive reviews about heat plates. So, I don't just want to discount their use.

They are safer than heat lamps as the risk of fire is much, much less.

There is a risk of fire using heat lamps unsafely. But, like I recommend, you should always have at least 2 ways of securing each heat lamp to prevent the bulb from falling into the litter.

As far as safe, I think it's safer for the chicks to be able to look at my chicks under the heat lamp and see how they are doing. I can't see how they are doing under a heat plate, and I am always concerned that if they don't get heat from the plate, if it malfunctions, I won't know until I remove the frozen dead chicks the next morning.

I have a brooder plate also (rent a coop), love it! I have a cloth overhanging it to make it more cozy & "safer" feeling for the chicks. Highly recommend.

Again, I don't discount all the positive reviews on the heat plates. Glad it works for you.

You know, I think this heat plate topic makes me feel older than just about any other issue. I have been successfully using heat lamps for 30 years with my chicks, and just cannot get myself to even try a heat plate. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

FYI, my local Fleet store, where I buy my chicken supplies, has row after row of heat lamps and bulbs, but only a very small offering of those heat plates. Again, this may be because I live in northern Minnesota where our early spring night time temps are often sub freezing, and as @JacinLarkwell stated, the heat plates must be above 50F to work.

 

[RoyalChick]

I have the Rent-a-Coop heat plate. It is only warm if you actually touch the metal plate underneath - and then it is not hot, just warm. Like a chicken really.
That means the plate has to be low enough that the babies can reach and actually touch the plate. I always put the back legs on the shortest setting (practically touching the bedding) and the front legs a bit higher - that way they can choose whether they want to sit down and touch it or stand up.
I have used mine with outside temperatures down to mid/high 30s and they were fine.