Heating plate vs heating lamp

[kwaple001]

I use a sweeter heater. It’s worked beautifully for both my chicks and I have a larger on for inside my coop in winter as they grew into an outdoor living space. For the chicks you just raise it up as they grow and make sure they have space to move away if they feel uncomfortable. The sweeter heater is super safe. Check it out.

 

[Bleumoon]

I got 25 babies this week and have suffered an astonishing 11 deaths in the space of 3 days! I am heartbroken!
I have a nearly identical setup to yours and although this is my 4th set of babies, I’ve never had this high a die off. The first one drowned and another just passed. There was also one with pasty butt, that I got cleaned up, but she was not doing too well. But the next day, I had 5 dead under the heat plate! Today I had 4 more dead! I am just stunned! I also feel so guilty.
There are so many similarities in my set up to yours, BUT it was first time using pine shavings and the heat plate. Before I used plastic panels and heat lamps with paper towels and had 1 loss per flock.
I was wondering if the pine shavings are the culprit? Did the dust suffocate the little babies? Many in this flock were bantams (my first), so I wonder if they were just too small?
The ones that are left seem healthy and active; I’ve switched over to paper towels and will add some chick grit tomorrow.
Wish me luck...

 

[FranklinAdams]

She could have gotten trampled, might have had some kind of unrecognized birth defect or illness. It is difficult to say with so many chicks if they aren't constantly monitored. Have you seen this particular chick eat and drink and poop recently?

Where did you find her dead?

I personally do not use heater lamps and would not because of the fire hazard/dangers with heat regulation (have heard too many horror stories about cooked chicks), and also because the bright light seems to trigger aggression in the chicks towards each other.

I prefer to just use a brooder plate setup (Brinsea EcoGlow) and have never had a chick loss with a specialized brooder lamp.

I'm using a brooder plate too and for the same reasons. It doesn't exactly feel like a cozy mother hen but the chicks don't seem to mind.

 

[jsr5]

I am going to switch to the plates and some of the ceramic replacements for light bulbs. I have had a few bulbs burst leaving scary glass shards in the brooders. I'll likely use a few still where I also want light but I"m going to modify them with a mesh of some sort and possibly a clear plastic panel if it will work. They will be cumbersome and harder to change bulbs. But the thought of my babies getting glass to eat is too scary. (I do suspect some rough handling issues as well but she is nearly 50 as am I I won't change her now and it's not worth the argument) Any way some plate heater will be the way to go. for me. Wonder if some of the softer feathers could be saved or bought to use as bedding to make lil ones more comfortable. Have to look into that.

 

[gtaus]

I got 25 babies this week and have suffered an astonishing 11 deaths in the space of 3 days! I am heartbroken!

Sorry for you loss. I would be heartbroken too.

...But the next day, I had 5 dead under the heat plate! Today I had 4 more dead!

How do you verify the temperature under the heat plate? Are the chicks warm enough? I use heat lamps and just put a thermometer in the brooder which lets me know the temp under the lights. For me, the big advantage of using heat lamps is that you can just look into the brooder and see if the chicks are too warm, too cold, or just right based on their activity under and around the lamp beam. I don't know how you monitor chicks under a heat plate and that was my concern with the plates.

...BUT it was first time using pine shavings and the heat plate. Before I used plastic panels and heat lamps with paper towels and had 1 loss per flock.

Most everybody I have talked to around here locally uses pine shavings. I put down a 2 inch base of wood chips, then about 1 inch of pine shavings, and on top of that I had paper towels for the first 3 days. I also sprinkled a little chick starter on the paper towels but the chicks had no problem finding the feeder anyway. One of my poultry books recommended the paper towels the first few days to prevent the chicks from attempting to eat the pine shavings instead of the chick starter. I don't know, but all 10 of my chicks survived and are now 2 weeks old. So I figure that was good advice that I followed.

I was wondering if the pine shavings are the culprit?... I’ve switched over to paper towels and will add some chick grit tomorrow. Wish me luck...

Well, I wish you luck and healthy chicks. I was told that you should offer chick grit, or sand, even for the days old chicks because they might/will eat some of the pine shavings (or any bedding) and that could lead to pasty butt. Chick grit, or sand, helps keep them clean. I can't imagine pine shavings by themselves caused your losses.

I was told to expect some loss of chicks, but it seems you have taken a very hard hit. Hope the rest survive. Best wishes.

 

[Criticalicious]

If you have lost so many bantams all at once it is more likely the food. Bantam beaks are smaller than standard chicks, which means they may not be eating well. You may need to grind up their food even finer. Have you checked their crops at night to see if they're getting full?

 

[kwaple001]

So we just got 15 chicks last week. They are one week old today. They are Easter Eggers and this morning we woke to one suddenly dead. They have all been behaving very good all week, eating drinking and we’ve been giving them electrolyte water and they are on organic starter feed with probiotics in it. We’ve been cleaning the butts that have been really poopy to make sure no pasty butt occurs. We’ve been using a heating plate from day 1 and they seem to love it and go under when they want to and at night all of them sleep under there. The room we have them in is in our basement and overall temp in the room is 60 degrees. But the heating plate stays at the temperature suggested for them. We are wondering why one of them would suddenly die like that? Could she have gotten trampled by the other chicks?
Also we called the hatchery where we got them (Hoover’s) and they said they should have a heat lamp not heat plate because the ground floor has to be 90 degrees. But everything I read about the heating plate says it works better than a lamp because it mimics the mama hen. I’d rather not have to get a heating lamp because of all the dangers that come with it. And people we’ve talked to before with heating lamps says the chicks are always trying to get away from the heat and that the light bothers them that it’s on 24/7.
Suggestions? Answers on why our chick died? Does the ground really have to be 90?
We are also using pine shavings as the litter.

 

[Bleumoon]

So we just got 15 chicks last week. They are one week old today. They are Easter Eggers and this morning we woke to one suddenly dead. They have all been behaving very good all week, eating drinking and we’ve been giving them electrolyte water and they are on organic starter feed with probiotics in it. We’ve been cleaning the butts that have been really poopy to make sure no pasty butt occurs. We’ve been using a heating plate from day 1 and they seem to love it and go under when they want to and at night all of them sleep under there. The room we have them in is in our basement and overall temp in the room is 60 degrees. But the heating plate stays at the temperature suggested for them. We are wondering why one of them would suddenly die like that? Could she have gotten trampled by the other chicks?
Also we called the hatchery where we got them (Hoover’s) and they said they should have a heat lamp not heat plate because the ground floor has to be 90 degrees. But everything I read about the heating plate says it works better than a lamp because it mimics the mama hen. I’d rather not have to get a heating lamp because of all the dangers that come with it. And people we’ve talked to before with heating lamps says the chicks are always trying to get away from the heat and that the light bothers them that it’s on 24/7.
Suggestions? Answers on why our chick died? Does the ground really have to be 90?
We are also using pine shavings as the litter.

 

[Mary Chapman]

Try giving the 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar to 1 gallon water. It really does help. Even our local 4H club does it.