Mama Heating Pad in the Brooder (Picture Heavy) - UPDATE

[gottecat]

They quieted right down when we stuck them under it.

 

[Blooie]

Aww....so cute! Just a little hint - if you can pull the towel down in the front just a little bit, so it makes a small awning, they seem to love to duck under it and go inside where it's a little darker. Dunno what it is about that ducking but they sure take to that fast. Not necessary, of course, especially if they seem to have taken to it the way it is. Nice job!

 

[gottecat]

Okay pulled down the towel a little and insulated some on top with pine shavings. After huddling for 10-15 min they are just starting to venture out.

 

[Blooie]

Perfect!

 

[lazy gardener]

They quieted right down when we stuck them under it.

One other suggestion I'd like to make: It looks like the wire frame is between the heating pad and the chicks. One thing I've learned is that chicks are quite resourceful at finding ways to kill themselves. If the holes in the wire are large enough that they can get any body part through a hole, it's a potential for chick suicide. When I did my heating pad, I slipped the wire frame and heating pad inside a pillow case, and taped the whole works together with masking tape so there were no loose folds. Prevented any "getting stuck in the wire".

 

[gottecat]

Thanks i really like that idea!

 

[SunshineAnShade]

My chicks are doing great! They are 5 weeks old now?... I was wondering though, at what point would they not need the heating pad? A few nights ago due to a 3 year old, a comedy of errors and miscommunication, the girls were locked out all night in 50-60 temps. They were fine though. They are mostly feathered out now.
Since then i find them huddled on their water bucket in there run after dark instead of heading inside. I suspect its partly because they wait until its too dark to see inside. Once i shine the flash light in there they go in.

On a side note, i was on pinterest looking at an article about simple homemade chicken feed at a return to simplicity blog and i was surprised and happy to see one person by the name of deb left a reply advocating the use of the heating pad cave! Its a long shot but i thought maybe it was one of our peeps. perchie.girl perhaps?

Heres a few pics from 2 weeks ago.

 

[perchie.girl]

My chicks are doing great! They are 5 weeks old now?... I was wondering though, at what point would they not need the heating pad? A few nights ago due to a 3 year old, a comedy of errors and miscommunication, the girls were locked out all night in 50-60 temps. They were fine though. They are mostly feathered out now.
Since then i find them huddled on their water bucket in there run after dark instead of heading inside. I suspect its partly because they wait until its too dark to see inside. Once i shine the flash light in there they go in.

On a side note, i was on pinterest looking at an article about simple homemade chicken feed at a return to simplicity blog and i was surprised and happy to see one person by the name of deb left a reply advocating the use of the heating pad cave! Its a long shot but i thought maybe it was one of our peeps. perchie.girl perhaps?

Heres a few pics from 2 weeks ago.

could have been me I am perchie.girl or perchiegirl every where... but I always sign my posts or at least I try to with a lower case "deb"

deb

 

[SunshineAnShade]

could have been me I am perchie.girl or perchiegirl every where...  but I always sign my posts or at least I try to with a lower case "deb"

deb

It didnt show a screen name, just deb, lower case! I was so excited when i saw the post outside byc!

 

[Blooie]

Your chicks look just great! You can probably turn off the pad. I'm trying to understand what you meant by "going in" after you shined the flashlight for them. Did you mean going into the cave, or into their pen? If they don't want to go into their cave that's fine. They shouldn't be needing it at this point. You could even dispense with the cave altogether and just leave them some extra bedding where the cave used to be. But if you meant going into their pen, then I'd herd them in at sundown and give them a little time to figure out where they're going to huddle up for the night. At 5.5 weeks my chicks last year were sleeping in an unheated, unheated coop with nighttime temperatures below 20 degrees and the coop wasn't even finished around them yet. And it snowed. It kept snowing until our last snowfall on June 6th. So yours will be perfectly fine at this age in 50 and 60 degrees. Congratulations, Broody Brigade Mama! You DID it!

Edited to add: I hit "submit" before I finished because the stoopid phone rang. Who calls this late, anyway? Someone looking for Brian. Keep looking, buddy. Anyway, that is so cool that MHP is now on Pintrest! This is taking on a life of its own and that's fantastic! First Meyer Hatchery was interested, and now Pintrest mentioned it. Deb, if that was you, BLESS YOU! So how do you suppose we can get one of the major chicken magazines to cover brooding chicks outdoors? Nah, never happen. I was thumbing through one today at the feed store and it was discussing how to brood chicks. Wait to get chicks until late spring or early summer. Brood indoors. With heat lamps. Maintaining 95 degrees for the first week, 90 the second, yadda yadda.