Electric hen

My electric hen arrived this morning so I have got it switched on and I'm just trying to get the temp right before I let the little one under it.

Anyone have any advice or experience of one of these?

I have two, one has adjustable legs so I have the back legs a bit lower than the front.

The box looks like a single or double kitchen cupboard carcase.

I like electric hens, no worries about bulbs blowing, and apparently they use a lot less electric.

This is one that I have

Electric hen

Don't know what I was expecting of an electric hen but I thought it would be fluffier!

maybe something like this?? apparently she laid eggs too!!

soup dragon[url/]

I love my electric hen... it doesn't peck or growl at you when you want to coo over the chicks unlike a real pellet-powered hen, and, unlike heat lamps, it won't blow up and leave you with cold dead chicks 

Upsides: The chicks seem really happy under it and like having somewhere to hide.  They look sooooo cute popping their heads out of it to see what's going on.  I do what Foxy does and have two legs longer than the others to accommodate bigger chicks.

Downsides: my Polands end up with wee flat crests for a while!  Also my hen isn't very big (30cm square I think) so while its ok for a while they still end up under a heat lamp after a couple of weeks because they outgrow it.  I do also find myself checking it whenever I'm, in the barn because, unlike the lamps, you can't see it's working... and I may be a little paranoid.

Trick is to get the hen adjusted so when the chicks stand up their backs touch the hot plate.  You then raise it up a bit every couple of days as they grow.  Works a treat.

If you want to go for a heat lamp why not try the ceramic bulbs. They are much more reliable than the glass ones and last longer too - makes up for them being a bit more expensive.

Oh I keep my chicks in a makeshift brooder too which is about the size of a double kitchen wall cupbard carcass but is an old wooden packing crate I found in the barn.  It takes up to 30 bantam chicks quite happily until they are about 14 days old then they are moved to an old ginuieueiee (I can never ever spell that) pig run.     Chicks are fab