Imagine your baby chicks are dying continuously due to the cold temperature. After laying eggs, mother hens sometimes don’t want to brood new eggs. Well, we know it’s painful for you to see the sufferings of newly hatched chickens due to cold temperatures.
The first few weeks are crucial for your newborn chicks as they need warm heat. Besides mother hen, the best chick brooder heater may help your chicks stay warm.
Mother hen doesn’t want to brood baby chicks as they suffer from moods after laying eggs. A quality coop heater helps to keep chicks warm and safe from fire hazards to raise chickens healthily.
Now, let’s see some of the options you can choose for chicks so that the sufferings with newly hatched chicks end finally.
Quick View: 7 Best Chicken Brooder Heater
- RentACoop Chick Brooder Heating Plate
- Petnf Chicken Coop Heater (Our Top Pick)
- Brinsea Products Ecoglow Safety
- K&H Thermo-Poultry Brooder
- RentACoop Chick Brooder Heating Plate
- Rural365 Chick Heating Plate
- Titan Incubators Chick Heating Plate
Before You Buy What to Look For
Chicks suffer from cold at their early life stage. To keep your baby chicks warm, you now need a brooder/chick heater.
Brooder heaters save energy and are free from the risk of fire hazards, which a heating lamp can’t provide. Before buying a heater for your chicks, you need to consider a few crucial factors to pick the best chick brooder heater plate.
Number Of Chicks
First, you need to know how many chicks you have and how many of them need a heat source. According to the chick number, you need to select the size of the heater. It could be two square feet or more, depending on the number.
Temperature Generated By The Heating Plate
If you raise chicks at extremely low temperatures (cold), you need a high-temperature heater. Other than that, a medium-temperature generator works fine for normal temperatures.
Adjustable Height
It will be a wise idea if you choose a chick brooders heater that has a height adjustment feature. Why? Well, it will allow you to adjust the height according to the growth of the chickens.
Energy Efficiency
High-power infrared heat lamps consume lots of energy. So, it would be better to choose an energy-efficient heater that can save energy and generate proper heat as well.
Cleaning Procedure
Your healthy baby chickens will love to play around with everything and poop a lot. So, it’s better to get a heater that is easy to clean. Else, you will be in big trouble!
7 Best Chicken Brooder Heater Reviews
Your newly born chicks stay vulnerable in the first few weeks, so a proper source of heat is essential. The best heater for chicken brooding can ensure you have an ideal heat source for those chicks.
Here’re some top-notch chicken brooder heaters you can opt for –
1. RentACoop Chick Brooder Heating Plate
The last thing you want to happen with your baby chicks is trouble with fire issues which is a common problem for heat lamps.
This RentACoop heating plate keeps your coop free from fire hazards. So, it will ensure proper heat for your baby chicks without any risk of fire.
Typical heat lamps don’t have adjustable legs, whereas this one comes with 25 adjustable height settings ranging from 1″-7″.
As a result, you can adjust two legs low and two legs high. It will help your baby chicks to go underneath easily and take place under the heating plates as required.
Heat lamps ensure high heat but with the cost of excessive power consumption. This plate only consumes 15 watts/hr, ensuring energy efficiency, costing you only $2.81 in two months.
Baby chicks love to go top of the plate and poop there. The plastic frame at the top can cause trouble cleaning soap and water as poop sticks with plastic frames. But it is easy to clean if you put a paper towel or cardboard on top.
Where maximum brooder plates are designed with 1 or 2 sizes, this one offers 4 different sizes ranging from 10″x10″ to 16″x24″.
You can warm up 15 to 50 baby chicks directly under the heat plate as the 10″ x 10″ heating plate accommodates your 15 chicks properly.
Pros
Cons
This heating plate is suitable if the temperature of your surroundings is not way too cold.
Though it is advertised, you can keep 15-50 chicks underneath the heating pad, but it can make the place overcrowded. If you are looking for energy efficiency, it can be a good choice.
