brooder picture. is it safe?

[Mellowmalt]

they won't purposefully go on it but once chicks are in there and jump on to the MHP which they will, the cats will. I don't think cats can ever be trusted around chicks.

You might think that a heat plate doesn't lose any heat but it does. It is actually very important where you place your heat plate and not just rely for it "to do its job" because I can tell you they can underheat!
It's a balance between the heat lost that it generates and the heat that stays underneath.

The more drafts and ventialtion you have the more likely it is to lose too much heat even if you think that isn't possible. I am here to tell you it is very possible.

So don't just rely on a heat plate, stick a thermometer underneath it and make sure it doesn't drop below 90F.

 

[junior67]

they won't purposefully go on it but once chicks are in there and jump on to the MHP which they will, the cats will. I don't think cats can ever be trusted around chicks.

You might think that a heat plate doesn't lose any heat but it does. It is actually very important where you place your heat plate and not just rely for it "to do its job" because I can tell you they can underheat!
It's a balance between the heat lost that it generates and the heat that stays underneath.

The more drafts and ventialtion you have the more likely it is to lose too much heat even if you think that isn't possible. I am here to tell you it is very possible.

So don't just rely on a heat plate, stick a thermometer underneath it and make sure it doesn't drop below 90F.

it isn't a heat plate. It is a MHP so no it does hold heat under there. They use it like a mama chicken and press their backs up against it to get warm that way. so it won't read 90 under the MHP. you can read up on them here if you aren't sure what I am talking about. I have done a year of research on chicks before getting them and have read many many things about MHP which is why I went with that and not a heat plate or a heat lamp.

and yes cats can not be trusted with chicks which is why the chicks are in a crate with hardware cloth around it so the cats can't get at them.

 

[Mellowmalt]

dunno from what I've seen I'm guessing mhp stands for manual heat plate, i did look it up as you suggested and it just seems to be a bed heating blanket turned into a heating pad for chicks. Seems fine but it's not going to keep temps steady that well unless I am misunderstanding completely what an mhp is. If it were a heat mat hooked up to a thermostat that runs it at a constant temperature that would be ideal but thats not what my searches came up with.

Anyway as long as you have it figured out

 

[junior67]

dunno from what I've seen I'm guessing mhp stands for manual heat plate, i did look it up as you suggested and it just seems to be a bed heating blanket turned into a heating pad for chicks. Seems fine but it's not going to keep temps steady that well unless I am misunderstanding completely what an mhp is. If it were a heat mat hooked up to a thermostat that runs it at a constant temperature that would be ideal but thats not what my searches came up with.

Anyway as long as you have it figured out

it is a mama heating pad. it is made with a heating pad that doesn't have an auto shut off and hung up under some type of wire. The chicks go under it and press up against it as they would a mama hen to get warm. once they are warm they come out and play and go back once they get chilly again. Many here use them and love them. you just turn down how much heat it gives out and raise the legs on it as the chicks get bigger.

 

[rosemarythyme]

dunno from what I've seen I'm guessing mhp stands for manual heat plate, i did look it up as you suggested and it just seems to be a bed heating blanket turned into a heating pad for chicks. Seems fine but it's not going to keep temps steady that well unless I am misunderstanding completely what an mhp is.

Mama heating pad, and it's literally just a human heat pad. The heat pad temp stays steady but it allows the ambient air temperature to naturally fluctuate which is exactly what a hen raising chicks outside does.

 

[junior67]

Here is the inside for now. I may move the water so I can put the MHP along the side wall but not sure yet. I also have another waterer coming tomorrow to be sure there is enough. Now the next 42 hrs needs to go fast!!!!!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Here is the inside for now. I may move the water so I can put the MHP along the side wall but not sure yet. I also have another waterer coming tomorrow to be sure there is enough. Now the next 42 hrs needs to go fast!!!!!

Leave the MHP away from the wall, that way the chicks can get in/out from all sides and you reduce the risk of someone getting squashed in there.

 

[junior67]

Leave the MHP away from the wall, that way the chicks can get in/out from all sides and you reduce the risk of someone getting squashed in there.

it is pulled away on all sides since I had read that and made sure it was enough room all around that they can get out. But thanks for the reminder. I know in some I saw the back up against something but thankfully remembered hearing to leaves space that they can get in and out from all around.

AH just figured out you meant if I turn it (or guessing you did) thought maybe my picture didn't show the space around it, but just peeked and looks like it does. I think if I turn it going the other way there is still enough space on all 4 sides to get out but it is almost against the nipple waterer so I would need to move that so there is room so haven't fully tried it to be sure there is room on the short sides to get out if I switch it, but if there isn't then I will keep it where it is.

 

[junior67]

Leave the MHP away from the wall, that way the chicks can get in/out from all sides and you reduce the risk of someone getting squashed in there.

do you use a MHP? Right now the front is around 2 1/4"- 2 1/2" high and back is around 1 1/2" high is that enough or should I raise it some or wait and see how the chicks fit? They should be about 1 day old standard chicks.

 

[rosemarythyme]

do you use a MHP? Right now the front is around 2 1/4"- 2 1/2" high and back is around 1 1/2" high is that enough or should I raise it some or wait and see how the chicks fit? They should be about 1 day old standard chicks.

I do but mine is set in a U shape so there's no height adjusting, the chicks when young crawl under the lowest part, and as they grow up move towards side or even sit on top.

Your numbers sound pretty good but yes you can make adjustments if needed once the chicks arrive - if you only need small adjustments to lower the unit you can even put more bedding under the MHP to "raise" the floor instead.