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

[AuroraDoerksen]

I just got my ducklings today, and am trying this method, is it normal for them to rather be all on top rather then inside? Thanks

 

[jrjoplin]

Been doing a lot of thinking.  Goslings are also heavier than chicks and I don't want them walking on top of the cave and then collapsing it.  We have a lot of shelves from old refrigerators and stoves out in the garage (his parents were pack rats).  I'm thinking of using one of those like the heating plates I've seen advertised but higher in the front than in the back.  That way the ducks can got to the lower part and the goslings will have the head room they need.  Will lay the heating pad on the shelf and then drape a towel over the whole thing.  Just have to make some adjustable legs which shouldn't be a problem.  It should work for at least a couple weeks until those goslings get huge.  By then it should be warm enough that they won't even need heat during the day, just a bit at night.  By then I might be able to use the heating pad on the floor.  They could lay on it if they are cold and then drape the area with a big towel. 

Not having any experience with goslings I have no idea how fast they grow.  Thirty years ago my youngest son brought home a duckling.  We knew nothing about them.  Only heat it got was a jar of hot water wrapped in a towel.  It was so lonesome it cheeped all night so I slept with my hand in its box for 2 weeks to make it feel as if someone was with her.  Made a great house pet except they didn't sell diapers then.  I was taping sanitary napkins to the duck every day.  Finally found her a new home with a farmer who raised that kind of duck as we were military and getting ready to move. 

There are a few of us that went with a shelf design, mine is made of wood and is rather heavy but others have used wire racks with good results. I would agree that goslings would be capable of collapsing a wire MHP cave but you could put some dowels through the wire mesh for added support.

I can't imagine keeping diapers on any poultry although I know it's done. I imagine that they would need to be changed every half hour.

OUR CHICKS ARE HERE!!!

Questions though...what should the height of the MHP be? Just above their backs when they are laying down sleeping? Or touching when they are standing?

And what setting do you use for the heating pad? I have the same one Blooie has with the 6 settings and "stay on" feature. Right now I have it set to 6. But because we just brought them home and it's evening, they were chilled from the trip and now I don't know if they are just trying to warm up and need the heat or if they are okay and I should turn it down.

Will my chicks be okay switching from a heat lamp to the MHP? They were born on Wednesday and I just got them today. Up until now they've been under a heat lamp.

Also, is it normal for them not to drink right away? They went for the food but not for the water.
Thanks for the help!!

Here are our three girls!

I started at 6 but quickly turned down to 4. I think they liked that high heat right out of the box but once they settled it was too warm for them.

As for changing heat sources you'll need to check on them for the first few days and put them under if they are outside of the MHP. They'll learn quickly and go under by themselves in no time.

I didn't notice a lot of drinking till day two. As long as they know where it is I figure they will start when they get thirsty.

I just got my ducklings today, and am trying this method, is it normal for them to rather be all on top rather then inside? Thanks

It's almost impossible to keep them off the top. I just watched for any that stayed on top during the night when they were sleeping and let them do whatever during the day.

 

[LilyBird]

There are a few of us that went with a shelf design, mine is made of wood and is rather heavy but others have used wire racks with good results. I would agree that goslings would be capable of collapsing a wire MHP cave but you could put some dowels through the wire mesh for added support.

I can't imagine keeping diapers on any poultry although I know it's done. I imagine that they would need to be changed every half hour.
I started at 6 but quickly turned down to 4. I think they liked that high heat right out of the box but once they settled it was too warm for them.

As for changing heat sources you'll need to check on them for the first few days and put them under if they are outside of the MHP. They'll learn quickly and go under by themselves in no time.

I didn't notice a lot of drinking till day two. As long as they know where it is I figure they will start when they get thirsty.
It's almost impossible to keep them off the top. I just watched for any that stayed on top during the night when they were sleeping and let them do whatever during the day.

They are three days old today. I'm just worried that they have been used to being up all night with the heat lamps and won't be able to get a drink until morning. I hope they will be okay. We dipped their beaks to show them where it was but they had no interest. They just want to huddle under the MHP they're being good girls and staying under the MHP.

 

[jrjoplin]

They are three days old today. I'm just worried that they have been used to being up all night with the heat lamps and won't be able to get a drink until morning. I hope they will be okay. We dipped their beaks to show them where it was but they had no interest. They just want to huddle under the MHP they're being good girls and staying under the MHP.

Sorry, I meant day two after arrival. Mine were shipped and were three days old by the time I received them as well.

 

[LilyBird]

Sorry, I meant day two after arrival. Mine were shipped and were three days old by the time I received them as well.

Oh ok. As long as they don't get dehydrated! Lol These tiny little creatures definitely have a way of making new chick mamas paranoid! Thanks for the advice.

 

[jrjoplin]

Oh ok. As long as they don't get dehydrated! Lol These tiny little creatures definitely have a way of making new chick mamas paranoid! Thanks for the advice.

