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

[Blooie]

And that's as it should be! They are so cute, and they look pretty doggone content from where I'm sitting! Great job!

 

[Blooie]

I'm not 100% confident that my pic will show up here, but hope springs eternal- gotta pay those membership dues

So this image is obviously ' topless' so you can see the set up. In the right hand corner is the " trampoline" water bowl. I won't use plastic for food or water so my options were limited. I had heard of Chix drowning so I thought to put this series of rubber bands around the stainless bowl so they couldn't. They like standing on it and bouncing and drinking from the top too, it's super cute & looks like they're on a trampoline

I didn't cover my Yoel with plastic for lack of time but just have to change out the towels as needed.

Well done, prayerwheel. Don't you love the way they survey their domain like little queens holding court? One thing that concerns me is the height - how in the heck are you going to keep them in there? They'll learn to fly out long before they outgrow it, and the outgrowing part will come along faster than you know.

Edited to add: Love the rubber band idea - and boy would I love to see them playing on their trampoline!

 

[prayerwheel]

Hahaha oh no, it has a lid & door, I just took it off to capture this image, in fact they were trying to fly out while I was trying to take the pic!

I'm going to transition them to larger quarters next week & maybe start giving them some outdoor time

 

[Blooie]

Hahaha oh no, it has a lid & door, I just took it off to capture this image, in fact they were trying to fly out while I was trying to take the pic!

I'm going to transition them to larger quarters next week & maybe start giving them some outdoor time

I suspected as much but had to ask.

 

[odysseychicken]

OK. Here they are. When we put them in their box they just hung out by the feeder. One by one I placed them in the "cave" so they would know where it was. As soon as I put them in their eyes got heavy and they fell asleep. They forgot all about the food.

 

[katbriar]

And we are glad you did too, MamaDoolittle!  I found the same thing with my chicks. Strong, curious, independent, and feisty, just the way I like 'em!

I've had many private messages from people who are embarrassed, or even angry, because they didn't get it to work well for them.  So here, without naming names so they don't feel funny, is the main thing I think causes the issues - and I firmly believe that all of the issues can be traced back to this one thing - "the chicks don't behave the way all of my other ones have."

Chicks raised under MHP simply do not act like chicks raised under heat lamps.  Ever.  In any way.  They don't waste energy running all over the brooder constantly.  They are content to mosey here and there, exploring, eating, drinking and interacting with each other. They are so calm they seem almost like there's something wrong. They rest often - sometimes under the pad but most often on top of or near it. While we worry that they aren't warm enough, they are most often just fine.  We are just used to sticking our hands in a heated brooder, worrying about thermometers and feeling the all over warmth, while they naturally just want to warm up for a few minutes or so then go back out.  But we get anxious when they aren't always in the cave when we check on them and we just keep shoving them back under.  They don't need us to do that.  Maybe one or two need a little guidance to find the heat, but that's true with a broody hen too - we've all seen or heard of chicks that get separated from mom. For the most part once they know where the cave is, they'll use it when they need it. They usually find Mom when they really need her and take care of what they need. They cuddle with each other more.

They don't eat 24/7.  They eat when they wake up, and throughout most of the day, but at night they sleep, in the dark, somewhere around each other and/or the cave.  They get what they need, but not running around all day and night long they don't need as much because they aren't constantly expending energy.  Their little bodies get a rest time, just as they would with Mom.  She certainly goes to sleep at night and isn't up feeding them in the dark. 

In a lamp heated brooder you'll often see a few here, a few there, but usually with some separation between them. We've heated their entire environment instead of letting them depend on scurrying under Mom and snuggling with the other chicks. With a broody they'd cuddle, either under her, around her or way over yonder.  With the ability to regulate themselves for warmth, they don't need us as much, so we do lose that one-on-one that a lot of people seem to want with their chickens.  They are independent.  So they don't run to the brooder edges and cheep frantically when they see us coming.  It's more like a "Oh, here's that big person again. Wonder what she wants this time." and then they continue to go about their business. So if you want your chicks to grow up being birds that run to you with joy every time they see you, you have to make an extra concerted effort to make that happen.  @azygous
 is particularly good at that.

So I think the biggest reason people try this and just can't make it happen is that they are not seeing these chicks as broody raised chicks.  They are used to the usual behaviors and when it doesn't happen with MHP, they get worried and either go back to lamps or just plain hate the whole system.


