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

[LV Poultry]

I would say that depending on temps in your area, you should adjust accordingly....it is running in th 90's here in Oklahoma, ( I like to start out brooding about 90 or a little above) When I get mine set up, I will watch the temp and adjust accordingly....like daytime, I probably wouldn't even turn it on (depending on temps when my next batch hatches)....night time I would probably put it on about 4 and see how that goes, the chicks themselves will bring up the temp inside (I'm thinking), so 95 may be a little too hot..... Just a thought that I have been thinking on since I found this thread.

 

[azygous]

Regarding the concern that Press 'n Seal might cause the pad to overheat or to overheat the cave, I doubt it has much insulating ability. It's just not necessary to wrap anything but the top surface to make brushing the poop turds off much easier.

I love the stuff. I use a scrap of a discarded wool mattress pad inside my cave as flooring and I covered it with Press 'n Seal. I simply shake the turds off each morning and cave house cleaning is done.

Guess what. I'm pretty sure MPC sent me another roo. They ought to admit they have a policy to include at least one cockerel, and sometimes two, with every order whether the customer wants them or not.

 

[donrae]

My first brood with the Cave

. Chicks are 1-2 days old and spent the night in the brooder. My frame is a bit wide for the width of my tank, but I just smooshed the wire down some and raised the bottom inside with shavings. There's a gap behind the pad in the rounded end of the tank, I just piled shavings there also. The chicks seem content and when I pick them up they're quite warm and cozy feeling.

I think the thing I like best about this system is using it in the summer. I was never too concerned about fire with a heat lamp. I didn't really like the light 24/7, even though it was red, but the chicks seemed to do okay. What I disliked was trying to guess how hot it would get in the barn on any given day and not fry the poor chicks if the ambient temp spiked. Or, unplugging the heat lamp when it was hot during the middle of the day, and forgetting to plug it back in when it cooled off. This takes all the guess work out of adjusting the heat!

The chicks pictured above are 3 salmon Faverolles and one blue sex link. Look at that big ol white spot on the sex-link's head----it's again been the Year of the Rooster for me

. Well, good thing we like chicken for dinner...here's hoping the Faverolles are pullets

 

[RubyNala97]

Perchie girl is right - logic leads us to believe that the chicks are going on top of the pad because of the heat rising but actually, it's warmer down inside the cave than it is on the top. So once they start outgrowing their need for so much heat, they spend more and more time on top of it than underneath.  I found that especially apparent when I brooded my chicks outside this year.....they'd snuggle down on top or scattered all around it and catch naps or tussle or just surveying their domain.  But once it got dark and cooled off, they scooted underneath and settled in for the night.  They love to sit on top of a broody hen too, and ride around, so this system mimics natural that contact as closely as possible.  They choose their comfort zone, and they choose where to find that sweet spot.  


Keep an eye on that 95 degrees, RubyNala, and watch the chicks.  That seems a little warmer than what I've always showed under my heating pad. Could be a variance in where the temps were read or a difference in thermometers, but mine was at 82.9 when they were just a few days old and they loved it.  But let your chicks tell you - if they keep coming out from under and huddling up together instead it's too warm.  Just pop it down one  notch and then keep an eye on them for a bit and see if their behavior changes.  Are you brooding indoors or out - can't remember if you said or not.  I kept my pad on 6 for a couple of weeks, just because they were brooded outdoors in the run and the temps were in the teens and twenties, with a whopping snow storm and a power outage tossed in to keep it interesting!  But as the temps are running right now here, if I was brooding another batch I'd start them at 5 and turn down if I needed to. They don't get as chilled running around the brooder when it's warmer so they don't need as intense a warmup.


Edited to add:  I've never wrapped the entire cave in Press 'n Seal - I just did the top of the towel.  If it really gets hot, you might try that - maybe the Press 'n Seal is holding in too much heat  and not allowing any to escape naturally through the fabric.  Perchie, aart, azygous, Beekissed, am I blowing smoke or could having the entire assembly wrapped overheat things - especially the pad itself?

I agree. It might be too hot. I'm a single mom to 3 kids and my brain was thinking I'd have to re-do the whole setup! Duh!....just turn down the temp to a lower setting. I swear I didn't think of that! I'm going to put it down to 5 or even 4 and see what my temps are reading. And I will know the best once the chicks hatch, their behavior will direct me accordingly. Can I ask, do you have to teach them to go under there? I usually put them in the brooder, show them food and water and then let them decide where to go (how far under the light). Do you guys put the chicks in the cave? How many times do you show them?

