Heating Plate/Cave sizing ??

[imnukensc]

I meant using a heating not intended to be left on 24/7. The mama heating pad is designed for brooding.

Further i brought this to light, to help because it was stated as some sort. I specifically referenced if it should be operated 24/7. I do not believe it is hogwash but I clarified so you can stop lashing out

Hardly lashing out. Perhaps you should've said what you meant to say originally instead of having to walk back/clarify your statements.

 

[jolenesdad]

Hardly lashing out. Perhaps you should've said what you meant to say originally instead of having to walk back/clarify your statements.

It’s absolutely an off-label use to use a human heating pad for a chick brooder, whether it’s one with an auto shut off or not. Sure, there are probably less catastrophes than with a heating lamp, but it’s not uncalled for to warn users to be wary of their circumstances and environment.

im glad you edited your original post that I got an email for, because that certainly was lashing out.

 

[rosemarythyme]

If you're going with the heating pad, one thing to keep in mind is they're usually set up with a bit of a curve (often an upside down U, I did the opposite and did a normal U shape) so that takes away some of the usable space.

My heat pad is pretty small, maybe 12x14. I'd say it can fit about 6 chicks up to around 4 weeks.

 

[Kris5902]

Ok here’s a really bad example from my last hatch... I don’t have electricity, and temperatures were getting too low for outdoor brooding here, it was a joint hatch with another person so we set everything up at his place in a shed. It was not a good setup from the get go with my Brooder Totes, and I’m thrilled that 16 chicks made it (10 of mine).

I use large plastic totes with screened lids to brood the first week but am really careful about keeping the water from spilling. He was not. I use eco glo heaters meant for direct chick contact. He insisted on raising them to the highest setting “so the chicks could stand under them and not bang their heads”. There was condesnsation on all the walls of the tubs, he covered all the screened tops completely with blankets, further trapping humidity and blocking most of the light. Refused to allow me to use some styrofoam board to block the worst of the drafts on the tubs. The bedding was sopping wet. Then he moved them to a “better set up”, an arrangement with a hot plate (like for cooking food!) under a plywood bottomed box, because the heatplates weren’t hot enough. This was when I took my chicks home... better an unheated barn than that! Miraculously (I won’t even digress into the terrifying ancient oil heater, bare wires, extension cord shenanigans and the like) nothing caught fire, and I only lost one chick of the ones that I had develop (he assisted its hatch).

So, don’t do that... but the mama heating pad/cave setup really isn’t that bad an alternative to the often very pricy commercially available heating plates. Just be careful, make sure the heating pad you’re using suits the purpose, read everything on the products first, and use common sense. Whatever you do, it can’t be as bad as my last brooding experience (which will never be repeated, and I’m praying all my equipment is still functional!

That said, I like to start with two brooders (clear totes) side by side, each with a smaller plate, so they can see and hear each other. When they are little you can fit more chicks under them, the first week my small 20’s can accommodate 15-17 chicks. When I move up to a larger brooder 4x4’ I either switch to the “50” plate or butt the “20”s up together. By the time I increase their space to 4x8’ they have often weaned themselves off the heat for the most part. Which I’ve seen happen at only 1 1/2 weeks old in the summer (28-32 degrees Celsius)

 

[Blooie]

I meant using a heating not intended to be left on 24/7. The mama heating pad is designed for brooding.

Further i brought this to light, to help because it was stated as some sort. I specifically referenced if it should be operated 24/7. I do not believe it is hogwash but I clarified so you can stop lashing out

I think I need to chime in here. The Heating Pad I use isn’t designed for brooding, and I’ve never claimed that it was. It’s a Heating pad designed to be used by humans on human aches and pains. I prefer the Sunbeam X-Press Heat, with the “Stay On” switch.

I always stress basic safety. Any electrical appliance, from a coffee pot to a phone charger, has the potential to start a fire. Wires within a wall can smolder or short out and start a fire, even with nothing plugged in. Correct precautions must always be taken, following common sense precautions like using a correctly-rated outlet, protecting all connections from dust and moisture, and connections firmly in place. I never recommend using an older pad that has been rolled or folded in the back of a linen closet for years. The tiny wires inside can become brittle with age, developing tiny crack or even breaks, and when put under an electrical load they can short out. When we’re using them on us, it’s not a big deal. We can feel hot or cold spots or detect an unusual odor and unplug the pad. When that pad is in a different room or even outside, we have no way to know until the Issue becomes critical. Mama Heating Pad is reliable and is every bit as safe as some methods, and safer than others. But it is not accident proof!!!

