Mama Heating Pad in the Brooder (Picture Heavy) - UPDATE

[perchie.girl]

Quote: The idea IS to make a permanent frame for the heating pad.... Keets are runners they run every where when one gets going they all follow in masse....

the brooder will have access to food and water only through verticle bars so no one can jack boot through and scatter food about. Guineas need to be kept a bit warmer their first week.... They are growing monsters.... I had forty guineas keet going trhough fifty pounds of Turkey starter a week... They probably wasted as much as they ate... in two weeks they can fly six feet up with a purpose.... so the space needed for Guinea Keets needs to be double that of chicks.

So the next time I brood I will keep it to no more than 25 and give them at least 4 x 8 foot brooder space.

deb

 

[aart]

@Blooie

OK you know me.... I had to make a sketch. i have to preface this with I plan on brooding with broody hens... That is a huge variable. Therefore Ibeen thinking about this mama heading pad deal... Guinea keets are messy and you cant put them on shavings for at least a week learned that the hard way.... So I want to brood them up on wire.... Wire under the food and water that is... because they are sloppy too.

then I want them on sand.... So Here is a sketch.



Oh I forgot to lable the supports.... Just dowls run all the way across and holes at different heights to change the pitch too The whole wooden box will lift out and can be set anywhere needed later. The sand will go with it.

deb

Sweet....I too love a good design sketch!!

I'm using T-nuts in 2x2's under the rack and 1/4-20 carriage bolts in a variety of lengths for 4 infinitely adjustable legs.
Don't have a nifty sketch, but will have pics once I get it set.......

Decided to probably use a piece of 3/16 plywood with the peel and stick stuff on the top of pad.
It should hold the pad in place as well as protect it....might make 2 of them so I can quickly swap them out to wash and dry.

 

[perchie.girl]

I was thinking of using a thin sheet of lanai to cover the pad.... or formica laminated so its formica on both sides. that way its wipeable and it doesnt matter which side you put down on the pad.

deb

 

[Blooie]

Great ideas, but I think I'll stick with the towels. Since they love to rest and play on top, I like the pliable, soft surface.

 

[aart]

I was thinking of using a thin sheet of lanai to cover the pad.... or formica laminated so its formica on both sides. that way its wipeable and it doesnt matter which side you put down on the pad.

deb

You mean luan? That's what I have here.

Formica would be cool, especially if you doubled it like that, should be weighty enough to not have to attach.

I have a couple pieces of corian, but they aren't quite big enough to cover the pad.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Duh.... Yep Luan....

deb

 

[aart]

Quote:
Duh.... Yep Luan....

deb
Anti-correct?

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Duh.... Yep Luan....

deb
Anti-correct?

Just brain fart.....

deb

 

[LeslieMidland]

Thank you for this wonderful idea. And I hope your husband is better.

My chicks will arrive March 27, 2015 from Austin, Texas. We live in Midland, Texas and my mom's bringing them with her. This is our first chicken adventure and we are so excited.

Thanks again.

 

[Blooie]

@LeslieMidland Thank you, but as I keep repeating, it wasn't my idea. It's a compilation of lots of ideas, from those who have done it before to those who have added so many good ideas here since my first post. Oh, and Ken is doing much better, thanks. Just has to be very careful with his diet to prevent another episode.

Okay, so I turned Mama Heating Pad down yesterday and went out this morning to find all 11 two weekers and all 4 one weekers active and energetic. I took a little time to pull the straw out from under MHP and replaced it with fresh, since they all roost in there all night long. I think they appreciated it - a few at a time they had to run into the cave and scratch around in the new stuff. I'm not stressed, constantly trying to keep up with dirty waterers, fussing with a heat lamp, (Is it too close? Too far? Is the wall getting too warm?) and cleaning out a gross brooder so the house doesn't start to stink. Everything isn't coated with that insidious dust and we sleep in blessed quiet all night long!

It is absolutely wonderful to watch all of these behaviors taking place. They are so much less like pampered little divas and more like short little chickens out there. I also broke off a chunk of the Bigs' Flock Block and put that and a clump of garden dirt in there for them. They got some grit scattered on the surface of the straw in their run, too. It's cloudy, horribly windy, and much chillier and damper today than it has been, but you'd never know it when you step into their little domain. Never, never ever, will I raise chicks in the house again!