 

[Blooie]

I agree. It might be too hot. I'm a single mom to 3 kids and my brain was thinking I'd have to re-do the whole setup! Duh!....just turn down the temp to a lower setting. I swear I didn't think of that! I'm going to put it down to 5 or even 4 and see what my temps are reading. And I will know the best once the chicks hatch, their behavior will direct me accordingly. Can I ask, do you have to teach them to go under there? I usually put them in the brooder, show them food and water and then let them decide where to go (how far under the light). Do you guys put the chicks in the cave? How many times do you show them?

If I have a group that doesn't naturally run under, I show one or two chicks where the heat is..kind pop them under and hold my hand in front until they feel the warmth. After that training time is over.....they go back under and the other chicks follow. But I've only had to help them once. Others on the thread have had to put them under a few times, some never. So it depends.

 

[RubyNala97]

If I have a group that doesn't naturally run under, I show one or two chicks where the heat is..kind pop them under and hold my hand in front until they feel the warmth.  After that training time is over.....they go back under and the other chicks follow.  But I've only had to help them once.  Others on the thread have had to put them under a few times, some never.  So it depends.

Ok thank you. Good to know! I'll watch them closely. As if, I don't stare at them all day anyway!

 

[bruceha2000]

I love this idea but I have a question. Wouldn't the heating pad work better if it were the floor of the cave since heat rises? You could always use towels to cover the top and hold the heat in. I am guessing that the pad on top is what attracts the chicks to climbing up there?

Sorry to get all technical but hot air doesn't rise, cold air sinks, displacing the warmer air and forcing it up. I ran across this info on a heating and cooling forum where some plumbers were having an intense pi55ing contest on the subject and it just keeps popping back into my head. In the end, it really doesn't matter if heat rises or cold drops, the colder air is on the bottom and the hotter air is on the top.

But as was pointed out, chicks under a hen are not heated from the bottom but from the sides since the hen obviously isn't sitting ON them. Her wings form the "cave" and trap the heat. The ones closest to the hen get more heat but the ones on the outside do just fine (*). I'm not sure my chicks sat on top of their surrogate Mama to get warm as I've not noticed my hens being particularly warm on the surface unless they have been out in the sun. I think when they sit on the MHP it is more likely a better view (like being on the hen) and maybe their feet warm up as well but it seems unlikely they would get much body warmth from it.

* which just popped a question into my head which is likely an impossible experiment for any of us to do:
Do the chicks rotate around under the hen so they all get time closest to the heat source?

I agree. It might be too hot. I'm a single mom to 3 kids and my brain was thinking I'd have to re-do the whole setup! Duh!....just turn down the temp to a lower setting. I swear I didn't think of that!

You aren't the only person here to have a "DOH!" moment.

 

[RLynch]

I work in a very technical field, electronics. Thanks for your answer but whatever site you saw that cold air sinks is true, partially. Hot air does rise, its called convection. It is why supercell storm clouds 'lift' to 50-60,000 ft in height. They don't do that because all the cool air around them collapses and forces it up.. Think of your oven and leaning over to open the door. The heat blasts you in the face as it escapes the oven and rises over your head towards the ceiling. Or a hot air balloon for example... you get my point. Warm air is lighter than cool air in general. Again thank you, now I understand the principle is trying to mimic natural processes. Sort of like baking something in a dutch oven on a fire outside, you put coals on top and keep it off the fire so it wont burn!

 

[perchie.girl]

I work in a very technical field, electronics. Thanks for your answer but whatever site you saw that cold air sinks is true, partially. Hot air does rise, its called convection. It is why supercell storm clouds 'lift' to 50-60,000 ft in height. They don't do that because all the cool air around them collapses and forces it up.. Think of your oven and leaning over to open the door. The heat blasts you in the face as it escapes the oven and rises over your head towards the ceiling. Or a hot air balloon for example... you get my point. Warm air is lighter than cool air in general. Again thank you, now I understand the principle is trying to mimic natural processes. Sort of like baking something in a dutch oven on a fire outside, you put coals on top and keep it off the fire so it wont burn!

Just a side note on this... do a little experiment.... affix a helium balloon on a string to the back seat or floor of the car... somewhere in the middle so it has free movement... Windows up. Now accelerate the car.... The balloon will move forward... matter of fact it will move toward the direction of acceleration.... Because the air collects in behind the balloon.... kind of like sloshed water... No convection no temperature changes just mechanical shift in the density of the air molecules...
couldnt resist:

deb

 

[MizPriz]

Got my brooder set up, and brought home babies this evening. The love their "momma" cave! This is such an awesome idea