It’s absolutely an off-label use to use a human heating pad for a chick brooder, whether it’s one with an auto shut off or not. Sure, there are probably less catastrophes than with a heating lamp, but it’s not uncalled for to warn users to be wary of their circumstances and environment.

im glad you edited your original post that I got an email for, because that certainly was lashing out.

See my comment above.

If you're going with the heating pad, one thing to keep in mind is they're usually set up with a bit of a curve (often an upside down U, I did the opposite and did a normal U shape) so that takes away some of the usable space.

My heat pad is pretty small, maybe 12x14. I'd say it can fit about 6 chicks up to around 4 weeks.

My cave isn’t as high now as it was when I first started using Mama Heating Pad. I don’t use the higher U...it’s more flattened to give the chicks heat directly at the level of their backs when they are standing. The MHP thread started as a way foe to document what I was doing. As such, when I made changes in the setup or configuration, or others made modifications that worked (or didn’t) the thread evolved.

After my little granddaughter burned her arm on the heat lamp the first time we raised chicks, I swore I’d never use another heat lamp. If I couldn’t find a better way to raise chicks, I’d never raise another batch. I was right there next to Katie when it happened and I will be haunted by those huge tears in her big blue eyes every time I think about that first batch. I thought about a commercial brooding plate, but our budget was tight and I could not justify spending that kind of money on something that I’d only use a few weeks every year, maybe even every couple of years. I did a little research, talked at length about it with Beekissed, who had been using something similar, so Mama Heating Pad was born.

I‘m trying to remember now but I think the biggest batch of chicks I raised was maybe 17, with the large size pad, (12x24) and they did fine. Remember that, except for after dark, they not all under there at once anyway. By about 2 weeks, they’ll often snuggle on top or beside it for naps and occasionally even all night, if ambient temperatures are mild. By 3 weeks my heating pad is down to temp setting one, even outside in temps lower than most people are comfortable with chicks being out. By the end of that 3rd week or into the 4th, the entire brooder is torn down and they are on their own. I didn’t just remove heat based on a calendar.....they weaned themselves off, because they’d been self-regulating so well.

I’ll be candid, as I always try to be with MHP, and say straight up that it’s not perfect. Personally I think trying to raise 20 chicks under the large pad is pushing it. I know I often thought the 17 or so I had in that one batch was stretching MHP’s limits, although they did just fine. But I must also say that if there’s a closer duplicate to a broody hen, I haven’t found it yet.

 

[jolenesdad]

I think I need to chime in here. The Heating Pad I use isn’t designed for brooding, and I’ve never claimed that it was. It’s a Heating pad designed to be used by humans on human aches and pains. I prefer the Sunbeam X-Press Heat, with the “Stay On” switch.

I always stress basic safety. Any electrical appliance, from a coffee pot to a phone charger, has the potential to start a fire. Wires within a wall can smolder or short out and start a fire, even with nothing plugged in. Correct precautions must always be taken, following common sense precautions like using a correctly-rated outlet, protecting all connections from dust and moisture, and connections firmly in place. I never recommend using an older pad that has been rolled or folded in the back of a linen closet for years. The tiny wires inside can become brittle with age, developing tiny crack or even breaks, and when put under an electrical load they can short out. When we’re using them on us, it’s not a big deal. We can feel hot or cold spots or detect an unusual odor and unplug the pad. When that pad is in a different room or even outside, we have no way to know until the Issue becomes critical. Mama Heating Pad is reliable and is every bit as safe as some methods, and safer than others. But it is not accident proof!!!




See my comment above.



My cave isn’t as high now as it was when I first started using Mama Heating Pad. I don’t use the higher U...it’s more flattened to give the chicks heat directly at the level of their backs when they are standing. The MHP thread started as a way foe to document what I was doing. As such, when I made changes in the setup or configuration, or others made modifications that worked (or didn’t) the thread evolved.

