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

[Leigti]

I am only getting four chicks. I ordered the 24 x 12 heating pad but I’m thinking it will be too big. I guess I was planning ahead for when they get bigger. Should I get a smaller one? How big does it need to be?

 

[Blooie]

You can make it work just fine. They'll just have more room to snooze under there! You can get the smaller one if you want....should be able to find it at Walmart or Walgreens type chain pharmacies. @bruceha2000 help me out here....for some reason I can't remember the sizes off the top of my head, and Kendra will be here in a couple of minutes so don't have time to find it...

 

[bruceha2000]

I can't think of any reason to not use the bigger pad with just a few chicks. They'll likely all snuggle together regardless of how big or small the cave is width wise. The XL just gives them more space as they grow.

Looks like the XpressHeat comes in 12"x15" and 12"x24"

 

[bruceha2000]

Definitely think ahead so you have enough space before you bring the chickies in, both for brooder area and when they get big .

Now what is the fun in that? Besides, isn't being prepared before the chicks arrive against the rules of chicken keeping?

1. Get the chicks first, they are small.
2. It won't take long to build the coop while they grow.

Oh, wait those are the primary fallacies of chicken keeping!

 

[Leigti]

I can't think of any reason to not use the bigger pad with just a few chicks. They'll likely all snuggle together regardless of how big or small the cave is width wise. The XL just gives them more space as they grow.

Looks like the XpressHeat comes in 12"x15" and 12"x24"

Yes that is the brand I bought. I have a wire cooling rack that is 10“ x 16“. I also have a bunch of pig wire that I could use. Haven’t decided if I’m going to go for the cave or the table top type.

 

[tigger19687]

I too am trying to figure out how to make it, but I have a bunch of that wire shelf stuff not being used, press&seal, Electrical tape .
Shoot I might even be able to use the wire shelfing for the cage part around the bottom.
@Blooie Which temp do you set the heating pad at? I haven't played with how hot it gets yet. Do you keep it at one setting or do you turn it down as you raise the pad up as they get bigger?

 

[Blooie]

Just watch the chicks, @tigger19687 . They tell you everything you need to know, and you'll learn to "read" them within hours, seriously!! It has seemed through the years that the folks who have the most trouble with MHP are those that try to "overthink" it all. Use what you have on hand for a frame....as long as you can raise it up somehow as the chicks grow and need less heat, and it will support their combined weight when they get up on top of it, you're golden. With mine, if I needed to raise it up because it was too low or they were getting bigger, all I had to do was pull up on the center of the frame, and I could do that in very small increments. If I needed to lower it, I smooshed it down a bit. Folks using a shelving unit of some kind have found that adjustable legs make a world of difference, and again, if you can set them up so you can raise or lower in smaller increments you'll be ahead of the game there too. @aart has designed a really good system for doing that. I know she's not the only one, but hers is the name that always pops into my head first because she's actually been using a homemade heating set up longer than I have.

If they don't want to go under it (bearing in mind that you sometimes have to give them a little shove and hold your hand in front until they realize that it's warm there) then there's a good bet it's too warm. If it's too warm but not horribly so, they'll congregate right at the entrance instead of going under. Turn it down a notch. If they are too chilly, they pile up at the very back or at the lowest point of the frame, huddle there, and don't want to come back out. Ideally what you want to see is chicks popping in and out, climbing on top and snoozing or playing, and going under to sleep all night long. Chick behavior with MHP is dramatically different than it is with a heat lamp and one of the most amazing things is how little time they actually spend under the heat. We are trying to duplicate a broody hen here, and they behave just as they would if she was raising them, except they don't have to go chase after her to find that sweet spot!

Indoors I started the pad on 5 but I don't know what kind of control panel your pad has...is it "high, med, low" or digital? Outdoors I started it on 6, but you gotta remember that it was 20 degrees out there. In just a few days it was already down to 4.

I know it sounds like a lot of fussing with it, but really there isn't. My chicks were outdoors. I set up MHP, put the chicks in and watched them for about half an hour while I did other chores out there, and then made the adjustments I thought I needed to. I checked on them before I shut things down for the night. After that I checked on them when I fed and watered them. Usually adjustments were only necessary every week or so, and when you figure that the heat was shut completely off around the beginning of the 4th week and the brooder came totally out by the end of that week, that's what? ... maybe 3 adjustments? Yeah, like that.

 

[tigger19687]

Thanks, mine is low med high. I have one of those red light temp readers so that will help.

Since mine will be under the shelf unit I might just be able to adjust the height by attaching to rope, like a swing, but with no swinging That would be easier then making legs. And with it being under a solid top it will also help hold in the heat so I think I will be extra cautious in the beginning.

BTW, I am not getting ANY work done here with reading all about this !
Now the cat is on my lap so I am stuck sitting at the Puter and I am out of coffee in my mug and my legs are numb..

 

[Blooie]

Not sure what a red light temp reader is, but sounds like you have the rest of it figured out!

 

[tigger19687]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00837ZGRY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Digital Laser Infrared Thermometer Temperature Gun
Sorry brain fart, I couldn't remember what it is called.