RentACoop 12x12” Adjustable Heating Plate with Hard Anti-Roost Cone Set

Currently brooding our 2nd round of chicks under the 12x12" heating plate. We love the reduced fire risk and the fact that it doesn't heat the room. There's been no noticeable increase in our power bill for the months we've been running it. Setup is as easy as sticking the legs in and plugging it in. No jury-rigging a lamp rig. The legs are a breeze to adjust as the chicks grow. Some weeks, I adjust them daily, leaving one side lower than the other for different sized chicks. Besides the ease and peace of mind, it seems like chicks benefit greatly from having a place to sneak under like they would their mom. Our first chicks are in the coop now, are super sociable, and never had aggression issues even when an exceptionally cold, wet, windy spring prevented us from moving them to the coop as soon as we planned. I purchased the cone top. It works great, but we only use it the first week to keep tiny chicks from hurting themselves when they hop off the top. In a week, when they have wing feathers and can hop more gracefully, I swap the cone top for a cardboard template that's easy to switch out after they poop on it. The top is warm, so chicks love using the top as a roost. 3 considerations: - Like many chicken things, size up from what the manufacturer suggests. Our 7 chicks outgrew the 12x12" plate in a month. By then, some luckily preferred sleeping on top of it anyway. Probably cut the manufacturer's recommendation in half. - Beware if your brooder's in a room with a temp in the 50s or less. If you aren't brooding them in the house, it'd be good to heat the space to the 60s for the first few weeks so the chicks don't chill when they run out to eat/drink/exercise, which they do a lot. - Because this isn't a lamp, I leave a dim light on (just enough to read a newspaper by) so chicks can find food & water at night, especially the first week, when it could be dire if they get lost in the dark and can't find the heater again (chicks often eat and drink at night, esp. during growth spurts). This thing has made raising chicks a lot less stressful, and RentACoop has done a good job with the adjustable legs and easy setup in particular.

I like this plate because the feathers keep the heat under the plate. Heat escapes with others. It also provides a hide out for shy new born babies

I was skeptical of getting a heat light for my brooder instead due to fire risk. I got this as it has a very low chance of fire hazards and has a max heat that it will not go over. It is supposed to resemble a mother hen sitting on her chicks, our chicks love it! It has four adjustable legs for bigger and smaller chicks. We have four chicks that are bigger and six smaller chicks and we have been able to adjust it to their size as they grow. I love the top as it does not allow the chicks to sit on top and poop all over it. I have absolutely loved this in our brooder and would highly recommend!

Love this heat plate. I was hesitant at first. But I bought it to try as I hate heat lamps. Well worth every penny.

This chicken brooder heat plate works great. It keeps chicks warm without the hassle or fire hazard fear of a heat lamp. It’s safe, easy to use, and gives consistent heat. Definitely a better, more reliable setup for raising chicks.

The feathers are constantly falling off. That's annoying. If I were to get another one someday I would not even both putting on the feathers. The rest is great. The anti-roost cone is great! I like how safe and comforting these are for new chicks to hide under and stay warm. These use less power and are less dangerous than heat lamps. But, if you mail order chicks often times they arrive very hungry and very cold so for the first 24 hours I would use a heat lamp anyway to get them warmed up fast. After they are eating and drinking and warm, then I switch to these. Or sometimes both, if I have a very large brooder.

Works awesome so far. I have thermometers under each one, and so far they’re working great

I’ve been hatching and raising poultry for years. We switched from heat lamps to brooder plates years ago. I have owned this brooder plate in the last as well as the much more expensive Brinsea plate. Not only was this plate larger than my Brinsea for less cost, it turned out to be much more durable. We picked up some day old chicks 2 weeks ago and much to my dismay, my Brinsea plate would not warm up after just 2 previous seasons of use and my other plate of this exact make and model was in use. So I went and purchased a second one of these. While my original brooder plate from this company did not have the cone on top I must say I am loving this cone. Usually by now the chicks are jumping and pooping all over the top of the brooder plate within days of hatching. This cone completely coops that keeping the brooder plate much cleaner. Personally I have not used the feather skirting. We just take each chick when we move them from the incubator to the brooder and after dipping their beak into the water and feed so they know where that is, we simply place them under the warming plate so they know where the warmth is located. Every chick I have ever use this plate with takes to it right away just like they would a mother hen. So in short I will list the pros: 1. Great size for many chicks 2. Utilizes less electricity than heating lamps 3. Less of a fire risk than heating lamps 4. Intuitive for new chicks to use. 5. The cone truly does help keep the brooder clean. 6. More durable than the much more expensive name brand brooder plate. 7. Adjustable height for growing chicks.