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

[junebuggena]

I'm sure this has been discussed already, so feel free to direct me to the proper thread or section if it has, but when should I take my babies out to a sequestered section of the pen to introduce them to the rest of the flock? As the pen is way down the hill in the 'lower 40' I would NOT have electricity to power the MHP down there. So what I guess I'm really asking is how old do they have to be before they can live comfortably in the outdoors without any auxiliary heat?

Nighttime temperatures are averaging in the 50s. Currently they are 3 weeks old and staying in their brooder bin (with the MHP) in the garage, which is neither heated nor insulated, but is draft free. Outside they would initially be in a large cage, which obviously would not be draft free.


Thanks for your replies

They can go without heat once they are fully feathered, usually by 4 to 6 weeks old. But they will still need some sort of shelter, a cage is not sufficient.

 

[aart]

Quote: haha was just typing that.

Make them a 'huddle box', put it in the brooder after turning off the heat(you might have to 'persuade' them to use it) then move it out to the coop with them.
Cardboard box with a bottom a little bigger than what they need to cuddle next to each other without piling and tall enough for them to stand in.
Cut an opening on one side a couple inches from bottom and big enough for 2-3 of them to go thru at once.
Fill the bottom with some pine shavings an inch or so deep.
This will give them a cozy place to sleep/rest, block any drafts and help hold their body heat in.

 

[Jensownzoo]

I probably could have done it sooner, but I kicked my first batch of chicks outside when they were 8 weeks old. They had a tarp for a windbreak, a plastic doghouse (stuffed with straw), and two bales of straw to mitigate the cold. It was 70 when I put them out...snowed the next day. Everybody did fine.

 

[GardenNut]

Just put my 4 MHP graduates to bed in their big girl coop. Put their food and water in there, along with a slew of mealworms. I doubt they'll actually go to roost this first night. Everything is locked up tight. I had two hawks hanging around up in the trees all day checking things out. Fortunately the run is covered. They'll be fine, and I'm on my third beer. I'm all out of wine! I'm an empty nester for the second time in my life!

 

[eagrbeavr]

Just put my 4 MHP graduates to bed in their big girl coop. Put their food and water in there, along with a slew of mealworms. I doubt they'll actually go to roost this first night. Everything is locked up tight. I had two hawks hanging around up in the trees all day checking things out. Fortunately the run is covered. They'll be fine, and I'm on my third beer. I'm all out of wine! I'm an empty nester for the second time in my life!

Isnt it a great feeling? Congratulations

 

[azygous]

I found the 5x7 portal would let a few of my slimmer and more determined hens thru...had one squeeze thru a 4x4 door too...
story is on this thread-so you could search for it...so you might want to put something up to reduce portal size.

I have 3 doors, all adjustable, and plan to shut the hens out of the main coop and show the chicks about the little doors, before allowing flock face to face meet with chicks.......Also have to put smaller mesh wire on the run before allowing chicks out there<rollseyes>.

This is all my fault, and I'm indeed very sorry! I was rounding out the measurement of my portals when they are actually four and a half inches wide by five inches tall. I guess that extra half inch was enough to permit a slim hen to squeeze through. I really didn't thing a quarter inch on each side of the frame would make a difference!

Do I get a virtual lashing?

 

[AllynTal]

I should probably post this in another thread, but I need an answer from MHPers, not lampers. The lampers would crucify me. Using the MHP changes the rules, and I guess I feel like a newb again. How early is too early to let them in the run? They were climbing the inside ramp to the upper tier of the coop above the cave and then doing cannonballs onto the heads of their fellow flockmates below... over and over and over again. It was 80+ degrees outside today so I took the hardware cloth off the pop door. It seems a committee was formed to discuss the new situation, but no one volunteered to go down the ramp first.

(the committee)

They've been vaccinated for Mareks but nothing else and they're on non-medicated feed. Is the MHP making me too bold?

 

[aart]

Quote: Oh, H3ll No!!
I have a real slim line of hens, out of an amblerlink, skinny girls they are -note above one got thru 4x4 opening.....and any design put forth on the net should be assessed for it's suitability in one's own situation.
Am glad I tested it before putting the chicks out there...and have put some easy adjustability in place in case it's needed.

 

[aart]

I should probably post this in another thread, but I need an answer from MHPers, not lampers. The lampers would crucify me. Using the MHP changes the rules, and I guess I feel like a newb again. How early is too early to let them in the run? They were climbing the inside ramp to the upper tier of the coop above the cave and then doing cannonballs onto the heads of their fellow flockmates below... over and over and over again. It was 80+ degrees outside today so I took the hardware cloth off the pop door. It seems a committee was formed to discuss the new situation, but no one volunteered to go down the ramp first.

(the committee)

They've been vaccinated for Mareks but nothing else and they're on non-medicated feed. Is the MHP making me too bold?

As long as they can't get out of the run, it's fine to let them go down there.
You might want to keep a close eye on them until you are sure they can get back up into the coop by themselves if they need to warm up, eat, drink.

 

[Jensownzoo]

They were climbing the inside ramp to the upper tier of the coop above the cave and then doing cannonballs onto the heads of their fellow flockmates below... over and over and over again.

This is hilarious.

I'm not an expert, but as long as they know how to get back to MHP to warm up and the run is secure enough to contain small chicks, I say go for it.