I got a heating plate from Rentacoop.com (via Amazon). It doesn't have adjustable temps. The bottom ceiling is too hot to keep my fingers there for more than a few secs. Meanwhile, I see other posts from people saying their heating plates are barely warm underneath. I'm nervous about mine being so hot. Really would like the answer to this. In the meantime, I'm back to the heat lamp.
I hear ya.
I bought a temperature regulator off Amazon,
That is so interesting! I actually have a conundrum on the opposite side of yours. I have a heat plate as well. Much smaller size, but I only have 11 chicks. 4 days old.@Ridgeback825 I received the new temperature regulator on Sunday, and yesterday I moved all 26 chicks (hatched over the weekend) into the bigger brooder with the heat plate, fingers crossed.
You were right: They LOVE it! I have one end higher than the other, and have found them scattered to both ends but mostly clustered near the center, so I think the height is just right. Yesterday they stayed under the plate or near the perimeter. Today chicks are all over the brooder, very active, eating drinking pooping, chirping happily, and not minding our four cats at all (who are, of course, watching closely and probably salivating LOL).
Anyway, I'm waiting for news back from the distributor about replacement or refund or whatever they're going to do. Meanwhile, this one is behaving nicely with the regulator in place.
Wanna make sure if they get wet, they dry off & don’t get themselves chilled.
Mine did the same thing when they were about 7-8 days old. They rejected the heat plate, no matter what height I set it at. I found them all at the farthest end of the brooder cage, huddled together. But they were quiet and seemed comfortable, so I left it alone. Ambient temp in the room was probably 68-deg, but inside the brooder it likely was a few degrees higher but not much. I *know* without a doubt they'd seek the heat if they were too cold, and they knew where to find it, and the temp underneath was warm but not hot. (I didn't put a thermometer on the floor under the heat plate; I've just been concerned about the surface temp!)That is so interesting! I actually have a conundrum on the opposite side of yours. I have a heat plate as well. Much smaller size, but I only have 11 chicks. 4 days old.
I heard that between 95-105 is good in a brooder, so I tested it several times before the chicks came, by setting a temp gauge on the ground at various heights under it. It’s now fully heated (took about 2-3 hours to get to max temp), and it was at about 105 degrees at the height I set it at. I wanted it to be pretty warm when they first arrived because I knew they would need the extra warmth, after being shipped. They took to it perfectly, all perked up & started eating & drinking. Then I raised the plate, so it was around 95 on the ground & probably warmer higher up (and it does have a feather skirt, so it keeps the heat in pretty well).
Then tonight, when my husband turned off the light in the room, most of them were under the heat plate. When I went back in, about an hour later, all of them were in the opposite corner from the heat plate, all cuddled up to each other. It’s about 78 degrees in the room.
I don’t understand why they wouldn’t be under the heat plate, at 95 degrees on the ground. They instead chose to huddle in a corner together, at less than 80 degrees.
I put them all back under the heat plate again, just to make sure they know it’s there, especially since they mostly like drinking from the water dish from inside of the water dish.
This is confusing to me. Because we’re told that you need to pay attention to their behavior… that when your chicks are huddling under the heat, they’re not warm enough. And when they’re trying to get away from the heat, it’s too warm for them. What if they are huddling away from the heat?
Could it be they got accustomed to lower temps when they were on their mail journey here, and now 95 degrees is too warm for them?
I’d appreciate any thoughts or experience on this.
Wow… so this is not just me. I was wondering if it was the electrical energy they weren’t used to, or the temperature. I couldn’t imagine what it was.
@CrystalAnon This is not how a heat plate works.
I have the Rentacoop one from Amazon with no heat controls. I set it at an angle so it is very close to the bedding at the back and several inches up at the front - the chicks decide for themselves how close to the hot plate they want to be.
