I think the other thing you need to keep in mind using a heating pad for heat is that after the first week, they really don't use it that much. It's hard to get used to that. The tendency is to want to shove those chicks under the heat when folks see them out in the open, snuggling for a bit. The first reaction is to get them back under that heat. But by the second week, they spend more time around it and on it than they do under it. Chicks do surprisingly well without heat, and that's a concept that is so hard for people to understand. But watch a hen with her chicks. They'll spend most of their time running around her, not under her. Chicks will sometimes get separated from mom and they'll huddle together with each other to warm up until she finds them and covers them, and that can be some time! I think the cave retains heat longer than even an Premier heat plate, simply because it's closed all the way around, except in the front where there is a little awning for them to scoot inside, and insulated with the folded towel. Since mine are outside from the start, they also have the straw that's packed under, on top of, and all around the cave. So I worry far less with the heating pad cave during a possible power outage, especially having had my chicks thrive though a few hours of driving snow and wind outside in an open pen than I do any other system. The entire premise of this is to duplicate Mama as closely as possible, and that means the stuff that we aren't normally used to doing.
Yep, you do have the hassle of remembering to turn it back on if you lose power. But they can do very well for a few hours, which takes it from a panic situation to an easily resolvable one. This old lady will never, ever brood chicks in the house again, and I'll never rely on anything else for keeping them warm and safe again, either. But I do agree, that's it's not for everyone. If you aren't comfortable, then I would certainly advise against using it.
