Alternative non electric heat source

[chickielips]

Had a little problem a couple of weeks ago. Kids and grands were coming up for a few days, and my set up here was a playpen in the hall and a puppy pen in the living room for my two 5 1/2 week old Buff Orps. They HAD to go out to their grow out condo coop under our covered patio! Didn't want to run anything electric out there, but quite chilly nights here still. The "no auto shutoff heating pad" was pretty expensive, so bought a SnuggleSafe microwave heating disc. I remembered those from when I worked at the Humane Society...we used them for tiny kittens to keep them warm. Well, it worked great! The girls have been snuggling up to it the last couple of weeks and it got them through the chilliest part of the night. It states that it will stay warm for up to ten hours, but outside it only stayed warm for about 6-7 hours. You need to know the wattage of your microwave to figure how long to heat it up. Mine is 800 watts so heated it up for 6 minutes, then slipped it into a pillowcase. It comes with a soft cover, is about 8 1/2 inches and you have to let it cool completely before nuking it again. Cost is around $28.00 at Amazon. Not for everyone, but if you only have 2 or 3 chicks it worked fine

 

[ChickenCanoe]

How cold is it getting at night there?

That might be more efficient than a heat lamp.

 

[chickielips]

Lows around 38-40 at night, but they hadn't been without heat for very long inside. I am in western Washington state, and its still chilly, wet and windy . If there were more chicks in there they probably would have been fine, but just the two of them I felt a little "extra" would help. Must be a Mom thing!!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I hear ya. They should be ok in another week of acclimating.