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

[perchie.girl]

@Blooie

sorry about being Off Topic... seems to be my nature...

But I want to add Parakeets or Budgies form huge flocks and range from Alpine regions to desert in Austrailia... many of those indigenous plant species are thriving right here in San Diego.

deb

 

[Blooie]

<----------------------------- Just in case.

 

[bruceha2000]

The heat lamp not only heats their water, it heats every bit of air around them, it heats their dust and dander, it heats the container they are brooded in, it heats the walls and floors surrounding it, and it heats the chicks beyond what they are designed to handle after a certain age.

Picking up on just this part of your post Blooie - when I got my chicks 3 years ago this week we had them in a ~8x8 bathroom that contained a tub we didn't use. The tub was their brooder. I hung the red heat lamp from the shower curtain rods (there was one on each side) near one end and followed the 95F the first week, 90F the second, etc. It was controlled by a thermostat sold for use in reptile tanks. There is no way the chicks could get away from excess heat no matter what they did.

It was UNBEARABLY, STIFLINGLY HOT in that room 24x7 for 4 weeks. I can not imagine that there is much of anything more remote from the natural upbringing of chicks by a hen. My MHP has not arrived (*) nor have my 7 chicks that are supposed to arrive today, USPS has 2 more hours on their "guaranteed overnight" delivery. The last update said they were had been scanned in Cleveland yesterday at 3:27 PM yesterday and are "currently in transit to the destination". The first scan was in Mansfield, OH (chicks from Meyer) at 12:36. I have no idea where they are or any way to find out.

My plan is to stick them under my broody Black Australorp in her new brooding pen digs tonight ... if the chicks show up. I have made a quickie MHP (based on Deb's design) using a 12" x 18" left over piece of wire rack shelving. THANKS Deb, sure made for a Q&D build!) and a cardboard box. IF the pad were here and IF the chicks were here, it would only be used until it gets dark and I can sneak the chicks under Zorra. If it turns out she is more interested in sitting in a nest than mothering chicks, I'll make a less Q&D MHP setup to be used in the brooding pen. No more WAY TOO HOT rooms for me thank you VERY much!

* thanks Amazon, it should have been here last Friday. In fact the status said it was delivered on Friday AND "not yet shipped". Current status is it got to the UPS facility 2 days ago, presumably to be handed over to USPS for delivery but it hasn't gotten to USPS yet.

 

[Mims]

Thank you so much for this thread. It is the perfect idea for the chicks I'm getting on Thursday. I appreciate all of you who have contributed ideas!

 

[aart]

Quote: Well, that would be a good time to turn down the thermostat.

 

[Sabz]

Hey I just saw this post!

Blooie, very cool setup, I like it.
I have used this method also. My last hatching, I didn't want to hear the chicks chirp all night because it keeps me from sleeping

I thought, why are they doing that?
I found out that when I pet them, and rest my hand over their backs, they seemed to sleep.

So I thought they were missing the mother, hiding under her.

I now build a little cozy cave as you do. My 2 last batches have NOT chirped!!!!!! They are super calm birds and I really love it. At least now I know, if they chirp they need something (or are afraid).

 

[MesMama]

Is the MHP a good thing to just have on hand just in case a hen won't mother well? I have 3 hens sitting now, should hatch June 21 and June 28, this is my first hatching experience as well as theirs (they are a little over a year old), so needless to say I haven't a clue and am learning as I go

I just got to reading this thread and thought this might be something to have on hand??

 

[Blooie]

While I can't tell you what to do, of course, I will say that I'm in the same situation with one hen, due to hatch hers tonight or tomorrow. Mama Heating Pad, the wire frame, the towel and the space are in hot running standby just in case.

 

[bruceha2000]

Well, that would be a good time to turn down the thermostat.

Yeah but I was a noob and following the gospel of "they say" on the temps for week 1 through 4! Now that I have seen Blooie's massive success with MHP and how the chicks don't even hang in the heated cave all the time, it is THE way to go. Were I to do it all over again, I would still have my first ever chicks in the house because I would be a nervous wreck with them in the barn. But, being as I am now a "seasoned chicken farmer"

I don't need to do the "every half hour" checks to make sure they are OK.

Is the MHP a good thing to just have on hand just in case a hen won't mother well? I have 3 hens sitting now, should hatch June 21 and June 28, this is my first hatching experience as well as theirs (they are a little over a year old), so needless to say I haven't a clue and am learning as I go

I just got to reading this thread and thought this might be something to have on hand??

You bet! And if you don't need it for the chicks, I'm sure you do things to your body that would benefit from a nice new heating pad

 

[wyoDreamer]

A new flock of chicks starting out with the Mama Heating Pad:


This is a very temporary brooder, I painted their real brooder this morning so they will move into it tomorrow. This tote is too small for 15 chicks. One of the nice benefits of the MHP is that it increases the open space of the brooder. At 1 hour in the tote, I have a red chick who likes to sit on top of MHP and give lectures already. I ordered 3 Special Black pullets, 3 Brown pullets and 9 Sagitta straight run. I received 3 black, 1 chipmunk and a bunch of red/yellow chicks. It'll be interesting to watch them grow. A couple seem to be a bit older that the rest, they have wing feathers popping already.
Here is their real brooder that they get tomorrow:


I am going to confine them in the house part to start with. MHP will be in the nest box area, lol! It is going to be really handy, the house part has a plastic tray bottom that slides out for easy cleaning. I will place them on the floor while I clean the top area. Eventually, they will get the ramp put back in and have access to all of it before going into the big coop that I am working on.

The brooders are located in the Garden Shed, not in the house. It is the only building that we leave the electricity on all the time and that it is actually fairly light inside. I am hoping that I will not need to add lighting to it, although I do have a timer and light that I can use for mimicking daylight.