Is anyone using the Premier "heat plate" brooder for chicks?

[debp]

I am very new to this, but based on my short experience with young chicks, even a few chicks will outgrow that brooder quickly - and, given that it is indoors to begin with, I do think it will get quite hot inside the box unless (and maybe even it) you replace the plastic lid with a screen -if the lid has to keep a cat out, it won't have enough ventilation with just holes in plastic. My chicks are less than 3 weeks old, and when the garage is 60 degrees or more they hang out on top of or to the sides of the heating plate during the day, and I have it at almost maximum height - though it sinks into the wood shavings somewhat lowering the height. Another issue I might foresee is the water getting filled with shavings as the chicks start scratching. If you can get a nipple feeder, that has been a life-saver for me when I have to be gone for more than a few hours. I really think you need to have someone check the birds at least daily. I am certainly a bit too much a worrier, but I am having to clean out the waterers (which are raised on boards above the bedding) at least 3 times a day now, as they have really started scratching up a storm for their bedding and completely fill the troughs. That was not a problem when they were younger, though. [I know I need to work out something less labor intensive, but I'm not good at building elevated boxes and such, so I'm just looking forward to getting them to the coop.]

 

[what did I do]

My brooder box ready to go to town and be setup. I pluged the Heat Plate in, it should work.

I would drill some holes along the sides. Likely not enough ventilation. Sometimes I use totes to transport chickens to shows and they get them all fogged up, which meant I didn't have enough holes.I have also kept chicks in fish tanks and they also have more ventilation. I had to clean out frequently or it would get moist and moldy. Could of caused respiartory problems, so I would keep a watch on how they like it

The chicks or just part of the chicks will be in this brooder for about a week. It will constantly be opened and closed. I chose not to put more holes in it because of how much it is handled and where it will be at. It held up well last year and the few chicks we hatched did well in it. It will only be at the nursing home until the chicks start stinking. Once they start stinking we will move them into a larger brooder. These will have lights and become someone's 4h project.

 

[JoyfulPromise]

Has anyone else tried the heat plates (Premier or Brinsea) with a large batch of Cornish X meat chicks? We bought two of the Large Premier 1 heat plates this year to use for a batch of 100 meat chicks. I also got one of the smaller Premier heat plates & just recently used it with the 31 layer chicks I hatched for the Easter HAL. They loved it and I have 16 still using it with no problems at 1 wk old (the other 15 were adopted by a broody hen out in our layer coop.)

Thursday morning this week we picked up our shipment of 100 Cornish X at the P.O. It was a very cold morning (27ºF) and the chicks were quite chilled when we picked them up. There were two chicks DOA and one more almost dead that we had to put down. A LOT of the live chicks were very weak and lethargic, compared to batches of chicks we have received in other years. We dipped all their beaks in water and then gently pushed them under the heating plates, which had been on all night to get properly warmed. We have a large brooder setup in one side of our garage which is 8 x 16 divided down the middle (plywood walls). We put 50 chicks in each half of the brooder with one large Premier heat plate and 2 waterers & feeders per side.

We had to keep checking on the chicks all that first day and directing them back to the heat plate as they were not used to it yet, but finally we started seeing them go in on their own. We also had a bit of trouble getting the plates at the right height level so the chicks could fit under the edge, but it wasn't too high in the middle (pine bedding).

Well, later in the afternoon we found several more dead chicks under the heat plates on each side, and we had to put down a few more really weak chicks that were dying. The next morning (yesterday) there were 5 or 6 more dead chicks, again under the heat plates! We kind of expected some, because of how weak they were on arrival, but now we started to wonder if the plates were partially to blame. We even switched one side to a heat lamp to see if that made any difference, but still had a couple of remaining weak chicks die that day.

Last night we thought we were near the end of the weak chicks. The one side of the brooder was looking good - the chicks were running around and eating and going under the plate themselves. The other side still had two obviously weak chicks, but otherwise looked ok. We did go ahead and put the second heat plate back in before dark, and all chicks were under the plates before we went to bed.

This morning when my brother checked, he found NINE more dead chicks under the plates!

5 on one side and 4 on the other!!! The rest of the chicks seemed fine, and were running about and eating. Several of these new dead chicks did not look like they were small or weak ones and they had food in their crops. My brother wondered if they could have suffocated? He did notice the chicks seemed to like lining the outer edge of the heat plate last night. Could some have gotten stuck in the middle and suffocated? I would think there would still be airflow through there...

The hatchery has offered to replace or credit us for the dead chicks. They said it was 70ºF when they shipped out the chicks and the next morning it dropped in temperature and they had snow! So they hadn't packed them for that cold of temperature and much more of the holes in the shipping box were open. But I am wondering if it is all their fault or if the heating plates are causing some of the deaths?

Just for anyone wondering about stats -

It looks like they sent 106 chicks originally.
After 24 hrs we were down to 82 chicks.
Last night there were 47 on one side & 35 on the other side.

Temperatures have gotten up to 60's during the day, and 40's at night in the garage.

Anyone else have any experience with heat plates and meat chicks? We are really frustrated and depressed here, thinking it might be the heat plates' fault...

We really wanted to save on electricity with these, but they are causing suffocated chicks...

What do you all think?

 

[aart]

Boy, that's some tough luck you are having, sorry for your losses, very frustrating.
Sounds like you started with stressed chicks...and I think the plate population estimates, like coop estimates, are probably over stated. Brinsea has a disclaimer that their plates won't work at ambient temps less than 50F.

