Remember that commercial brooding plates, flat panel heaters, and heating pads do not work like lamps - they are not intended to heat the entire space the chicks occupy, they warm by direct contact. So the whole brooding area won’t feel warm, nor should it if using them. A broody hen usually sets in spring, but late fall and winter broods aren’t uncommon. She doesn’t warm their entire environment either - she just warms them as they feel they need it.
I brood outdoors here in Northwestern Wyoming, while our springtime chick season temps are in the twenties, dropping into the teens at times, with sideways blowing snow. The only heat source mine had is a heating pad “cave”, and every single batch it amazes me how little time the chicks actually spend under or near it. Most of the time they are running around, exploring, watching the adults and learning, eating, playing, and exercising. They duck under Mama Heating Pad for a quick warmup or if they get spooked, then they’re right back out. They love to sit on top surveying their domain or catching a nap, and as the sun goes down they go underneath and purr as they settle in to sleep the whole night through. Their environment isn’t warm, but they are, just like with a broody hen.
