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

[Cayuga momma]

Lol, great idea!

 

[brendave]

I'm new to raising chickens and am expecting my 3 day old chicks either Wed or Thurs. I decided to build a MHP and I think I got it right? I used left over wire fencing and hardware I found in our garage. I think I need longer bolts but right now it sits 3" off the floor in the front and 2 1/2" in the back. The frame is cover with an old pillow case and this is covered with a towel wrapped in press and seal.

Any suggestions welcome!

 

[bruceha2000]

Looks great @brendave
If you have very long bolts you can adjust the height with fender washers and nuts on both the top and bottom of the frame surface. But you could just get different length bolts and replace yours as needed as the birds grow. You could take the front ones and put them in the back and get 1" longer for the front. Shouldn't have to do that too many times before they don't need the cave any more.

 

[Cayuga momma]

Brooder upgrade!

 

[aart]

Any suggestions welcome!

I found 6" head hex head bolts(fully threaded) to work well,
carriage bolts work well too.
Hot gluing T-nuts to bottom of rack with plain washer on top means easier adjustment.

 

[blackdog043]

I used left over wire fencing

Are the bolts just through the fencing? How sturdy is it if some chicks get on top and some are underneath it? Someone posted that they lost chicks because the fencing collapsed on top of them.

I made mine similar to @aart, I used 6 inch carriage bolts and a cooling rack. I'm gonna fix T-nuts on there before next time, then it's just a matter of turning the bolt, making it even easier to adjust.

 

[bobbi-j]

A question - Went to check on the chicks tonight and found about half a dozen of them outside the brooder even though it's 45* outside. (I know it's warmer in the coop, but not much). They were outside the lower end of it. I stuffed them back under the tall side, because I was worried about them freezing. Anyway, I'm wondering if the brooders need to be raised a bit more, or the heat turned to medium or both. It was the bigger meaty birds that weren't under it.

 

[Blooie]

This is where that “fine tuning” I’m always yammering about comes in. I’d have stuck them back under, too.
A few people have reported better luck reducing the slant between front to back when they have chicks that vary in size and heat needs, then watching them for another day before changing the height. I can’t remember how many chicks you have under each pad but their combined body heat can also make it seem too warm under there, so go ahead tomorrow and crank it down to medium and see if they are more inclined to go under in the evening.

Keep us posted.

 

[aart]

reducing the slant between front to back

Reducing or increasing?

@bobbi-j It can be hard to adjust things, because unlike a lamp they are either under it or not.
Had a similar dilemma yesterday, but other direction, it got hot(~85 and 90°F in the coop), even the chicks were panting a bit. But knew it would drop to 50-60 overnight, so I turned it down to 2 and raised it just a tad. At lock-up some were all under, some were at the edge(under the cardboard but not the pad), but they were all alive this morning. They want to be underneath because they are used to it and it feels 'safe'...... but I always worry just a tad that they won't get out from under if they get too warm, especially in the first couple weeks.

 

[bobbi-j]

I guess I’ll find out when I get home if I cooked them or not...