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

[Blooie]

I'm in southwest MI, our low temps at night are abt 65-70 degrees daytime temps in the high 80's low 90's.

They are cooped in a barn and the barn stays cooler during the day and warmer at night. I don't have an exact temp though I am always comfortable in there lol but I don't have feathers!

Yeah, I don't worry too much about temperatures, but if I had to decide their comfort based on what's comfy for me the poor things would roast to death! I'm always cold (circulation issues) and right now it's in the 90s out there, Ken has the swamp cooler on (we don't use air conditioning here, we cool by using evaporative coolers) and I'm in a long sleeve shirt, jeans and have a little shrug on besides!

 

[plynneb]

I can certainly understand Blooie, I am freezing all winter...just can never get warm no matter what I do or how many layers I wear.

I think I'll watch the little buggers a little longer and see if they are consistent abt where they sleep. I'm sure that'll tell me more. I'd hate to turn it off and they end up needing it.

 

[OilyChick]

If the NIGHT time temps are in the 90s I wouldn't have the pad turned on EVER. They MAY go under for 'closeness' but they sure don't need heat. And if the temps are in the 70s, I wouldn't go higher than "mid-range" and see how the chicks take, or not, to the MHP at night.

Bedtime temps in 90's but by 5-6 am they are in the 80's...occasionally upper 70's. So is the consensus with everyone that it is okay to turn off heating pad for good? I worry about my littlest chicks because they only have feathers on the outermost wing. Not even any tail feathers coming in yet. They are still only fluff balls which I thought that the down has very little insulating properties? The littles only pop back under for a few minutes in the early mornings when they need it and the setting is down to 4 now.

Once the bigger birds(fully feathered wings) are up for the day eating and scratching they won't lie back down to help keep the littlest ones warm. I know they all stay warm at night in their little bundle of thirteen chicks...

I guess I'm a worry wart. Or a "mother hen"

By the way...they are in a very large coop with lots of vents open too. It is always their choice to stay near or under the pad or not. The death of my favorite little one who chilled to death has made me extra cautious.

I sure wish I had an infrared camera so I could watch them at night in the coop....but my hubby would send me to the funny farm if I suggested that!!!

 

[Blooie]

The way I see it, you're there and I'm not! Wasn't that brilliant of me? Teehee. You need to do what you think is best for your chicks. You can leave the pad turned up a bit and just trust them to know if they need it or not. Keeping it warm for them during those times when they don't need it as much won't hurt anything, and the more feathered ones will rely on it less than the fuzzier ones. Just make sure it isn't so warm that they avoid it altogether and end up chilling because they won't use it at all. If they hang around at the entrance or snuggle on top, that's just fine. Relax - you've got this as long as you don't try to overthink it.

 

[aart]

Ditto what Blooie said.......and who knows if the one that died actually chilled to death or was just 'unthrifty'.

 

[FlyWheel]

<Snip!>

I'll post pics of my newest arrivals when they arrive which should be here (alive and healthy, I hope) tomorrow or Friday.

They're he-e-r-e!

The Post Office called @ 8 am to let me know. So I readied the brood-bin; turned on the MHP, the timer controlled red LED light, ground some of the pullet's starter/grower crumbles into powder and set it and a waterer full of warm water for them.

At the P.O. I carefully open up the cheeping box (I can hear them even when they're all the way in the back!) and all five look healthy and happy.

Wait, five? I ordered four! Anyway, I get home and, after showing the new arrivals off, call Chickens For Backyards and ask about this 'mystery chick'. The nice lady tells me they usually stick in an extra (attrition, perhaps?). I thank her for that and ask if she knew what kind it was as, aside from the green legs it looked nothing like any of the others! She looks up my order and tells me it's an EE pullet. Great!

So I carefully take them one by one out of the shipping box, get a picture of each and place them inside the MHP 'cave'. Here they are,



None of these chicks are named yet, I'm waiting until they develop something that will distinguish them first. This is one of the three Easter Eggers I ordered.


Another EE. They are all so docile!

And this is the third. She's hard to take a picture of. Although they are very calm and will let me pick them all up without resisting or struggling, if she's standing on her own she won't stand still long enough for the camera.



This is the Cuckoo Marans chick. Oddly enough, Glinda (Formally known as Silvertips) looked alot like this as a chick!