I think I checked on mine at least every hour that first night worried that they were too warm, too cold, didn't like the booster I put in the water, the list goes on and on. As for the water, my guess is that as they absorb the remainder of the nutrients from the egg they may not be as interested in external sources. But they do go for the food immediately so that may be incorrect. Within a week my 24 chicks were going through about a gallon a day.

 

[AllynTal]

I'm going to take a five-hour ride next month to pick up 6 day-old chicks. (They'll be a day-old when I pick them up. They're not a day old now. Right now, they're just a gleam in a rooster's eye.). I want to take a portable MHP brooder to keep them warm on the drive back. I don't know whether to go with a 12V travel heating pad that plugs into the cigarette lighter or get a 12V inverter and another 110V heating pad. The travel pad has auto shutoff -- not a huge deal as I'll be sitting right next to it and can turn it back on every half hour, but the no-fuss inverter and regular heating pad sounds like less of a hassle. Does anyone have experience with either of these --the travel pad or the inverter -- and can offer an opinion?

 

[Jensownzoo]

I'm going to take a five-hour ride next month to pick up 6 day-old chicks. (They'll be a day-old when I pick them up. They're not a day old now. Right now, they're just a gleam in a rooster's eye.). I want to take a portable MHP brooder to keep them warm on the drive back. I don't know whether to go with a 12V travel heating pad that plugs into the cigarette lighter or get a 12V inverter and another 110V heating pad. The travel pad has auto shutoff -- not a huge deal as I'll be sitting right next to it and can turn it back on every half hour, but the no-fuss inverter and regular heating pad sounds like less of a hassle. Does anyone have experience with either of these --the travel pad or the inverter -- and can offer an opinion?

Or you could go with a chemical handwarmer instead? I keep a supply in my vehicle for warming up babies of multiple species. If you wanted to make it like MHP, you could ziptie one or two to a cardboard cave, although just keeping it in the box was sufficient for me. They last 8-10 hours with good heat, usually.

 

[bruceha2000]

Quote:
The setting for the pad will depend on the ambient temp of the room. If they are in a 65F house they won't want the pad as hot as they would if they were out in a 35F coop. Just make sure it is low at the back and higher in the front so they can decide how much of their body they want up against the pad. Go with the standard advice for temps. If the chicks won't come out, it is likely they are still cold so they stay in the cave. If they won't go in (after being put in and kept from coming out long enough for them to figure out that is their heat source) it is too hot.

Look back at the recent post by @jmoeller of her new Heritage Rhode Island Reds with a brooding hen. NONE of those chicks are under the hen but they will pop under when they need to warm up. My experience was the same which is when I learned that the "requirement" for 24 hour 95F for a week with 5F drop each week is pure bunk.

As long as they know where the water is they will be fine. And they SHOULDN'T want to drink at night, they should be asleep. The only reason they will drink at night is if they are awake because of the light of the heat lamp. I don't think anyone has had a problem with young chicks transferring from an unnatural 24 hour light and all around very high temp ambient air to an MHP brooder.

I'm going to take a five-hour ride next month to pick up 6 day-old chicks. (They'll be a day-old when I pick them up. They're not a day old now. Right now, they're just a gleam in a rooster's eye.). I want to take a portable MHP brooder to keep them warm on the drive back. I don't know whether to go with a 12V travel heating pad that plugs into the cigarette lighter or get a 12V inverter and another 110V heating pad. The travel pad has auto shutoff -- not a huge deal as I'll be sitting right next to it and can turn it back on every half hour, but the no-fuss inverter and regular heating pad sounds like less of a hassle. Does anyone have experience with either of these --the travel pad or the inverter -- and can offer an opinion?

I take it you don't have either a 12V heating pad nor an inverter currently. If you don't have a use for either, I would go with the suggestion from @Jensownzoo rather than spending money for a 5 hour trip. That is SO much shorter than chicks shipped through the mail will endure. How many chicks? For that trip I think I would mimic the big hatchery shipping method. A box big enough to contain them, not lots of extra room. Put one of those hand warmers in a sock or something and cover it with some shavings or hay and put the chicks on top. Then drive (one pee break allowed

).

Of course I've never done this so I can't actually tell you exactly what to expect.

 

[Nariah01]

So I have my 5 two week old chicks in a good size brooder with the mama heating pad and I had a question about adding new chicks to the mix. Do you have to slowly integrate like you do with older birds or can I just put the new chicks in with my two week olds? I would be getting probably 2-3 few day old chicks, they wouldn't be more then a week old, and are at least three days old from the farm store near me. I just really wanted a few breeds that I wasn't able to get when I got the first chicks last week, but I don't really want to run two brooders it would be nice if I could just put them all together. I was just worried if the new chicks would get trampled or beaten up a lot.