RentACoop 12x12” Adjustable Heating Plate with Hard Anti-Roost Cone Set and Removable Comfort Feathers - Chick Brooder Heat Plate Warms Up to 20 Chicks

This heat plate was perfect for our brooder box and keeps all of our chicks happy. I’m very glad that I switched from a heat lamp. They seem to enjoy this much more. Highly recommend!

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

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

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 is genius!!! The moment our chicks arrived they went in and were absolutely silent, it was obvious this calmed them down. It’s very sturdy, wipe clean on outside but I haven’t tried to clean the feathers that Velcro around the outside yet. But it’s easy to adjust the height as they grow, I only have had 12 chicks at once but glad I chose a bigger size as the chicks like to lay sprawled out and who am I to deny that urge. Assembly was straight forward, note you should have this set up an hour before your chicks come so it is at full temperature and no worry of fires or overheating chicks.

This is my first time raising chicks and I opted for a brooder plate for safety reasons. My chicks have been happy with this heat source since I’ve brought them home. They began to wean themselves off of it at 4 weeks old, and by 5 weeks they no longer needed heat. This brooder plate is sturdy, easy to clean, and very adjustable!

So, I've used a black ceramic heating bulb in a standard brooder lamp for 3 batches of chick over the last two years. I'm sick of how close I have to get the lamp to the chicks, for them to keep warm. You can see how they get up IN the stupid lamp! I was using the ceramic bulb, because I'm terrified of my house burning down, and the ceramic are supposed to be safer. Well, I finally bit the bullet and bought the 12x12 Rent-A-Coop heating plate. The baby brooder I have this in is actually the largest plastic dog crate you can get, for size comparison. I'm seriously glad I spent the extra money for the 12x12, because even that seems smallish, and pictured are 8 one and a half week old chicks.
I knew I was going to get a heating plate, and I researched a lot. The single thing that sold me on this one was the pyramid thing for the top. Chicks poop. A LOT. I wasn't looking forward to scraping petrified bird turds off a heating plate you can't get wet. So hopefully this keeps it clean.
Second thing I have to say is that this heating plate is very much loved by my fourth batch of chicks. They peep only a fraction of the time, and only "peep scream" when their mash runs out. You know, because they are starving to death even though there is a huge TROUGH of dry crumbles available...
A trough of dry crumbles they STAND ON to scream at me for more mash. Good thing I love my birds. LOL!

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Works great if you use incubator but if you buy day old chicks I'm not sure incubator 10 batches used this no problem

Works great if you use incubator but if you buy day old chicks I'm not sure incubator 10 batches used this no problem

Using this for 16 new chicks. They huddle under it, and seem quite happy, and warm.I have used heat lamps in the past, but never really cared for that system - light on constantly, and the light was SO hot.This stays a nice temp for the chicks, and appears to be cheaper to run, and much safer than a heat lamp. The chicks recommend it ;)

I really like this product. Very sturdy. Fourteen baby chicks got under comfortable. Legs are easily adjusted. Will purchase again.

I really like this product. Very sturdy. Fourteen baby chicks got under comfortable. Legs are easily adjusted. Will purchase again.

No chicks lost so far! We’ve been so blessed with no problems with our chicks once they move to the brooder. (Not going to mention incubation issues) This product gives me a lot less worry than I would have if I was using a heat lamp. Heard too many horror stories. Keep an eye on the height, setting it at a small angle lets the chicks choose how far they press into the heat. Be sure not to over crowd your brooder, and I hope you’ll be as happy as we have been.

Havent used yet in a coop (quail just hatched and I start them on a heat lamp because they arnt smart) but have plugged in. Came up to a reasonable temp and solidly made

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.