Coop as brooder with heat pad cave and chilly outside temps

[mintyradish]

I'm getting five chicks in a couple days and have no other chickens. I have read some threads about using the heat pad "cave" method instead of a heat lamp, and I've read other threads about using the coop as a brooder. I live in Minnesota and right now we're having daytime highs in the 50-60F range and night time lows in the upper to low 30s. The coop I built has plenty of ventilation, starting 4 ft off the coop floor. The inside of the coop is ~25 sq ft.

Can I use the coop as a brooder with this setup? Want to keep the chicks warm enough!

 

[DobieLover]

I'm getting five chicks in a couple days and have no other chickens. I have read some threads about using the heat pad "cave" method instead of a heat lamp, and I've read other threads about using the coop as a brooder. I live in Minnesota and right now we're having daytime highs in the 50-60F range and night time lows in the upper to low 30s. The coop I built has plenty of ventilation, starting 4 ft off the coop floor. The inside of the coop is ~25 sq ft.

Can I use the coop as a brooder with this setup? Want to keep the chicks warm enough!

Absolutely! They will thrive.
I raised last year's brood in my coop in a built in brooder with lowest temp being 23F when the chicks were 5 days old.
I have eight 6-day old chicks in the brooder now under their mother doing fine. It went down to 30F last night. They were running around all day when not warming up under mom.

 

[NewBoots]

We put our first chicks in the coop with a heating plate and lots of fluffy pine shavings to hold in the warmth. The nighttime temps got down to 31 and they did great.

 

[mintyradish]

@Doc7 & @DobieLover - I just put the chicks in the coop late this afternoon with the mama heat pad. They all cuddled up in there and promptly fell asleep! Only one has come out since arriving - I suppose they get tired and chilly on the way from the hatchery. Thanks again for your advice!

 

[mintyradish]

Here they're thinking about coming out:

And then they all came out for a snack:

To build the MHP, I used two 2x4s the length of the heating pad and spaced them the width of the heating pad with a couple thin strips of wood. I cut the back end of the 2x4s at about 50 degrees. That way the chicks can snuggle right up against the pad all the way at the back, or be cooler toward the front. As they grow, I suppose I'll need to raise it up a bit higher, but this should be fine for a while.

 

[LizzzyJo]

Just put a digital thermometer out there that you can read from your house. They’re dirt cheap on amazon and the BEST PURCHASE EVERRRRR. you can sleep soundly knowing they’re perfectly warm without having to go outside every hour out of paranoia. Wait maybe that’s just me

 

[SamCotter]

I am located in central MN and will be moving my 5 week old chicks into the coop. You can have my homemade brooder if you’d like. It’s 3’x3’ with a lid.

 

[Doc7]

Just put a digital thermometer out there that you can read from your house. They’re dirt cheap on amazon and the BEST PURCHASE EVERRRRR. you can sleep soundly knowing they’re perfectly warm without having to go outside every hour out of paranoia. Wait maybe that’s just me

No thermometer with mama heat pad. I’ve never even owned one for this purpose. You can’t take a mama heat pad temp. The chicks push their Backs against it to get warm. It’s not like a heat lamp where you measure temp of the air under it. Many people who try this are surprised because they thought it had to be 90 under it or etc depending on age.

turn heat pad on. Check feeder daily. Wait for chicks to stop using and remove. wait for eggs. I hardly check the chicks more than once a day after day 2 anymore.

certainly no temperature monitoring. That sounds too stressful to me.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...5-degrees-this-weekend.1370627/#post-22552802

 

[mintyradish]

Just put a digital thermometer out there

@LizzzyJo Thanks for the idea! I'm going to eventually install a ChickenCam in the coop just for fun, and may put temp/humidity monitoring in then.

nighttime temps got down to 31 and they did great.

Great to know! Thanks sharing your experience @NewBoots

You can have my homemade brooder if you’d like.

Thank you for the kind offer @SamCotter but I'm planning on brooding in the coop.

No thermometer with mama heat pad.

Thanks for the advice @Doc7 - I appreciate you sharing your experience!

 

[LizzzyJo]

No thermometer with mama heat pad. I’ve never even owned one for this purpose. You can’t take a mama heat pad temp. The chicks push their Backs against it to get warm. It’s not like a heat lamp where you measure temp of the air under it. Many people who try this are surprised because they thought it had to be 90 under it or etc depending on age.

turn heat pad on. Check feeder daily. Wait for chicks to stop using and remove. wait for eggs. I hardly check the chicks more than once a day after day 2 anymore.

certainly no temperature monitoring. That sounds too stressful to me.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...5-degrees-this-weekend.1370627/#post-22552802

Oh that’s interesting! I’ve never used a heat pad before I’m glad I know this now in case I get one!