Keeping chicks warm.

[strawberricatt]

This is a bit confusing.
But the surfaces of heat plates and pads are generally 110-120°F.


Can their backs touch the plate while sitting?
If they are in and out from under the plate, eating, drinking, pooping OK....then they are fine.
Can't really measure the air temp under the plate, must go by chicks behaviors.
If you touch the plate itself it should be pretty warm...maybe too warm to touch for long with bare skin.

Sorry if I was unclear. Once when I was raising ducklings, I cellotaped the thermometer to the underside of the heat plate(the place where the duckling were touching) and it read 102°F, I was using a Brinsea Ecoglow. Maybe it (or the thermometer) was faulty?

 

[Earthchick]

Cheeping chicks generally are too cold ... panting chicks are too hot ...

If they are huddled together under the heat plate, they are too cold, if they are away from the heat plate, they are fine, or too hot, they can get away from the heat plate to eat and drink right?

They have a good size area to run. They seem to only go under at night or nap time.. They are eating and are very active. I was just worried because the heat plate just did not seem to be putting off much heat but they seem happy. My heat lamp was just too hot.