I've used a plate and a lamp for layer chicks....had to train the chicks to go under the plate...my last batch of chicks were cold/shipping stressed and I kept a light on a dimmer extension cord for them for most the first day until they got they perked up a bit, and that was in a 60 degree room....meanwhile showing them how to get under the plate and making sure they were eating, drinking and pooping ok. By the first night tho, light was off and they were under the plate.

Sorry no meat chick experience....just my thoughts on plate use.

 

[Beekissed]

Meat chicks are so very hot and I could see if they were all crowded under a heat plate that the chicks in the middle could most certainly suffocate and die from heat exhaustion. For meat chicks I would have raised the plates a good bit so they would just have some warmth but it wouldn't be touching their bodies....they aren't like layer or DP breeds in that regard...they seem to have such fast metabolisms that their bodies are like little heat generators.

I'd raise the plates and see if the additional space and airflow makes a difference. If not, I'd report this to the manufacturers so they can change their advertisement or instructions to accommodate the added body heat of meat birds.

 

[JoyfulPromise]

Meat chicks are so very hot and I could see if they were all crowded under a heat plate that the chicks in the middle could most certainly suffocate and die from heat exhaustion. For meat chicks I would have raised the plates a good bit so they would just have some warmth but it wouldn't be touching their bodies....they aren't like layer or DP breeds in that regard...they seem to have such fast metabolisms that their bodies are like little heat generators.

I'd raise the plates and see if the additional space and airflow makes a difference. If not, I'd report this to the manufacturers so they can change their advertisement or instructions to accommodate the added body heat of meat birds.

My brother DID raise the plates at first much higher than recommended so they could see underneath and know where to go better, but then my sister peeked under the plate and noticed the chicks huddling in a tight group in the center trying to get warm, and we thought THAT might have caused a few of the first suffocation/smothering deaths, so that is why we lowered the plates so the chicks could be warm without crowding.

I think if we had to do this again we might start with heat lamps to get the chicks warmed up after their trip so we could keep an eye on them better, and then introduce the heat plates after they were all warmed up and more relaxed.

 

[Beekissed]

My brother DID raise the plates at first much higher than recommended so they could see underneath and know where to go better, but then my sister peeked under the plate and noticed the chicks huddling in a tight group in the center trying to get warm, and we thought THAT might have caused a few of the first suffocation/smothering deaths, so that is why we lowered the plates so the chicks could be warm without crowding.

I think if we had to do this again we might start with heat lamps to get the chicks warmed up after their trip so we could keep an eye on them better, and then introduce the heat plates after they were all warmed up and more relaxed.

That's probably a good idea, especially with large batches. I wonder if anyone else who uses the heating plates for meaties have every reported anything like this? I'm betting you aren't the first this has happened to....

 

[what did I do]

I agree with beekissed, raise the Heat Plate. Meat birds not only give off a lot of heat but also a lot of moisture. I would guess that the stress of shipping has made them weaker, have you been giving them electrolyte or other supplements to get them stronger?
A Brinsea would not work well alone in cold garage but the Premier Heat Plate should do ok. I cover the tops of my brooder if the temperatures look like they might get cold where they are at.

A question for others. Do you think that the colder temperatures in the garage at night could have caused the Heat Plate to increase the temperature on the under side to get hotter? Is there a regulator on the Heat Plate? I know you can not adjust the temperature but does it adjust automatically? It does say something about the room temperature in the literature.

I have chicks hatching today.

 

[daniellea2912]

I used the Premier heat plate this year for my chicks and have been very happy with it. I got the small plate and I am using it for just a handful of chicks. I got them Monday- 2 cream legbars that were a week old and 4 large fowl day olds. I have been very happy with it so far. I set it at an angle due to the age differences so the back was set very low so the youngest chicks could lay and still touch it with their heads and the front was set so the bigger chicks could stand upright. I am amazed how much better they seem to understand night and day as I used a heat lamp last year and they just seemed to nap here and there some napping and some running around like crazy at all times. With the heat plate they seem to do everything as a group. They are usually all cuddled up and ready for bed when I come to turn out the light in the room they are in. I read some of you had trouble getting yours to figure out the plate but I didn't have this problem-maybe because the week-olds were put in a few hours earlier and figured it out then the day-olds learned from watching them??? Dunno. For my small group, I definitely prefer it over the heat lamp, although I could see how it may not be the best choice for large groups.
Only downside I have found was the first day or so the little ones didn't leave much from under the plate (just quick trips to the food/water) so it was a bit difficult to see each one when you're checking on them, but now that they are settled in they come out more often so its not so much a problem anymore.

 

[daniellea2912]

I agree with beekissed, raise the Heat Plate. Meat birds not only give off a lot of heat but also a lot of moisture. I would guess that the stress of shipping has made them weaker, have you been giving them electrolyte or other supplements to get them stronger?
A Brinsea would not work well alone in cold garage but the Premier Heat Plate should do ok. I cover the tops of my brooder if the temperatures look like they might get cold where they are at.

A question for others. Do you think that the colder temperatures in the garage at night could have caused the Heat Plate to increase the temperature on the under side to get hotter? Is there a regulator on the Heat Plate? I know you can not adjust the temperature but does it adjust automatically? It does say something about the room temperature in the literature.

I have chicks hatching today.

From the little booklet that came with the heat plate I don't believe from what I read that there is a regulator built into the plate.(well I'm sure there is some sort of doohickey that keeps the plate at one temperature but not one that is controllable by human or responds to external temp changes) I think I saw that you can buy one separately where you can control the temperature but premier doesn't carry it.