2. Petnf Chicken Coop Heater
If changing the temperature range is your prime concern, you can go for the Petnf chicken coop heater. It allows you to adjust the temperature range from 122~167℉ so you can change temperature according to the outer environment.
Besides, you need to know when the temperature is high or low. Heat-sensitive stickers will give you an idea of temperature from a distance.
The red indicator says the temperature is above 45° and the black indicates it’s below 45°. So you can come hurriedly to the heater if the temperature needs to change.
Interestingly, you can use a Petnf chicken coop heater in two ways. Standing or wall-mounted styles paired with a 9.8ft/3m length wire can mitigate space problems.
Spotlight is dangerous for your baby chick’s skin as it hits directly. This premier chick brooder heating plate simulates radiant heat ranging within 40cm that ensures proper heat and safety.
You need a heater of the proper size. And this 11.81” x 15.74″ size perfectly heats your small chick home. If you are raising a small number of chickens, it’s a good choice.
Pros
Cons
It is suitable if you raise fewer chicks. This ensures better warmth in a small room. Both your broody hen and baby chicks get good heat from a distance.
3. Brinsea Products Ecoglow Safety
Looking for a heating plate with low power consumption? Safe 12-volt radiant Brisnea products ecoglow safety ensures energy efficiency and minimizes your home/hatchery power costs.
Getting tensed with electricity cost, you may sometimes forget to switch on the heating plate.
Brinsea ecoglow brooder built with indicator light. The indicator light confirms that you connected the chick brooder.
Cold temperature is the main enemy of your chicks. So your heater needs to generate appropriate heat. No worries, it produces a uniform temperature consuming 12 volt/hr.
This heater works best at above 50 degrees Fahrenheit, which is pretty good for brooding. As it circulates 50°F heat constantly, it saves the chicks from cold.
The slippery top surface is made from a clear plastic cover that can’t ensure your chicks’ safety, so you need to be extra conscious. Using a rough towel on the top can save the yellow legs in that case.
Pros
Cons
This brooder is best suited for your baby chicks rather than healthy adult chickens. A safe 12-volt radiant heating plate minimizes power consumption.
4. K&H Thermo-Poultry Brooder
Perfect brooder leg assembly may seem tough to you, but not for K&H thermo peep heated pad. You may ask, why?
Well, the snap-fitted adjustable heating plates are easy to assemble. You can adjust in less than a minute with the snap fitter.
Your chicks thrive for mother hen broody temperature from the heating plates. The 25-watt heat source of thermo poultry brooder provides warmth to natural broody hens. This natural body temperature feeling ensures better chick growth.
Do you want to raise more chicks of different sizes? If yes, you can have two sizes of the K&H thermo poultry brooder.
The small size brooder (8″ X 13.5″ X 8″) ensures a warm temperature for your 15 chicks. And you can use the large size (11.5 “X 20″ X 8”) for brooding 25 chicks.
The problem you will find here is a hole between the plate and center sections. Your baby chicks may get stuck here. If you can take care of your chicks closely, then it’s worth it, considering other useful features.
Pros
Cons
It’s a good choice if you need hassle-free installation. Your baby chicks will get natural temperature feelings and will love it. But, negligence can cause accidents to your chicks.
5. RentACoop Chick Brooder Anti-Roost Heating Plate
Your baby chicks want his mother’s feathers to hide. RentAcoop heating plate fulfills your chick’s wish with a feather skirt. This feather skirt helps chicks to stay warm and cozy beneath.
You can adjust the heating plates easily in 25 angles ranging from 1″-7″. As a result, you don’t need to get new chicken brooders when your chicks grow.
It comes with a 15 watts/hr brooder lamp that doesn’t switch itself off. This constant light affects your chicks’ sleep quality. If your chick’s coop is extremely dark, then this brooder lamp may not affect chicks much.