After my little granddaughter burned her arm on the heat lamp the first time we raised chicks, I swore I’d never use another heat lamp. If I couldn’t find a better way to raise chicks, I’d never raise another batch. I was right there next to Katie when it happened and I will be haunted by those huge tears in her big blue eyes every time I think about that first batch. I thought about a commercial brooding plate, but our budget was tight and I could not justify spending that kind of money on something that I’d only use a few weeks every year, maybe even every couple of years. I did a little research, talked at length about it with Beekissed, who had been using something similar, so Mama Heating Pad was born.

I‘m trying to remember now but I think the biggest batch of chicks I raised was maybe 17, with the large size pad, (12x24) and they did fine. Remember that, except for after dark, they not all under there at once anyway. By about 2 weeks, they’ll often snuggle on top or beside it for naps and occasionally even all night, if ambient temperatures are mild. By 3 weeks my heating pad is down to temp setting one, even outside in temps lower than most people are comfortable with chicks being out. By the end of that 3rd week or into the 4th, the entire brooder is torn down and they are on their own. I didn’t just remove heat based on a calendar.....they weaned themselves off, because they’d been self-regulating so well.

I’ll be candid, as I always try to be with MHP, and say straight up that it’s not perfect. Personally I think trying to raise 20 chicks under the large pad is pushing it. I know I often thought the 17 or so I had in that one batch was stretching MHP’s limits, although they did just fine. But I must also say that if there’s a closer duplicate to a broody hen, I haven’t found it yet.

I think this entire post is a little confusing because a poster was actually posting pretty negative and uncalled for comments, which is why there’s much talk of the cautions of the pad. I only mentioned it to back up the commentor that was getting railed on inappropriately, but comments have been edited and you can’t see that.

MHP is a great resource for sure.

I raised a batch of broilers under two side by side MHPs because I couldn’t figure out how to make that big of a cave that wouldn’t have some chicks stuck in the back. My only concern with the pad was my humid environment and outdoor electrical elements that may never have been tested for that, so I dnot use it in all seasons outdoors.

 

[Blooie]

Thanks for the clarification. But there will be others like me who come in and don’t see the pre-edit posts and comments, so maybe it’ll help them.

 

[Kris5902]

Also to clarify, my last “brooding bad experience” comment was an example of a bad situation I personally ended up in, Not a criticism of heat caves or the Mama heating pad. I’ve never personally used the MHP, because I’d already purchased my eco glo plates before I even found BYC and I’m on extremely limited solar/battery power. I was just trying to stress basic common sense, heating pads are not all equal, and food hot plates are something entirely different (do not use these, please!) It wasn’t meant as a negative and I hope the OP and other readers don’t take it as such. Just a slight caution on a scary off label use of heating devices (which were also vintage and essentially dumpster dived)... be safe, sensible, and don’t use something that could actually cook your chicks! Again, I am not working with that person ever again unless I have complete control of the hatch and brooding! It’s why I dropped out of the last hatch-a-long

My first comment about getting the right pad without the auto shut off was that’s (from what I’ve read) the only major issue that I saw come up with the MHP, making sure you buy the right pad, so you don’t lose heat unexpectedly.

 

[Blooie]

Perfectly sensible post!! You did have a horrible experience and we need to share those just as often as we show off photos of cute fuzzy chicks. It’s about sharing it all so folks know that stuff happens to everyone else, too. You and I posted at about the same time. Your post wasn’t there, I typed mine, and when I posted it, your was up.

 

[Kris5902]

Also, even with all the “right equipment”, “safe and foolproof” heating plates, there’s still a lot of ways things can go wrong, especially when you don’t pay attention to the directions. I also have two brand new, never used heat lamps, both because I lack the power to run them, and found BYC and read about the risks involved with them.

That said, spring is coming, I’ve got eggs in the incubator, am cleaning out my larger brooders, and I love working with the heatplates. I just have to make sure I remember to switch my Batteries over at night, and it’s all good. (Haven’t told DH yet I’m going to be “borrowing” his new inverter for a while)