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

[aart]

I've had success picking that one up and then putting it on the floor of the brooder box.

Oh, well yeah, that takes care of the 'problem'.....sometimes if I yell(STFU) loud enough they'll jump off then find their friends haha!.....sometimes I have to walk downstairs and move them, sometimes just walking(halfway) down the stairs startles them into moving.

 

[Molpet]

yeah and when they are older out in the yard and I yell 'shut up' they come running up... ended up being a chicken call... I can be yelling at the dog barking and the chickens from the mhp batches come running... the hen brooded birds are the second wave saying we better run up too, must be treats

 

[lazy gardener]

I think I have a problem. I was at Walmart today. Buying spring essentials... One end cap I walked by had a set of 3 non-stick stacking cooling racks with legs. I had to stop and look them all over. For only a second or two, did I think of how many peanut butter cookies I could cool with that set of racks. The rest of the time I was fondling that package of racks, I was thinking about what a neat MHP frame those racks would make. NO, I DON'T NEED A MHP FRAME! I cleaned the garage 2 days ago, and hung my 3 frames up on the center beam. I have too many hens, and don't need to hatch any chicks this season. BUT... Hatching eggs is so much fun. Candling eggs is an obsession. And those chicks are so stinking cute. How will I ever find out what kind of a daddy Goliath is, and what the current generation of hens will produce for chicks if I don't hatch some eggs???

 

[CuriousQueen]

Does someone have a pic of their frame? I have the heating pad etc but trying to figure out the best way to build the frame. My eggs are supposed to hatch in a week. I hope they do anyway! I’m so nervous and excited.
I really need a bit of advice on this mhp.
Is there a sticky article with basic instructions?

 

[aart]

Does someone have a pic of their frame? I have the heating pad etc but trying to figure out the best way to build the frame. My eggs are supposed to hatch in a week. I hope they do anyway! I’m so nervous and excited.
I really need a bit of advice on this mhp.
Is there a sticky article with basic instructions?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate.67729/

 

[bruceha2000]

@Blooie has photos of her initial one on the first page of this thread. @Beekissed's is on page 46, post #456. The major difference is the pad being strapped underneath the frame.

 

[CuriousQueen]

Thanks y’all, I have been reading the thread and too many ideas got mushed into my brain cells, lol

 

[CuriousQueen]

To the most I’ll have is 8 chicks. How big should it be?

 

[bruceha2000]

Depends on the size of the heating pad you bought. The easiest thing is for the inside of the frame to be the same size as the pad. That way you can strap the pad up inside and put an old pillowcase over the entire thing. A couple more bungees to hold the pillowcase up and you are done. When built out of fencing you can just smoosh (that is a MHP technical term) the frame into whatever shape you want. My current cave is made from wire shelving that I bent into a cave shape and isn't as wide as the heating pad so I just wrapped the pad up the outside of the sides a couple of inches. My pad is the Sunbeam XL and I have 6 chicks under it. It is pictured in post #10893 on page #1090.

You want the long sides to be the front and back, shorter sides the cave sides. General guideline is to start with the back about 2-2 1/2" high, the front 4". That way the chicks can choose how much contact they want with the pad at any given point in time. As they grow just smoosh the frame to make it higher in both the front and back. I've not built a shaving covered cave, just put it down in the brooder area.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Chicken math is genetic...... DD went to the store today to see about picking up "a couple of polish" for my sister. She came home with THREE polish (couldn't leave the last one all alone, could she?) *and* two orloffs..... "you said the other day you wanted some someday"......wonder how long we can have them before DH notices .

Her theory is, these aren't all your chickens, so he cant get upset...the polish are all for Aunt E and I'll take "my" birds with me as soon as we find our own place.