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

[ironsightfarm]

No, I did not try it as most sources indicated it wasn't necessary and, so far, my chicks seem to agree. However, if it does actually reduce the temp, that would probably help when it comes time to wean them off the supplemental heat. Thanks for the info.

I plan on doing the same

 

[aart]

I'm not sure if you tried your regulator, but the one I have from Premier1 keeps the heat on continually, but lowers the temp of the plate. Sounds like your chicks are happy so this won't matter now, but maybe it will help in the future!

It's actually called rheostat(tho it does 'regulate'),
it reduces the amount of flow of electricity.
Works like a dimmer switch for light fixtures, if that example helps.
Using an infrared temp gauge($20 at harbor freight) can tell you what temp the plate surface is.

 

[ZooAtHome]

It's actually called rheostat(tho it does 'regulate'),
it reduces the amount of flow of electricity.
Works like a dimmer switch for light fixtures, if that example helps.
Using an infrared temp gauge($20 at harbor freight) can tell you what temp the plate surface is.

Good to know. None of the documentation that came with it explained how it worked (my one complaint about this product line ... horrible documentation). Online research suggested that it just power cycled the plate. A rheostat will be much more useful and, honestly, makes a lot more sense.

 

[chickenmama19]

We use the premiere 1 brooder plates and love them

 

[ZooAtHome]

Good to know. None of the documentation that came with it explained how it worked (my one complaint about this product line ... horrible documentation). Online research suggested that it just power cycled the plate. A rheostat will be much more useful and, honestly, makes a lot more sense.

I had forgotten about this thread until it popped up in my alerts today. Otherwise, I would have updated this sooner.

Turns out that the "regulator" that came with my brooder plate is NOT a rheostat. It does cycle the power on and off, as I suspected, rather than reducing the flow of electricity. That said, it did work to lower the temp under the brooding plate as I weaned the chicks off of it, so it was useful though I suspect not really necessary. I have two plates and only had the regulator for one of them. This did provide them with a cooler option, which some seemed to appreciate.

Regulator aside, I am very glad I bought these plates instead of a heat lamp. They worked wonderfully and the chicks loved them.

 

[aart]

Turns out that the "regulator" that came with my brooder plate is NOT a rheostat. It does cycle the power on and off, as I suspected, rather than reducing the flow of electricity.

That kind of stinks, not really what you want to adjust heat for chicks

 

[ZooAtHome]

That kind of stinks, not really what you want to adjust heat for chicks

It worked well enough, better than I expected, but I agree it's not ideal. I found the chicks actually did their own regulating. They would sometimes sleep only partially under the plate. That was usually my cue to raise one of them up another notch or two. Having two plates turned out to be a really good call on my part, as I could set them to different heights and let the chicks decide how warm they wanted to be.

If you think about it (as I just did, lol) hens don't really change their body temp that much either. Chicks just change the amount of time they spend snuggled under her and sometimes opt to sleep next to or on top of her instead. That is exactly what mine did with the brooder plates, which is why I concluded that a regulator probably isn't needed at all.

 

[Candy442]

Love the premier plates!

 

[Folly's place]

I especially love them during warmer weather, when there's really no good way to manage the heat lamp well enough. The chicks manage the brooder plate very well!
It's also less expensive to run.
Mary

 

[sealer39]

I just bought the 12”x12” Premier kit from Amazon. $72.00 total. It comes with the pad and the top but not the regulator.
I have 3 chicks that will be a week old tomorrow in my brooder now. They are currently under a 250w heat lamp. The temperature ranges from 78-103 and they are currently finding their comfort zone at 95 degrees. The chicks will be joining the flock with the ‘see don’t touch’ method in three weeks. I don’t want to put the heat lamp in the coop with all the chickens during the Louisiana summer. And, I’m just tired of dealing with a heat lamp, so I bought the Premier.
I’ll let you all know my thoughts on it later.