Heat plates

[TAMFAM]

I am in Northwest, Missouri, A new chicken farmer and I will be get six baby chicks in May. I was planning to get a heat plate for the brooder until the hatchery recommended a heat lamp. They said heat plates are not warm enough. I plan to put the brooder in a garage or backyard shed/coop. I didn’t want to worry about a fire, extra fire hazard with heat lamp. Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[Kentucky Fan]

I am trying a producers pride one from tractor supply out with this batch and it seems to be doing fine

 

[nuthatched]

Heat lamps are better for new babies, there's only slightly less of fire hazard with plates.

 

[SilverBirds]

I've been using heat plates for years now and I've never had any problems with mine. None of the chicks have ever seemed too cold or too hot and I haven't dealt with pasty butt since I switched. For me the plates are also less of a hassle than the lamps.

 

[TAMFAM]

I've been using heat plates for years now and I've never had any problems with mine. None of the chicks have ever seemed too cold or too hot and I haven't dealt with pasty butt since I switched. For me the plates are also less of a hassle than the lamps.

What kind of heat plates do you use? Thanks!

 

[SilverBirds]

What kind of heat plates do you use? Thanks!

I got mine a couple of years ago. Let me see if I can find it.

 

[Huntmaster]

hatchery recommended a heat lamp.

They recommend heat lamps because shipped chicks are stressed and cold, so they need to be warmed as fast as possible. The red infrared heat lamp penetrates the heat faster and deeper into the chicks than a heat plate can. They usually recommend them for the first day at least then you can go to the plate if you like once they are all active and stress is gone.

 

[NatJ]

I was planning to get a heat plate for the brooder until the hatchery recommended a heat lamp. They said heat plates are not warm enough.

Some hatcheries recommend one, some recommend the other.
Some people raise chicks just fine with a heat plate, some do fine with a heat lamp, and some try one method and switch to the other.

For shipped chicks, they can arrive cold, hungry, and thirsty all at once. It is important for them to get warm, start drinking, and start eating. A heat lamp is a big help in this case: it can put out more heat, and they can drink & eat while also warming up. With a brooder plate, they cannot get warm at the same time they are drinking and eating, and they cannot get warm as quickly (or maybe not warm enough at all.)

Chicks that are not too chilled, and have eaten & drunk recently, can be fine with a heat plate. They go out to eat and drink, then come back to get a little bit warmer (because they were only a little bit cold.)

Whether a heat plate is acceptable for newly-arrived chicks will probably depend on how badly chilled they are when they arrive, which depends on the weather and how the Post Office handles the box, so you won't have any real way to predict that in advance. Once they arrive, it's a bit late to be running out to buy a heat lamp if you need one.

I plan to put the brooder in a garage or backyard shed/coop. I didn’t want to worry about a fire, extra fire hazard with heat lamp. Any suggestions? Thanks!

You could use a heat lamp for the first few days, then switch to a heat plate. That gives the extra warmth of the heat lamp for the first few days, but removes it before you forget about being careful or the chicks start flying and bumping into things. Sometimes a "secure" heat lamp will work loose over time, so changing to a brooder plate will protect against that too (by removing the lamp before it has much time to shift around.)

 

[Huntmaster]

Heat lamps are usually not any more dangerous if they are hung/secured correctly. You can't trust the hand clip that comes with most lamps you need to secure with wire or chain so lamp can't fall. And if they are placed correctly with enough distance from flammables, they are not any more dangerous than any other light.

 

[saysfaa]

You might consider a wool hen. I was very happy with that method and plan to use it again this spring.

Last time, I didn't have chilled chicks (I picked them up warm and they never got chilled). If I order them shipped to me this time, I expect I will prepare for chilled chicks with extra heat of some sort. Probably, hot water bottles or clay packs because I have them.