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

[Fdny11Bravo]

i removed the plastic press and seal put a towel and put feed straw i got at the pet store on top of it they are going to town on it not sure if i should be concerned

 

[wyoDreamer]

As long as they are not getting strings off the towel, you should be fine.
Sounds like your chicks are happy.
I love to walk into the barn and hear the happy peeps as they run around and eat/drink/poop. Mine are now big enough that MHP is gone and they are starting to roost on a 2x4.

 

[Nija Chick]

Don't know if this has been pointed out or not, but your chicks really need to have contact with the heating pad in order to stay warm enough....you need the heating pad to be INSIDE whatever you are using as a cave or the material of the cave needs to be open as in wire, netting, etc. so they can get direct contact with the heat source, as they would a mother.

Here's my setup using a small portion of welded wire fence and using bungee cords to keep the heating pad on the underside of the "mama"....this pic shows the first step in building the mama. Her bones, so to speak.





Then I cover that with a trash bag to keep it clean from poo(her skin), then cover that with a flannel pillow case....her feathers.



More feathers....hay.



Then added chicks...you can see them putting their backs up against her warm "belly". You really need that heating pad where they can put their little bodies up against it without the coffee can creating a barrier to that process.



With such a setup they can feel the warmth from mama from underneath and also by standing on top of her....but the bottom is most definitely warmer.



With the wire framing you can adjust the height in less than a second by just pressing down on the middle. The meat chicks in the above pic didn't need the mama to be low to the ground as they don't tolerate heat as well as standard laying type chicks. For regular chicks I position it so they have to duck and crawl a little to get underneath it so that the heat source is closer to their bodies...as they age I just pull that middle portion upward and also turn down the pad a little so they can transition much like a mama hen does for them.




With a coffee can you can't make such adjustments, nor can they have direct access to the heat source....I'd suggest using a different material for your HPM.

I really love your set up. I almost always use a live broody hen, but I want one of these hanging around for the "just in case" situation that always happens eventually. Heat lamps are just un natural, and directly cause issues.

 

[redrobynlane]

ws". I'm using a wire dog crate with hardware cloth running a bit up the sides to prevent escapees. This particular crate ha

Thanks. As I said, I certainly can't take the credit for this idea but I've talked about it in various posts and decide it was time to actually explain how I use it!

Hi! I'm trying to do this when we get our new chicks here shortly! (I'm an early season chick person!). Do you think this would work for a larger number of chicks by simply increasing the heating pad size and thereofre being able to "warm" as many as 50-60-or more? Or do you think that becomes problematic in terms of chicks getting "stuck" at the back or in the middle. i'm looking at a heating pad 12x24 or possibly a seedling mat that's 20x48 (still used overhead like the pad). Thoughts?

 

[K0k0shka]

Hi! I'm trying to do this when we get our new chicks here shortly! (I'm an early season chick person!). Do you think this would work for a larger number of chicks by simply increasing the heating pad size and thereofre being able to "warm" as many as 50-60-or more? Or do you think that becomes problematic in terms of chicks getting "stuck" at the back or in the middle. i'm looking at a heating pad 12x24 or possibly a seedling mat that's 20x48 (still used overhead like the pad). Thoughts?

I wouldn’t make it more than a foot deep, but you could just make it really really long. Just make sure it’s open both on the front and on the back so that chicks can get out and not get stuck/trampled/crushed under there.

 

[aart]

i'm looking at a heating pad 12x24

That's the size I use, 16 chicks just barely fit by the time they were feathered out.

For 50-60 chicks I'd use heat lamps....or an Ohio Hoover brooder.

 

[bruceha2000]

As usual @aart has the answer. You COULD gang a bunch of XL heating pads lengthwise but it would get expensive fast. For a large number of birds a hover brooder is a better choice. And you can use ceramic heat plates instead of heat lamps (I sure would).

 

[aart]

And you can use ceramic heat plates instead of heat lamps (I sure would)

Gotta link @bruceha2000

 

[jolenesdad]

I’m with @aart. When doing that many birds you’re heating a larger space than a small tub, and can usually use more heat lamps further away heating at an angle and not just directly overhead. It’s in general far safer as you can keep the lights away from falling into or exploding onto bedding if something were to happen.

I originally tried to make a cave big enough for lots of birds and it’s hard to get supports in between the heating units where they can still move between tbem. I ended up making multiple caves but that caused piling a bit at the favorite one. I now use heat lamps for a week with that many and then heat plates outdoors.

 

[bruceha2000]

Gotta link @bruceha2000

I'm afraid not. I've only raised small batches of chicks and use my XPress XL heating pad. I think there are threads here on BYC related to ceramic heat plates and heat bulbs.