Heat Lamps vs. Brooder Plates: Which is Best for Raising Baby Chicks?

One of the most common questions folks have asked us before taking home baby chicks from our farm is whether they should use heat lamps or brooder plates. In this post, we’ll go over the pros and cons of each and share what we use as a heat source for baby chicks.

​Baby Chicks Need a Heat Source

Chicks don’t need much after they hatch, but the few things they do need are absolutely essential. A safe, reliable heat source is one of those necessities.
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If hatched or adopted by a broody hen, chicks will have their mama hen to keep them warm. But if you are brooding chicks yourself, it’s crucial that they have the right heat source. Young chicks cannot regulate their own temperature and require the right supplemental heat source to survive.

​What are Heat Lamps and Heat Plates (aka Brooder Plates)?

To keep chicks warm in the earliest stages of life, chicken keepers use either a heat lamp or a heat plate (aka brooder plate).

When we refer to heat lamps, we’re talking about lamps specifically made for brooding poultry or other small animals, not just any old lamp. A heat lamp hangs above the chicks, and its height must be adjusted weekly to provide the optimal brooder temperature for each stage in the chick’s life. 
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A brooder plate has a heated underside that keeps the chicks warm when they go underneath it, just like a mama hen, and its height needs to be adjusted as the chicks grow.

A chick brooder with a heat plate.

Are Heat Lamps or Heat Plates Best for Raising Chicks?

Having raised hundreds of chicks with brooder plates after trying out heat lamps, we highly recommend heat plates over heat lamps, and use them exclusively on our homestead, for a few reasons. 

First, heat lamps get so hot that they are a potential fire hazard. They also take more effort to get the brooder to the correct temperature for the chicks in the bottom of the brooder. Additionally, some heat lamp bulbs are coated with Teflon, which can be toxic to chicks. 

Brooder plates are easy to adjust (simply adjust the plate legs as the chicks grow) and safer for your home or outbuilding.

Heat plates are safer for the chicks, too. Heat lamps heat up the whole brooder, causing chicks to fall asleep at random--including in their water dish where they can potentially drown. With heat plates, chicks tend to only fall asleep under the plate, where it is warm, which greatly reduces their risk of drowning.

Chicks dozing willy-nilly under a heat lamp.

​Tips for Using Heat Lamps and Brooder Plates

Tips for Using Heat Lamps and Brooder Plates

If you do use a heat lamp, here are some best practices:

• Heat lamps come with a clamp to attach them to the side of the brooder, but I recommend securing a heat lamp two ways for safety, in case one attachment fails. 
• For the first week, hang the lamp so that the brooder floor temperature is 90-95 degrees. Use a thermometer placed at chick level to measure the temperature in the brooder box. Each week drop this temperature by 5 degrees.
• Observe the chicks. If they are clustered under the heat lamp, they are too cold. If they are clustering far away from it, they are too hot. If they are moving all over the brooder, peeping softly, they are comfortable. They will alert you to any discomfort with loud cheeping.
• Place marbles or small stones in the reservoir of their waterer to prevent drowning.
• Make sure that your heat lamp bulb is Teflon-free.

If you choose to use a brooder plate, keep in mind:

• Remember to raise the height once a week or so--have the underside of the heat plate level with a chick’s back while they are standing.
• The brooder plates take about an hour to heat up, so make sure to plug them in well before you place chicks in the brooder. 
• Make sure you have the correct size heat plate for the number of chicks in your brooder. Overcrowding could cause the chicks to smother each other while sleeping under it at night. 
• Brooder plates typically come sized for twenty or fifty chicks. Use multiple heat plates in your brooder if necessary to give your chicks room to sleep safely.
• Your chicks may also benefit from a night light to help them navigate the brooder (in my experience, they cheep so loudly without the nightlight that I can’t forget it!).

We recommend using this twenty chick heat plate or this fifty chick heat plate.

​In Conclusion

You really can safely and effectively brood chicks with either a heat plate or a brooder plate, but brooder plates are the clear winner for safety and ease of use. They are also a much simpler choice for the beginner chicken keeper!
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Which do you use or prefer? We’d love to hear your experiences and tips in the comments below!

For more information about hatching and raising chicks, check out our Complete Chick Guide.