That hatchery tour near Lancaster changed my whole view on brooder heat plates

I went to this small hatchery outside Lancaster, PA last spring and saw how they kept hundreds of chicks under simple heat lamps with no fancy setups. Everyone in my chicken group swears by those expensive heat plates that supposedly mimic a mother hen better. But the hatchery owner told me straight up they lose fewer chicks with standard red heat lamps because the birds can get the exact warmth they need. I switched back to a basic 250 watt red bulb after that tour and my mortality rate actually dropped from about 4 chicks per batch to just 1 or 2. I know the heat plate crowd says they're safer and use less power, but has anyone else had better luck going back to the old school lamp method?

2 comments

2 Comments

riley_bell29d ago

Woah, slow down there. I mean, are you sure it's that big of a deal? Losing 4 chicks instead of 1 or 2 sounds like it could just be random luck more than the lamp itself. Hatcheries are run by people who have been doing it forever and have cheap solutions, but for backyard folks like us, fire safety is a real thing. I'd rather have a few less chicks than burn my garage down because a bulb popped or a chick knocked it into some pine shavings. Plus, those heat plates don't dry out the air as bad, and I bet your electric bill dropped, even if you don't want to admit it.

the_zara29d ago

riley_bell you're probably right about that fire safety thing, I almost burned my eyebrow off once trying to adjust a heat lamp at 2am with a hangover. I guess I'll take the slightly higher electric bill over looking like a plucked chicken.

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