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

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I'm excited to see how well my Mama Heating Pad brooder is working for my 6 Welsummer chicks! I used plastic wrap instead of press n' seal as I didn't want to spend money on things I have a good substitute. The only thing I bought was the heating pad!
 

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Hi everyone, My hen will hopefully hatch some chicks in 2 days. Because I'm paranoid and its her first brood, I want to have a plan B in case she bails on her chicks. Does anyone have advice on what to look for in the heating pad? Or an alternative? I've been searching for a week now and every single heating pad I find seems to shut off automatically in 2 hours. I don't see options on the controls for "infinite time" or "no auto shut off". I'm in France, so am now wondering if it's french or European safety regulations.

Do all heating pads have a way to shut off the auto off, but just don't advertize it? Or is this a thing now?

Has anyone tried this with a reptile mat? I can't control the temperature on ours, it's on or off, and meant to sit below the terrarium. I think I could wrap it in towels if it came to it. But a heating pad would be convenient to have anyway.


Darn safety regs (if that's indeed what this is)
 
I know this is a gonzo thread, but all your questions have been addressed in it. I would recommend reading the first twenty pages and the twenty most recent pages. But there's a wealth of information in this thread that is invaluable because we perfected the heating pad method after ironing out all the problems that arose.

No, a reptile pad won't work. You need to specifically buy a heating pad with the "Leave on" feature. Most heating pads will turn off after two hours.
 
Amphitecna said:
Hi everyone, My hen will hopefully hatch some chicks in 2 days. Because I'm paranoid and its her first brood, I want to have a plan B in case she bails on her chicks. Does anyone have advice on what to look for in the heating pad? Or an alternative? I've been searching for a week now and every single heating pad I find seems to shut off automatically in 2 hours. I don't see options on the controls for "infinite time" or "no auto shut off". I'm in France, so am now wondering if it's french or European safety regulations.

Do all heating pads have a way to shut off the auto off, but just don't advertize it? Or is this a thing now?

Has anyone tried this with a reptile mat? I can't control the temperature on ours, it's on or off, and meant to sit below the terrarium. I think I could wrap it in towels if it came to it. But a heating pad would be convenient to have anyway.


Darn safety regs (if that's indeed what this is)
Click to expand...

I recommend getting a brooder plate. It's by far one of the safest options. Reptile mats can work if it is only one or two chicks. I've done that before and they don't turn off. However, with that said I would not recommend one unless you only have one or two chicks.
 
The problem with brooder plates is that they do not put out the right amount of heat for very cold weather. They are fine if you're brooding chicks where the night temp isn't below 30F. They are better suited for warmer temps.

I still urge everyone to read through this thread. It has chronicled our experiences with the heating pad, solving problems associated with safety, and examined all possible alternatives.

I'm still a huge fan of the heating pad as an optimal brooding system.
 
Amphitecna said:
Hi everyone, My hen will hopefully hatch some chicks in 2 days. Because I'm paranoid and its her first brood, I want to have a plan B in case she bails on her chicks. Does anyone have advice on what to look for in the heating pad? Or an alternative? I've been searching for a week now and every single heating pad I find seems to shut off automatically in 2 hours. I don't see options on the controls for "infinite time" or "no auto shut off". I'm in France, so am now wondering if it's french or European safety regulations.

Do all heating pads have a way to shut off the auto off, but just don't advertize it? Or is this a thing now?

Has anyone tried this with a reptile mat? I can't control the temperature on ours, it's on or off, and meant to sit below the terrarium. I think I could wrap it in towels if it came to it. But a heating pad would be convenient to have anyway.


Darn safety regs (if that's indeed what this is)
Click to expand...
Do you have access to fluorescent lights? My grandparents used to use a 100watt florescent bulb in their barn. We even did it with our winter broody. It kept the ambient temp high enough in the freezing, granted they still had her.

Sorry missed the auto on/off. There are devices that could work WITH a device, a regulator of sorts, no idea if you have that option or not?
 

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