Heat Plates can be so depressing.

[Compost King]

Ok I am not going to say they are bad to have, I actually like them but when I look into my brooder its not as pleasant as it was with an energy wasting heat lamp.

It looks empty and being hearing impaired I can't hear them from under there so it looks like an empty brooder, although in this picture a chick is peaking out.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

Ok I am not going to say they are bad to have, I actually like them but when I look into my brooder its not as pleasant as it was with an energy wasting heat lamp. View attachment 1775969It looks empty and being hearing impaired I can't hear them from under there so it looks like an empty brooder, although in this picture a chick is peaking out.

I have the same thought when I go out and the chicks are under the broody hen in the morning...

...I know they’re happy under there ... but it’s not very entertaining until it warms up a bit and they venture out from beneath momma.

 

[Bamabexchicks]

Ok I am not going to say they are bad to have, I actually like them but when I look into my brooder its not as pleasant as it was with an energy wasting heat lamp. View attachment 1775969It looks empty and being hearing impaired I can't hear them from under there so it looks like an empty brooder, although in this picture a chick is peaking out.

That's a perspective I had not considered. I felt guilty with my chicks never getting to have a proper night cycle when they were in the brooder. They would be awake all hours of the night and day! I've only had one batch of chicks, but thought that I would get a heat plate next time I get chicks.

 

[muddy75]

Ok I am not going to say they are bad to have, I actually like them but when I look into my brooder its not as pleasant as it was with an energy wasting heat lamp. View attachment 1775969It looks empty and being hearing impaired I can't hear them from under there so it looks like an empty brooder, although in this picture a chick is peaking out.

i actually move mine from one side to the other when I use it to make sure everyone is moving around and ok. i lost a bunch of quail chicks the first time i used it, so i only pull it out now for larger chicks when i’m short on heat lamps. I used it over heating pad for partridge chicks for a few days and it worked really well! the slept in lines vs piling up in a corner!

 

[Compost King]

That's a perspective I had not considered. I felt guilty with my chicks never getting to have a proper night cycle when they were in the brooder. They would be awake all hours of the night and day! I've only had one batch of chicks, but thought that I would get a heat plate next time I get chicks.

I still recommend them (even though I haven't had mine 24 hours yet) its selfish of me to expect a brooder to entertain me... but they sure were entertaining to watch under the heat lamps. I hatch chicks every 3 weeks and the plate is going to pay for itself in lower electric bills. Although in winter I will still need heat lamps for the outdoor brooder than they go to after 3 weeks. In summer they can huddle together on the cool nights that really aren't that cool.

 

[Compost King]

i actually move mine from one side to the other when I use it to make sure everyone is moving around and ok. i lost a bunch of quail chicks the first time i used it, so i only pull it out now for larger chicks when i’m short on heat lamps. I used it over heating pad for partridge chicks for a few days and it worked really well! the slept in lines vs piling up in a corner!

I lift mine every time I check on them to make sure none passed away. It's something new I need to accustomed to.

 

[Compost King]

I have the same thought when I go out and the chicks are under the broody hen in the morning...

...I know they’re happy under there ... but it’s not very entertaining until it warms up a bit and they venture out from beneath momma.

there is nothing I love more than watching chicks follow a broody mom around. I just do not pay attention to them in the morning I just check to see if their little watering stations and feed stations are full.

 

[CityslickerHomestead]

The first time I switched to a heat plate one of my sickly polish died so I was apprehensive about continuing using it. My chicks never seemed to use it even though ambient temperatures in my house were in the low 60s and they were only a week old.

 

[danceswithronin]

Love me some heat plates, I'd never brood with anything else. I've considered putting a big stuffed hen on top of it though, I don't think it would get hot enough to catch a fire.

 

[Compost King]

Love me some heat plates, I'd never brood with anything else. I've considered putting a big stuffed hen on top of it though, I don't think it would get hot enough to catch a fire.

I like that idea