Hiya! Complete noob to the chicken/duck life!

[Queenhen25]

Hello Tori, and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
Make sure the heat lamp is not secure just by the clip on the hood. You need to secure it with chains so it can't fall.

Unfortunately we learned this the hard way on our first night of having them I'm pretty sure the guy I spoke to at tractor supply had no idea what he was doing when I was asking him questions because he said they would be fine with just the clamp and woke up halfway through the night to the smell of a burning rug on the floor after God knows how long of it sitting there lol

 

[Queenhen25]

Welcome. I like to keep mine in when they are little or sick. It is easier for me to keep a close eye on them

They love being inside so far! We had to move them from our garage to our bathroom due to issues to say the least tho they are much better now and a lot warmer tbh!

 

[Debbie292d]

Hiya, Tori, and welcome to BYC!

We're sure glad you're here!

 

[chrissynemetz]

Hello, and welcome to BYC! We're glad you joined us!

 

[Tookie]

Welcome to BYC! Nice to meet you.

So glad you didn't have a fire! That's the reason I don't like heat lamps. Instead I use a brooder plate.

 

[Queenhen25]

Welcome to BYC! Nice to meet you.

So glad you didn't have a fire! That's the reason I don't like heat lamps. Instead I use a brooder plate.

We came very close to that point, woke up with our rug smoking after it fell off lmfao but no floor damage thankfully due to the concrete! Any suggestions for a good brooder plate? I got a crappy one I think, my ducks avoid it like it's the spawn of the devil

 

[janiedoe]

We came very close to that point, woke up with our rug smoking after it fell off lmfao but no floor damage thankfully due to the concrete! Any suggestions for a good brooder plate? I got a crappy one I think, my ducks avoid it like it's the spawn of the devil

I bought a cheap one at tractor supply once but it didn't seem to stay warm so I read about a mama heating pad. I diyed one and I've used it whenever I don't have a willing broody ever since.
They are cheap and reliable.
There are some articles on byc for diying a mama heating pad but if you google it you will find plenty of tutorials on youtube for making one.

 

[Tookie]

We came very close to that point, woke up with our rug smoking after it fell off lmfao but no floor damage thankfully due to the concrete! Any suggestions for a good brooder plate? I got a crappy one I think, my ducks avoid it like it's the spawn of the devil

I've only gotten one, and currently I'm using if for the second time. Last time I used it was early last year for my ducklings.
I have the bigger sized Brinsea one, its not the cheapest though. With some research you can find a cheaper, good reliable one! Brooder plates are one of those things you can find a bunch of, but they are not quality. So that why you have to do some research.