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

[Blooie]

Love it, love it!! Watch for little heads getting stuck in between the bars on the rack, but that shouldn't be any bigger a problem than with a wire frame made with fencing! Good thinking!!! And we need pictures when those babies arrive!

 

[Beekissed]

Yesterday when our temp was 100 the humidity was 10%. It's semi-desert here so we cool our house by using an evaporative cooler, otherwise known as a "swamp cooler". We have to cool by putting humidity into the air, not taking it out like in more humid areas of the country.

Part of our heat issue is that this spring when we did our spruce up and took the winter plastic off the run, Ken decided he was going to put a tarp with a "reflective" side over the run. Um, not so smart. That thing traps heat in here so badly and because it's one gigantic piece I can't roll parts of it up or down. It doesn't go all the way down to the ground, so there's air flow at the bottom of it, but it's not enough. When we had landscape fabric on it last year, air flowed through it just beautifully and it provided nice shade. So after a "discussion" yesterday, we are taking the tarp down and going back to landscape fabric.

It's pretty shady out there, but there is a time span of a couple of hours where there isn't enough. There is one cattle panel width of run that has no tarp - we added the extra length after the tarp was up. That's open area is where they congregate, so I know they are too hot directly under the tarp. Keeping chickens is all about learning lessons, isn't it? The mister is partially in shade.

Blooie, the first few years of this hoop coop I had a silver tarp on it and for the same reason~or so I thought~that the silver would reflect the sun and keep it cooler in the coop. When I finally switched out tarps I happened to have a blue/green tarp on hand so didn't replace with another silver one. OH, MAN, what a difference! And it was immediate. It was like someone turned off a furnace and turned on the AC in that coop...that cool blue underside and green on the outer side was like a miracle worker! Somehow, that makes sense to me....green trees, blue water...

Anyhoo, lesson learned and I'll never go back to a silver tarp for anything...it didn't even help to keep it warmer in the coop for winter. The clear tarp I put on for winter wear does that very well, though, so I'll continue to switch those out each season and will, hopefully, get more wear out of both of them, while getting the best climate control in the coop.

For raising the sides and allowing more air flow, I just use push in stakes to lift the sides....I just put a zip tie through a grommet and make a loop, which slides into the hooks on the push in fence post. Maybe when you get your shade cloth on you could fashion a grommet or two there to zip tie it to the cattle panel at a certain height to secure it to the wire, then grommet your corners to make a shade flap you can lift. I've found that shade flap on either side of the coop seems to keep the sun from coming in at the bottom, where it will if I merely roll up the sides...even that little bit of sun boiling into the bottom of the coop seems to heat it up in there. Cool, cool, cool in there even on the hottest days when the shade flaps are raised.

 

[Blooie]

Thanks, Bee....I love the clear plastic in the winter, especially as cold as it gets here, but like you I've learned that that reflective silver sided tarp is a joke - except my poor chickens ain't laughing. I've seen the stakes you're talking about on your setup, and loved the idea. Would that work as bad as our winds are here? They often come up almost instantly and like yesterday go from a light summer breeze or totally still to sustained at 35-45 mph. If I'm home I could unhook the flaps and secure them, but if I'm out and about when those winds hit I'd be afraid I'd find my run in Boise!

 

[Blooie]

And doggone it, I forgot what I came here to yell about!! Got our first egg from one of the Littles today!!!! Can you believe it??? Already! Just a little teeny dark brown pullet egg! Not sure which Little laid it, though I have two suspects! Seems like I was just posting their baby pictures and videos here yesterday! Also put the 3 RIR roosters in the fridge, waiting a few days to bag and freeze them. I wasn't expecting much meat on them but was very pleasantly surprised. They grew up so fast!

 

[perchie.girl]

And doggone it, I forgot what I came here to yell about!! Got our first egg from one of the Littles today!!!! Can you believe it??? Already! Just a little teeny dark brown pullet egg! Not sure which Little laid it, though I have two suspects! Seems like I was just posting their baby pictures and videos here yesterday! Also put the 3 RIR roosters in the fridge, waiting a few days to bag and freeze them. I wasn't expecting much meat on them but was very pleasantly surprised. They grew up so fast!

woo hoo for you Blooie... ahem....

 

[aart]

I have just finished my Mama Cave, made out of a wire dish drying rack that you have on the side of the kitchen sink...got it from the Dollar Market.
I cut all the side wires except the ones at the front (large opening), bent it down to get the slope, and wired it in place to stop it springing back...taped all the cut wires and bent the dish supports flat.
Have my heating pad on order from Amazon and the Glad Press 'n Seal for the towel.
I am incubating right now, and lockdown is 21st, so hopefully my chicks will have a nice warm cave waiting for them instead of the heat lamp.
Incidentally those 250 amp heater bulbs are expensive to use 24/7...I was shocked when I saw my electric bill

Great Rack!!
Hope you post the pad install here.

 

[Blooie]

You know, this dish drainer frame is almost custom made for the heating pad to go on the inside rather than draped on the outside. Lots of places for the little bungie cords to grip to hold it in place, and then tuck the entire ensemble inside a soft pillowcase. Anyone else see that possibility here?

 

[ShidelsRestBB]

Newbie here.
What can I provide my chickens with, so they may take dust baths???

 

[aart]

You know, this dish drainer frame is almost custom made for the heating pad to go on the inside rather than draped on the outside. Lots of places for the little bungie cords to grip to hold it in place, and then tuck the entire ensemble inside a soft pillowcase. Anyone else see that possibility here?

Sounds complicated.....but you know me...KISS.
I sized my rack and cover to fit the pad, I will be curious to see how he fits the pad on that rack(which seems brilliant).

Newbie here.
What can I provide my chickens with, so they may take dust baths???

Ummm...DUST!! sorry JK.
But they will find a place to dust bathe....or you can provide a pan with some sand, dirt, wood ashes, peat moss...they really just need some dirt.

 

[alibabba]

Blooie, the first few years of this hoop coop I had a silver tarp on it and for the same reason~or so I thought~that the silver would reflect the sun and keep it cooler in the coop. When I finally switched out tarps I happened to have a blue/green tarp on hand so didn't replace with another silver one. OH, MAN, what a difference! And it was immediate. It was like someone turned off a furnace and turned on the AC in that coop...that cool blue underside and green on the outer side was like a miracle worker! Somehow, that makes sense to me....green trees, blue water...

Anyhoo, lesson learned and I'll never go back to a silver tarp for anything...it didn't even help to keep it warmer in the coop for winter. The clear tarp I put on for winter wear does that very well, though, so I'll continue to switch those out each season and will, hopefully, get more wear out of both of them, while getting the best climate control in the coop.

For raising the sides and allowing more air flow, I just use push in stakes to lift the sides....I just put a zip tie through a grommet and make a loop, which slides into the hooks on the push in fence post. Maybe when you get your shade cloth on you could fashion a grommet or two there to zip tie it to the cattle panel at a certain height to secure it to the wire, then grommet your corners to make a shade flap you can lift. I've found that shade flap on either side of the coop seems to keep the sun from coming in at the bottom, where it will if I merely roll up the sides...even that little bit of sun boiling into the bottom of the coop seems to heat it up in there. Cool, cool, cool in there even on the hottest days when the shade flaps are raised.

Thank you for posting. My dumb shed is so hot, tried to find a white tarp....have to order online, I'm going t try the blue and green that I already have in stock first!