OK, now who's this guy? A stowaway?! Throw it overboard!

(just kidding!!

)

Turns out he's an extra EE that CFB threw in free of charge. She is absolutely devoid of any king of markings. Just a plain, pale yellow all over; a color not unlike lemon merangue. I'm really hoping she grows up to be completely white!

Hey, I can dream, can't I?




I put them under the Mama heating Pad and guess what? Not
one of them ran out! They all happily accepted this synthetic
hen like they new all along what it's for! They have been going
in and out, drinking their water and they have already eaten
the small pile of feed I had put on the board in front of their
feed bin, and from the looks of the feed in the bin they have
been pecking at it too. I hardly had to teach them anything!

This is a pet gate that we never used, and it has been sitting
in the garage for years. Turns out it fits the top of the bin
perfectly. Not its manufacturer's intended use, but hey, the
chicks are pet's too right?

 

[SunHwaKwon]

[COLOR=FF0000]They're he-e-r-e! [/COLOR]

The Post Office called @ 8 am to let me know. So I readied the brood-bin; turned on the MHP, the timer controlled red LED light, ground some of the pullet's starter/grower crumbles into powder and set it and a waterer full of warm water for them. At the P.O. I carefully open up the cheeping box (I can hear them even when they're all the way in the back!) and all five look healthy and happy. Wait, five? I ordered four! Anyway, I get home and, after showing the new arrivals off, call Chickens For Backyards and ask about this 'mystery chick'. The nice lady tells me they usually stick in an extra (attrition, perhaps?). I thank her for that and ask if she knew what kind it was as, aside from the green legs it looked nothing like any of the others! She looks up my order and tells me it's an EE pullet. Great! So I carefully take them one by one out of the shipping box, get a picture of each and place them inside the MHP 'cave'. Here they are, [COLOR=333333]None of these chicks are named yet, I'm waiting until they develop something that will distinguish them first. This is one of the three Easter Eggers I ordered.[/COLOR] [COLOR=333333]Another EE.[/COLOR] They are all so docile! [COLOR=333333]And this is the third. She's hard to take a picture of. Although they are very calm and will let me pick them all up without resisting or struggling, if she's standing on her own she won't stand still long enough for the camera.[/COLOR] [COLOR=333333]This is the Cuckoo Marans chick. Oddly enough, Glinda (Formally known as Silvertips) looked alot like this as a chick![/COLOR] OK, now who's this guy? A stowaway?! Throw it overboard! (just kidding!! ) [COLOR=B42000] [/COLOR] Turns out he's an extra EE that CFB threw in free of charge. She is absolutely devoid of any king of markings. Just a plain, pale yellow all over; a color not unlike lemon merangue. I'm really hoping she grows up to be completely white! Hey, I can dream, can't I? I put them under the Mama heating Pad and guess what? Not one of them ran out! They all happily accepted this synthetic hen like they new all along what it's for! They have been going in and out, drinking their water and they have already eaten the small pile of feed I had put on the board in front of their feed bin, and from the looks of the feed in the bin they have been pecking at it too. I hardly had to teach them anything! This is a pet gate that we never used, and it has been sitting in the garage for years. Turns out it fits the top of the bin perfectly. Not its manufacturer's intended use, but hey, the chicks are pet's too right?

Yay! Fingers crossed all stay happy and healthy

 

[Blooie]

Soo cute - your dues are paid!

Look carefully at the yellow chick - do you see even a faint marking of a sort of charcoal "smudge", just barely noticeable? This is how my yellow EE chick turned out, and she had very faint charcoal or bluish smudges, like tiny a tiny thumbprint, on her back.




Agatha....

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Soo cute - your dues are paid! Look carefully at the yellow chick - do you see even a faint marking of a sort of charcoal "smudge", just barely noticeable? This is how my yellow EE chick turned out, and she had very faint charcoal or bluish smudges, like tiny a tiny thumbprint, on her back. Agatha....

Gorgeous! I was hoping for a light EE in the feed store bin last week but all they had was dark so I got one that I hope will look different from my current one.

 

[FlyWheel]

Yeah, 'Chipmunk' seems to be the top scheme for EE's, at least from what I've seen. And yes Blooie, having had a second, closer look there is a faint darkening on the crown of her head. But I'm still hoping for my Little Snow White Hen.