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

[aart]

Just watch the chicks, @tigger19687 .....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!

Great description.
A comb of changing heat setting and adjusting rack height per observations usually works for me.

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..

ROFL......I resemble that, sans the cat, and I just peed, refilled coffee cup and rolled few more ciggies so am good for another hour or so.

 

[aart]

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.

Tho it won't tell a much about chick heat, it will give you some reference....my pad is about 100-120 on surface.
Just getting my annual tweaks done(well, should be) on MHP, going to retake temps on both sides.

 

[Blooie]

Ah, well, I pay no attention to those things......otherwise people are always in a panic because it's not 90-95 degrees under there and they focus on watching the numbers instead of watching the chicks. I measured mine once because @azygous asked me what the temp was under there and I got curious. It was 82.something in a 69 degree room. Chicks were thriving and had been for days, so that was the end of that!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

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..

I have the low, med, high model....I start on high and adjust from there. This years chicks are 3 weeks now and it's on low. You follow their lead...if they are showing not being comfortable under the pad you adjust height and/or temp setting.

 

[azygous]

I ran an experiment testing the temperature on the surface directly underneath the pad, and it varied from 80F to 110F. The wide variation was directly in relationship to the ambient temperature.

Outdoors, with temps ranging from barely above freezing to 70F, the surface under the pad remained around 80F. As the environment heated up, so did the temp under the pad. In an 80 degree room, the temp under the pad when it was on the high setting and adjusted at the level of the chicks' backs reached close to 110F at one point in the experiment. Whoa! That's pretty warm.

This should tell is several things. One is that a cool environment is the best one for baby chicks. The second thing is that when the surrounding air temp is quite warm, the temperature setting on the pad should be adjusted downward and the pad should be raised up.

This isn't to say you need a thermometer living under the MHP with the chicks, but it's good to be aware that ambient temp does affect how warm it gets under the pad.

Someone recently asked me what I did when the outdoor night temps got down below freezing when I had baby chicks outside under MHP. I replied that I just placed a folded wool blanket on top of MHP to help keep the heat from escaping upward. The chicks remained warm and snug and completely unaware of it being cold enough to freeze their little toes off.

 

[Blooie]

And I didn't even do that at 17 degrees, @azgous! Oh, I'm a bad chicken mama!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

And I didn't even do that at 17 degrees, @azgous! Oh, I'm a bad chicken mama!

You and me both, @Blooie

 

[azygous]

I guess if your chicks didn't freeze they widdle toes off, you guys aren't such awful chick moms.

 

[Blooie]

 

[bruceha2000]

Now the cat is on my lap so I am stuck sitting at the Puter

Works that way at our house as well. "Nope, *I* can't do 'that' now, I have a cat on my lap". Can't disturb the lord/lady of the house you know!