With 10″ x 10″ size, you can keep up to 15 chicks warm. Your small brooder box circulates the same heat from the center of the metal plate.
Pros
Cons
RentAcoop chick brooder heating plate is suitable for cold weather conditions. But, here, you will be deprived of an adjustable temperature feature.
You can change the length of the chicken brooder according to your chick’s growth which is a good feature to have.
6. Rural365 Chick Heating Plate
Sometimes, heat lamps become too hot for baby chicks. Rural 365 chick heating plate with 12-volt heat plate gives your chicks just warm, not hot feelings. So, your newly born chicks can stay warm if they come in direct contact with the heated pad.
Who doesn’t love to watch the healthy growth and feather development of young chicks? You will love it too.
This 15-watt electric chick warmer plate encourages the healthy growth and development of the feather. It enhances the chance of better growth of baby chicks.
You may face difficulties in ensuring equal height adjustment to the brooder. The auto push button to increase the height keeps you away from this irritating problem.
Not cleaning a chick’s poop for a long time can be disgusting. The rugged top surface can cause this issue if you don’t clean poop early. But, if you keep an extra person to take care of your hatchery, then it won’t be much of an issue.
Pros
Cons
If you want to give your baby chicks quick, warm feelings, it can be a good choice to get as an outdoor brooder. But, in case you’re interested in raising baby chicks indoors, then a nasty top may make your mood off.
7. Titan Incubators Chick Heating Plate
The flat design of the Titan Incubators chick heating plate ensures you with variable heat flow all around. Your chicks can move from center to edge of the plate according to their warmth preference.
A 12″ x 12″ titan incubator chick heating plate has a medium heating area. You can use this medium-sized heating plate to grow up to 25 zero-day-old chicks. Your baby chicks will get proper heat without facing congested problems.
If you love external looks, then you will love the color and design of this brooder box. The color combination and texture of the outer surface give this brooder box a unique look.
On the problematic side, this heating lamp doesn’t have any indicator. So, you need to touch the plate to measure the temperature and power status. Owning a heating pad can solve your indicator problem.
25-watt power/hr ensures you 92% lower power consumption than a typical 250-watt heat lamp. Definitely, it is a huge energy and money save for you in your rearing days.
Pros
Cons
If you plan to take care of your newly hatched chicks indoors, you can opt for titan incubator heating plates.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Are brooder plates safe?
Brooder plates are completely safe as they provide heat that varies from center to edge. The small chicks can move easily underneath the brooder heating plate if it feels too hot. Unlike a heat lamp, there are no fire hazards to worry about.
2. What is the difference between a brooder and a heat lamp?
The key differences between a brooder and a heat lamp are:
– Heat lamps consist of fire hazards, unlike brooders.
– Heat lamps are not energy efficient, but brooders are.
3. How hot should a brooder plate be?
Before buying a chicken brooder, measure the temperature of your surroundings. Your brooder heating plate may reach 125oF when it is fully heated. But always control your brood’s heat according to your baby chick’s needs.
4. What is the safest way to heat a chicken coop?
The energy-efficient chicken heater is the safest option to heat a chicken coop using a low voltage. It may not warm the full coop, but it will give warm support to the chicks staying near the brooder.
5. At What Temperature Should I Heat My Chicken Coop?
It is better to keep the temperature above 60oF to keep your baby chickens warm. According to the weather, you may need to change the temperature.
Our Top Pick For The Best Chick Brooder Heater
Petnf Chicken coop heater is our top pick as the best chick brooder heater. Why? Let us explain.
Its radiant features keep your newly hatched chicks safe, and you don’t need to worry about accidents from fire or excess heat. The thermal sticker gives you an indication of when the heater generates high and low heat.
Farm innovators give you an option to hang the heater on the wall and set it up on the stand, so you needn’t worry about the space issue. From mother hen to baby chicks, all get equal warmth from this coop heater. So, it’s definitely an option worth going for.