Cozy coop panel heater

[Keelio]

Hello all,

I will be getting baby chicks this year for the first time. I have never raised chickens before. I have heard that they need a heat lamp, but I know the risks for fire and would like to avoid that. I have a cozy coop panel heater and was wondering if that would work? Has anyone used this for chicks before? Would it be better to use a light bulb? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Chicken-lovebirdchihuahua]

Heat lamps don't cause fire if they are high bough up and not in a coop

 

[debid]

This exact question was asked just a couple days ago. Do a quick search and you'll find it.

 

[featheredplanets]

There are other options for supplemental heat, like the Mama Heating Pad or an electric plate.

 

[imnukensc]

A brooder plate or the mama heating pad are 100% better than a heat lamp. I'm pretty sure the cozy coop panel heater gets too hot. The brooder plate and MHP are made so that the chicks can actually touch it to get warm without getting burned.

 

[Keelio]

I was thinking the panel would get too hot for the chicks but I wasn’t sure. I was just reading about the mama heating pad. It sounds much better and safer so I’m going to look into that. Thank you guys

 

[IamRainey]

OK. Stoopid question, I'm sure, but what does Mama Heating Pad mean? Is it a product or just an expression for using a heating pad. If so, where do you find a heating pad that doesn't cycle off and what setting do you set it on?

I will be getting day old chicks in June and want to raise them out in the coop with my existing flock of 3 so I'll be wanting to provide heat for them in their little kennel-within-a-coop. And I'm not looking for any fire hazard either!

 

[Keelio]

OK. Stoopid question, I'm sure, but what does Mama Heating Pad mean? Is it a product or just an expression for using a heating pad. If so, where do you find a heating pad that doesn't cycle off and what setting do you set it on?

I will be getting day old chicks in June and want to raise them out in the coop with my existing flock of 3 so I'll be wanting to provide heat for them in their little kennel-within-a-coop. And I'm not looking for any fire hazard either!

Hey there, I found this page about the mama heating pad. It’s something you basically build, but it doesn’t look too hard.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...e-brooder-picture-heavy-update.956958/page-46

Scroll down to the user post “Beekissed”. They have pics and explain it. Hope that helps!

 

[Birdinhand]

I've had heat lamps explode, cause severe burns and all and many a coop and a few houses have gone up in flames as a result of their use. the mother heating pad is an amazingly easy DIY radiant heat panel that is far and above a heat lamp in several ways. research has shown, particularly the research on meat birds, that chickens need a dark cycle at night and getting one improves pretty much all manner of well being and health. so safety aside, health is a good enough reason alone to go with an MHP as it offers that dark period. I've raised as many as 35 chicks at a time using two XXL MHP's and had the best liveability rate so far!

sunbeam makes the heating pad most folks use. here is an example: https://www.amazon.com/Sunbeam-0020...5263&sr=8-4&keywords=heating+pad+sunbeam&th=1

as for what setting to use, it seems that the preferred method is to not focus as much on the temperature/setting as to focus on the chicks behavior. now this can be intimidating the first time but my chicks go straight out into the coop, no inside brooder and with a little observation you figure it out pretty quick, if they are all huddled in a shivering mass under the heating pad and reluctant to come out and explore periodically, then it's too low, if they are reluctant on the other hand, to go under it, then it's too high. generally you start at the highest setting and work your way down. the key is to have the heating pad laying on something adjustable, like a piece of hardware cloth or some other wire mesh and fold it so that it's at an angle, low to the back, about the height of the chicks back when it's sitting down. the high end should be at the front and not much higher than the back but enough so that a chick can stand up and touch it's back. very quickly, when the chicks are comfortable, they will begin adventuring out for food, water and general shenanigans. this very much mimics the function of a broody hen, where the chicks can make direct contact with the mother for quick heat transfer. each week or so you lower the temp and raise the height a bit to adjust for feathering out and growing. before you know it, depending on temps and breed/time of year etc, they will start perching on top of the MHP. it's the best darn system since sliced bread.

 

[PNW_Peepers]

I use a Brinsea and it’s wonderful. Really expensive in the first place but it pays for itself when you get your electric bill. No pasty butt issues either as the chicks can self regulate the heat as they need it!