Heat Plates vs Heat Lamps

[aart]

I plugged in the heat plate 1.5 days ago, and 5/10 chicks now prefer it. I didn't know how high to set it, so I raised it higher in the front than the back so they could decide where it's comfortable.

What are their options?

 

[Palerydr]

Very interesting thread. Just a post to make it easier for me to keep up with

 

[seminolewind]

Quote: The option is a heat lamp at the other end of the brooder.

 

[Beekissed]

Sounds like the frying pan or the fire!

 

[aart]

The option is a heat lamp at the other end of the brooder.

Gotcha....so they've split it 50/50.....I guess that's better than all going for the lamp!

 

[melroseladi]

I have the larger heat plate that says it will warm 50-55 chicks so I am not planning on putting a heat lamp in the brooder with them. I have really held back on hatching as much as I could because of my fear of fire from heat lamps so I thought the heat plate would be a perfect alternative to the much more dangerous heat lamp.

I have a hen that hatched out a chick during our coldest spell and she has the chick out and about in the cold from dawn to dusk. The chick does run under the mom when it needs to get warm but then is soon back out running around again. I think I have over thought the need for constant heat when it comes to chicks and this year I am switching gears to let the chicks decide how much and when they need heat.

 

[Beekissed]

I have the larger heat plate that says it will warm 50-55 chicks so I am not planning on putting a heat lamp in the brooder with them. I have really held back on hatching as much as I could because of my fear of fire from heat lamps so I thought the heat plate would be a perfect alternative to the much more dangerous heat lamp.

I have a hen that hatched out a chick during our coldest spell and she has the chick out and about in the cold from dusk to dawn. The chick does run under the mom when it needs to get warm but then is soon back out running around again. I think I have over thought the need for constant heat when it comes to chicks and this year I am switching gears to let the chicks decide how much and when they need heat.

Exactly. That's how it's done in nature and I think it makes for a hardier chick that eats and exercises much like they do in natural circumstances. A light is fine but it never goes out, so there is no quiet time of darkness and rest that chicks under a broody get to have. Children grow more/faster at night when they sleep~that's been proven~ and I'm assuming chicks do the same, so chicks that sleep longer because they are dark and warm would tend to be a sturdier chick, I'm thinking.

 

[aoxa]

I have done both heat lamps and infrared heat plates. Definitely prefer the heat plates. Very much like a broody hen in the way it heats the chicks. They pay for themselves in the difference in electricity savings very quickly.


Now I do still use a dull light if there isn't enough natural light.. These ones are in a brooder in a room that has a window, but the window faces the woods and very little natural light gets in there. I use an LED soft light bulb in there that is cold to the touch, so it just provides light. I shut it off after I am done chores. I also have a bunch of chicks in the house in very sunny location with the EcoGlow. They do not get artificial light at all except for a couple minutes around 7pm when I decide to watch chick TV. They get to eat and drink and I shut the light off, yet they still wander back under the brooder even in pitch black.

My chicks are so much healthier under these ecoglows I lose a lot less chicks this way, and I feel safe. The heat lamps make it hard for me to sleep at night worrying about what-ifs. Lost 200 animals to a fire and I just won't risk it.

 

[aart]

Aoxa....is the brooder room in your barn heated? What is the ambient temp in that room?

 

[aoxa]

Aoxa....is the brooder room in your barn heated? What is the ambient temp in that room?

Yes it is heated to 10 Celsius or 50F. Not too hard to do, since the entire room (and the doors themselves) are insulated. The heater doesn't kick on too much. It is a forced air wall heater. The fire marshall recommended that over anything else.