Another Mama Heating Pad example

[McChooky]

Not bashing the use of brooder plates or heating pads but given the choice between the two heaters my chicks chose the ceramic heater, not the one they had to hug

 

[McChooky]

I don't know what to tell you, I brooded a total of 56 chicks outside last year with these heating pads and had no issues

Texas is a lot warmer than West Virginia

 

[Birdinhand]

I use the XL sunbeam ones for my meat birds, 2 set ups easily handles 50 chicks. I also commonly raise layers with the CX. The layers love the heat that their Bigger “brothers” give off. The heating pads I have have auto shut off but it’s able to be turned off so it stays on continuously… the key is not does it have auto shut off or not but whether that shut off can be overridden.

My set up works to below freezing, but in the cold it does require that I tuck them in at night with a towel to keep the heat in around the edges and I come out in the morning and remove the towel from the edges and make sure no one is having issues.

 

[McChooky]

I don't know what to tell you, I brooded a total of 56 chicks outside last year with these heating pads and had no issues

I was hoping they'd like it better and still kept it in the brooder until I turned them loose in the run.I had to put plastic around the dog crate and put the heater on top and made a tent between the dog crate and the brooder coop.The chicks ran and played in the tent area and dog crate but never went inside the brooder area until they started feathering out.Its my fault I didn't realize the heating pads do so poorly in cold temperatures.It gets below zero here in the winter

 

[McChooky]

I use the XL sunbeam ones for my meat birds, 2 set ups easily handles 50 chicks. I also commonly raise layers with the CX. The layers love the heat that their Bigger “brothers” give off. The heating pads I have have auto shut off but it’s able to be turned off so it stays on continuously… the key is not does it have auto shut off or not but whether that shut off can be overridden.

My set up works to below freezing, but in the cold it does require that I tuck them in at night with a towel to keep the heat in around the edges and I come out in the morning and remove the towel from the edges and make sure no one is having issues.

You tuck towels around the heating pad cave to keep them warm?

 

[McChooky]

You tuck towels around the heating pad cave to keep them warm?

I never realized how inadequate the heat was until trying to use one myself. I just went back to using ceramic heat lamps and have no regrets for at least trying it.I have my heat lamps suspended with steel wire and both have guards. One is in a catio and the other is inside my run.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

I was hoping they'd like it better and still kept it in the brooder until I turned them loose in the run.I had to put plastic around the dog crate and put the heater on top and made a tent between the dog crate and the brooder coop.The chicks ran and played in the tent area and dog crate but never went inside the brooder area until they started feathering out.Its my fault I didn't realize the heating pads do so poorly in cold temperatures.It gets below zero here in the winter

Oh ok, I see what you're saying. Very rarely do we get below zero, that would probably be a bit to much.

 

[McChooky]

Oh ok, I see what you're saying. Very rarely do we get below zero, that would probably be a bit to much.

In an emergency I wouldn't be opposed to using one .My ceramic heat bulb usually last 2-3 years Thanks!

 

[Birdinhand]

You tuck towels around the heating pad cave to keep them warm?

I don’t make a cave, so yes, I drape a towel so it hangs off the edge on the side I have food and water, to allow them to go back and forth early in the morning before I put the towel up for the day. The other sides I use an extra towel to keep them from getting out, and to insulate. My MHP is flat, at an angle, with one side closer to the ground, crouching height for the chick, the other side set to standing height for the chick. The four corners are made with threaded rods so all from corners can be adjusted with nuts and washers. You can look up “trials and trillions of suburban meat bird production” for exact details. Here’s a link to the MHP page with pics of what I made: MHP

 

[rosemarythyme]

The manufacturers of the brooder plates don't even recommend their use in ambient temps below 50 degrees. Day old chicks need more heat than this sorry

Heating pad is not the same as heat plate and can operate 30 degrees or lower than the average heating plate.

I get that you prefer your set up and I'm sure it works well, but a lot of people on here successfully use plates and pads and if that's what someone wants to do, providing them with info on how to set it up successfully is more helpful than telling them that you wouldn't use it.