Using a Brooder Plate for Chicks

And I had just cleaned the top off an hour before.

I've seen enough pictures and news stories about heat lamps causing fires that I really didn't want to use one in my house for new chicks, though we've used them in the past. I've heard about brooder plates as a safer, more energy efficient alternative, and decided to toss the heat lamp and try a brooder plate for our new chicks. The one I have is essentially four adjustable legs -- one at each corner of a heat plate that makes it look a little like a table. It should be low enough for them to stand with their back against the 125F surface, but high enough that they can get out from under it when they are too hot. As they grow, you raise the plate.

I set it up and plugged it in the morning before we left to get four new chicks. I wanted it to be toasty warm when we got back -- temps outside were in the 30s. When we got home, I settled the four newcomers into the big old cast iron tub we have used for brooding in the past. They scooted beneath the brooder, but it seemed too high -- especially for the two bantam chicks we'd gotten. The feed store where we got them does a great job caring for their chicks, and I was impressed by their biosecurity measures, clean water and happy chicks. 

When the two bantams were placed in the traveling box with the heat pack I'd brought, the store owner cautioned us that bantam chicks are more fragile than their bigger cousins and would need 24 hours to settle in before handling. And they are notorious for getting pasty butt -- a common affliction for commercially hatched chicks. 

Pasty butt is pretty much what it sounds like. Chick poop builds up on the outside of the chick, trapping poop inside. You have to clean off the hardened feces so that they are able to evacuate, otherwise they can't go to the bathroom and will die. We've dealt with it before, and found that a little vaseline or antibiotic ointment slathered on a newly cleaned chick bottom helps keep them clean, and it's not something that seemed to recur after they got past the early stage. When we've had our hens raise chicks, we've never had problems with pasty butt. It seems to happen with brooder chicks who get overheated, and the idea with a brooder plate is that it mimics the shelter of a mom hen, with heat from the top and the opportunity to get fresh air if it gets too hot. 

The other two chicks (a light blue laced red wyandotte and an olive egger) both had a good start on wing feathers and were a few days older than the bantams, and decidedly sturdier. So I adjusted the back two legs of the heat plate so that the plate was really low, and the front two so that the two bigger chicks could get under it and warm up without difficulty. You're supposed to know that you've adjusted it properly if everyone is quiet.

But the olive egger -- the biggest of the four -- kept hopping on top and peeping loud enough to hear on the other side of the house. I tried readjusting, moving things around, and the only thing that made her happy was if I picked her up and cupped my hands around her. They go through cycles of noisy and quiet, but I wasn't entirely happy with the mood of the brood.

Has it made a difference with pasty butt? Not sure. While the two Bantams have needed cleaned up every day, the two bigger chicks have not. The smallest of the two Bantams didn't seem to be thriving and was continually having problems with pasty butt. I had probiotics and electrolytes in fresh water, chick starter in a low pan, and the brooder placed and adjusted and readjusted. But last night, despite all efforts the little one died, and I have started worrying about the plate brooder. Was it because I didn't have the brooder adjusted right or was it just the fragility of very tiny bantams. Is it too high for the bantams? Should I have put an extra heat source in the bathroom so the room itself is warmer? With the heat lamp, you can check temperatures, raise and lower it, and see the chicks more easily. But then there's that fire threat... 

Light blue laced red Wyandotte, Shirley.

So, the jury is still out. I can't say I've had greater peace of mind as far as chick health. But I may still need to work on adjusting it properly. One observation: Some of the plate brooders come with a clear plastic pyramid-shaped cover. I wasn't sure how important that was to have, as it was cheaper without the cover. When the olive egger chick has spent most of her time peeping noisily from the top of the brooder, and pooping on it, it began to make a little more sense.  

UPDATE: Three weeks later, and I'm much happier with the brooder plate. I don't like to bed with shavings the first week or two -- I prefer newspaper with grit/sand or paper towels. They can grip, and not slip, but it gives them a good surface for newly developing feet. It's always worked fine. But this time, the chicks just did not seem content. The olive egger (AKA Laverne) would stand on top of the brooder and peep loudly enough to hear on the other side of the house. I'd hold her, she'd calm down, I'd put her back in, she'd meep like a squad car on a high speed chase. Clearly, something wasn't right. No pasty butt, eating properly, still drinking probiotics and electrolytes. Mostly happy, bright-eyed and busy, but just not content. I kept trying to adjust the brooder. But they didn't seem cold. I added an old feather duster for some pseudo-mom-hen comfort. But it wasn't until I dumped a bucket of shavings in and tucked them back in that all became silent, and they've been happy little peeps ever since.

One additional note: This is the first time we've gotten bantam chicks, and I think in the future, I'd be hesitant before mixing bantams and LF chicks. The big girls (let's hope they are girls, anyway) can be a bit more boisterous. And though the brooder plate is adjustable enough to work well at two heights, for a small quantity of chicks, it complicates the process.