Getting them UNDER the MHP

[chickachee]

Does everyone using the MHP usually end up placing the chicks under it each night? My chicks are in the basement which has very small windows, so it's fairly dark most of the time. Is this my problem - not having the natural waning of daylight so they'll go under the MHP on their own? If I moved them to another room on the main floor, do you think that might alleviate the problem by having the sun set naturally/gradually?

Thanks for your help!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Is there a light you can turn on for them to simulate daytime? Something with a dimmer would be great.

Yes if they're exposed to a natural day/night cycle they'll crawl under the MHP as the sun sets and quiet down and go to sleep.

 

[aart]

If I moved them to another room on the main floor, do you think that might alleviate the problem by having the sun set naturally/gradually?

Yes.
You still might have to 'shove' them under until they get the hang of it.

 

[chickachee]

I actually won't be able to move them upstairs, my set up is too big I've got a red, non-heat type bulb (but it does keep them at the right temp) on them with a dimmer swich, but I would have to dim it bit by bit each evening and hope they had enough sense (not likely - tee hee) to get under the HP. I guess I'm relegated to putting them under the HP every night. Guess I should think of it as waist whittling exercise. I have them in a heavy duty cardboard produce enclosure, so it's about 30" tall - you know, the type that sit on a pallet in the grocery store and has watermelons/melons in it. At least that's how they display them in Minnesota