Ordered a Premier 1 brooder plate, received a Comfort Chicken plate instead?

[HobbitGirl]

Hello, all!

We are getting our very first batch of chicks in about a month. I ordered a Premier 1 brooder plate from Amazon. But when it arrived, all the branding on it shows "Comfort" and "Comfort Chick". The instruction manual lists comfortchicks.com. Some light googling has not given me any reason to believe that Premier 1 and Comfort are the same brand (though it is always possible I have missed something).

Has anyone used this brand before? If so, was it decent enough in your experience? Or should I return it and try to get an actual Premier 1 plate?

Thanks so much!

 

[Sefirothe]

Yes, Premier1 resells the Comfort Chick brand of plate. I've used one for every batch of chicks I've raised with no issues. My first plate came from Strombergs and last year I ordered a bigger one from Premier1.

I like the Comfort Chick brand because they dont require a certain ambient temp to function and I brood in my coop in the floor. No issues with the last batch of chicks hatched Oct 14th with outdoor night time temps frequently below freezing.

 

[NetherLeeFarm]

I have one of those that I ordered a long time ago from Stromberg's. It says 'Comfort' on the top but I believe that Premier 1 sells them as their heating plates also. I don't think either of these companies actually manufacture heating plates, so yours seems legit. FWIW mine works great.

The most important thing to pay attention to is wattage for the number of chicks that you'll have under it. Just like many coop manufacturers, I think they overestimate the amount of chicks that should fit under the various sizes, and so many people try to cram the max chicks under the smallest one. They'll fit, but the wattage isn't really sufficient for a lot chicks if you're in cold temps. Plus, consider that those itty bitty things will grow very fast and start jostling each other under there for comfort and space.

I got a free no-name China one from someone else and even though it was larger, it didn't heat effectively for day-old chicks. I've used two of the well-made brooder plates (including a 'comfort' one) since I started raising chicks nearly a decade ago, and in spite of freezing springtime temps, I've never had a single issue.

 

[Sefirothe]

I have one of those that I ordered a long time ago from Stromberg's. It says 'Comfort' on the top but I believe that Premier 1 sells them as their heating plates also. I don't think either of these companies actually manufacture heating plates, so yours seems legit. FWIW mine works great.

The most important thing to pay attention to is wattage for the number of chicks that you'll have under it. Just like many coop manufacturers, I think they overestimate the amount of chicks that should fit under the various sizes, and so many people try to cram the max chicks under the smallest one. They'll fit, but the wattage isn't really sufficient for a lot chicks if you're in cold temps. Plus, consider that those itty bitty things will grow very fast and start jostling each other under there for comfort and space.

I got a free no-name China one from someone else and even though it was larger, it didn't heat effectively for day-old chicks. I've used two of the well-made brooder plates (including a 'comfort' one) since I started raising chicks nearly a decade ago, and in spite of freezing springtime temps, I've never had a single issue.

I think numbers quoted that will fit under mean day old chicks! Which is less than helpful because they sure dont stay that size for long.

 

[NetherLeeFarm]

I think numbers quoted that will fit under mean day old chicks! Which is less than helpful because they sure dont stay that size for long.

Yep, that's the truth! I mentioned that above. I use two 12x12s side-by-side for about 12-15 chicks. @HobbitGirl (absolutely love your handle, btw!) don't forget the cones if you can get them. Without them, they'll make a mess of the top of the brooder plate.

 

[HobbitGirl]

Yep, that's the truth! I mentioned that above. I use two 12x12s side-by-side for about 12-15 chicks. @HobbitGirl (absolutely love your handle, btw!) don't forget the cones if you can get them. Without them, they'll make a mess of the top of the brooder plate.

Thanks! I did order the cone for the top as well, since I had read a lot of people complaining about having to clean poop off the top. We are only starting off with four chicks, so hopefully we shouldn't have issues with capacity on 10"x10" plate.