I'll be the first to say that this is not for everyone.  In fact, I've made that clear from the beginning of the thread.  I've said that if you don't think this is right for your situation, then by all means, do what you are comfortable with.  There's absolutely no shame or failure in that at all.  It takes a huge leap of faith to chuck everything you've learned about raising chicks and change it so dramatically. So for those of you who have taken the plunge and love this method, sharing with everyone else your photos, your experiences and difficulties, I humbly thank you for trying this.  For those who tried it and either didn't like it or just couldn't make it work, I applaud you for your efforts and I understand completely.  And for those of you just thinking about it with Fall Chick Days happening in so many areas, you could well be in for the chick raising experience of a lifetime!  Congratulations. 

Blooie, thanks so much for your long and thoughtful posts. And congratulations on all the extra joy you've had because of the little people in the last week. You're right to brag on them all!

 

[Blooie]

@odysseychicken Okay, they are officially adorable!! Thanks for paying your membership fee!

I'll bet you'll find that if you pull that front down a bit to form an awning they'll really be quiet all night long - no light coming inside and helps hold a little more heat in for those critical first couple of days. You did so well with your setup! They are going to just love it, and if you're like many of us within a couple of weeks you'll be wondering where you can get "just a few more" because these seem to grow so doggone fast!

@katbriar I should be the one thanking you - and all of the others who make this work. I don't know how thoughtful my posts are - my fingers seem to type whatever is in my head - but I do agree that they are usually long!

Just part of my charm, as Ken would say.

I'm also happy to report that Kendra's new braces look like they are going to work out just fine. The only fly in the ointment is that because they are a slightly different type, with AFO (ankle foot orthotics) attached to them instead of them being riveted directly to the shoes, we'll be limited in how many hours a day she can wear them at first. We have to watch for skin breakdown. She does that so easily. So our walking will be curtailed until we're up to full time in them. And Little Miss Sophia, Kendra's birth buddy, is doing very well following her open heart surgery. This one is supposed to be the worst of the 3 major parts to the repair. Somebody forgot to tell Sophia....she's been outside laying in the grass at the hospital, then discharged to the hotel the family was staying in, and as of Friday the little monkey is going home. I know adults who have had less invasive things done that don't recover that well. Yayyy Kendra and Sophia.

I know I do go on, but is it my fault that my life is so rich and full and wonderful?

 

[gjamesi]

I add my thanks Blooie,I have a batch incubating now and this is timely info. I so love KISS ideas,thanks for sharing.

 

[bruceha2000]

Hello,

Quick question. I am pretty much all set up and ready to pick up my chicks tomorrow afternoon. I have pine shavings in my brooder. I have my Mama Heating Pad set up in there and it gets to 93 degrees. I am sure it is fine but I wanted to ask if everyone thinks it is fine on the pine shavings? I don't want a fire hazard. I could take the shavings out and go with paper towels but I don't see that being any less flammable. The way it is set up now is pine shavings on the floor, wire "cave" sitting on the shavings, and my heat pad on top of the "cave". The edges of the heating pad do come in contact with the shavings.

I have not covered the pad with a towel in Press-n-Seal yet but will do that tonight. One thing I did do was to put a piece of reflectix under the shavings inside the cave to reflect the heat back up. I hope I don't cook them! (Reflectix is basically bubble wrap with a shiny silver foil coating that reflects heat. I had a scrap of it from an old car sun shade that I cut a square out of) Hikers commonly put a piece of this under their sleeping bags to reflect their body heat back up rather than lose it into the ground or their pad.

Sorry if the pine shaving question has been covered but my eyes were going crossed by page 16 of this thread.

Thanks

FWIW, I used the MHP only 2 days and 1 night until I got the "kids" under a broody hen. But they had only pine shavings and the "straw" mat from the shipping box in the MHP brooder and only pine shavings in the brooding pen in the coop. Didn't have a problem with "is this food".

I would NOT use the Reflectix. I don't know about overheating, but in my limited experience, chickens like to peck at things, especially shiny things and things that seem to be "out of order" like small scabs and freckles. I would be concerned that they would peck the foil and eat it. If they are going to eat something that isn't food, I'd rather it be a wood based thing like shavings or paper towels.

 

[Blooie]

I add my thanks Blooie,I have a batch incubating now and this is timely info. I so love KISS ideas,thanks for sharing.

We'll be happy to install you as a card carrying member of the Broody Brigade. Membership is cheap - say it with me, gang - photos! Sometimes for folks who may be sitting on the fence a little, just not sure if any of this is safe for the chicks or as easy as we make it sound, everyone's pictures say much more than words. Not that the idea is to "talk" anyone into doing it....the idea is more to give an alternative to heat lamps glaring all night long.