Heating plate instead of lamp

[chickenenthusiasts5698]

How cold is it at night? Does the plate you have include temperature range instructions?

I haven’t purchased it yet since the chicks haven’t hatched yet and I don’t have the brooder set up yet either but it gets down to the 40s-50s at night it kinda fluctuates right now.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I haven’t purchased it yet since the chicks haven’t hatched yet and I don’t have the brooder set up yet either but it gets down to the 40s-50s at night it kinda fluctuates right now.

If possible check the instructions on the website you're ordering from (or the box at the store) and see if there's temperature limits on the plate you're interested in. A lot of plates have a 50F or higher "limit" though no one is sure if that's just a CYA clause or not.

 

[arizona_chicken_noob]

I have now had 1 batch of chicks under a heat lamp and 1 batch under this exact plate. It was a pretty big game changer, and I will never go back.

The cost savings of the heat lamp is easily negated by the power it consumes. I think I paid $20 for lamp and bulb and then another $20 for a month of extra electricity to run it constantly. This compared to the peace of mind of the $40 plate.

Another benefit seemed to be that the chicks had a "safe place" that they could go at any time, and were just generally less skittish. With my first batch I spent many, many hours trying to tame the always-scared chicks. The second batch never seemed to develop the phobia, possibly relating to the hiding spot.

Lastly, the red cast of the lamp was hard on my eyes and took terrible photos. I'm converted.

The heat plate doesn't feel that hot to touch but it did work and I see that others had the same initial concern.

 

[chickenenthusiasts5698]

I have now had 1 batch of chicks under a heat lamp and 1 batch under this exact plate. It was a pretty big game changer, and I will never go back.

The cost savings of the heat lamp is easily negated by the power it consumes. I think I paid $20 for lamp and bulb and then another $20 for a month of extra electricity to run it constantly. This compared to the peace of mind of the $40 plate.

Another benefit seemed to be that the chicks had a "safe place" that they could go at any time, and were just generally less skittish. With my first batch I spent many, many hours trying to tame the always-scared chicks. The second batch never seemed to develop the phobia, possibly relating to the hiding spot.

Lastly, the red cast of the lamp was hard on my eyes and took terrible photos. I'm converted.

The heat plate doesn't feel that hot to touch but it did work and I see that others had the same initial concern.

How many chicks do you think can fit under the plate? I will have around 13ish hatching.

 

[aart]

How many chicks do you think can fit under the plate? I will have around 13ish hatching.

How big is plate?

 

[Iluveggers]

We had 9 under that plate last year, and it was bigger than the plate we successfully used for 15. I think they would be good up to 3-4 weeks. Mine were off heat at 3 weeks because it was July and we had higher temps than normal lol.

 

[arizona_chicken_noob]

How many chicks do you think can fit under the plate? I will have around 13ish hatching.

While I'm not an expert and hesitate to make a proclamation on this, if I had 13 chicks I would probably go with the 1 plate. Here is a pic of the chicks on day 1 and there are 6 total, you can see 4 of them. There is tons more room under there.

That said I am in Arizona and they were in my house. But I do feel like it could have handled twice as many chicks and a little more.

 

[chickenenthusiasts5698]

How big is plate?

This is what it says on Tsc website

 

[aart]

This is what it says on Tsc website

That should cover your 13 chicks.

 

[chickenenthusiasts5698]

While I'm not an expert and hesitate to make a proclamation on this, if I had 13 chicks I would probably go with the 1 plate. Here is a pic of the chicks on day 1 and there are 6 total, you can see 4 of them. There is tons more room under there.

That said I am in Arizona and they were in my house. But I do feel like it could have handled twice as many chicks and a little more.

That should cover your 13 chicks.

Thank you so much!