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

[ShrekDawg]

Too low rather, not too lol

Also, as for the lighting, they are in the bathroom at the moment but that room is on the back side of the house plus the cardboard sides (though the windows higher) so it really doesn't get that bright in there hence turning the.light on. Although I've only checked in morning, maybe when it gets later it would be brighter. But they so wake up when it lightens so that's good. Though.sometimes now they'll still be sleepy until I turn the light on. I also need to figure out a regular time to turn it off, I've been all over the place. That lamp thing is a great idea though, may try it. As for the garage, there's a big overhead light and if they're upstairs, there's only two small windows on the opposite side and, again, back side of house, plus all the stuff up there, so it's completely dark unless I turn a light.on. if they were downstairs, they'd be right up front by the garage doors and the front side of the house so a lot more light would pour in and I may not need an artificial light

As for handling, I definitely need to leave them be but I've actually left them alone all day the last few days (today and the other day we were gone and yesterday I think I mostly left them alone but not sure) but I do tend to go up when I get back, which is after dark and.after I eat or whatever, so when they should be settling in so if I want to see them I really should go up during the day when they're not sleepy. Poor things are probably tired. But then the thing is I want to spend time with them because I want them to be friendly since they're also pets plus I want pictures because they grow so fast and change so much and I think they're a little more scared because I haven't been spending much time at all with them, only checking in a a few minutes of pictures. BUT. I will admit that the grabbing and chasing is bad but I get inpatient so need to work on that. But I suppose I could still spend time with them without traumatizing them. I could simply sit there or just take it slow and wait it out. They actually do well when I put food in my hand lol

I am using MHP and have it on 6 but they don't act hot though they do roost on top rather than going inside.

I have not made the frame yet but intend to tomorrow when I get up, along with changing the shavings. I have been using their box and I'm wondering if that's becoming too small and that's the problem rather than the actual number? I will try lowering it though but might leave it higher when I put them in the garage. My mom also keeps turning the heat on and.fairly high in there so that could be a problem as well.

I will try ACV. We have some I think but not the braggs organic stuff.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Do you think it's an intestinal infection like they suggested here? Do you think they all have it?


https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1045200/chick-emergency-potential-pasty-butt

 

[ShrekDawg]

Also i hope she's okay and.here's the other pictures

 

[ShrekDawg]

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/1eq51h7mllg1qw3/AAB1DVA02nfNjtPYZdSO-lxma

And again, the little bump ended up coming off when olive oil was added so I guess it was poop not a mass. Though there does seem to maybe be a cut.

And they keep pecking everything including pool wall, tape and cardboard, shavings, even their poor (i think) but they know what food is and eat it.

If it's an infection, will she die without the.medicine? Worried it might be prescription only

 

[Beekissed]

I can tell you that having it on 6 inside your home in a room that is heated is WAY too high. I use number 6 when it's outside and the chicks are on the soil floor of my open air coop and it's 32* outside. If they are on TOP of the pad instead of under at this young age, it's too hot under there. Usually they aren't getting on top of the pad until they start feathering out and the ambient temps have warmed up...that's when I know to turn it down.

This temp in the daytime in that open air brooder, with dips into the 20s at night....




Chicks under the mama for a warm up....




Almost a week later, with little wing feathers appearing....they rest up on the cave in the sun...temps still the same both night and day but as they get more feathers, I turn down the pad...their own body warmth provides much of the heat.



Two weeks after arrival, more feathers and warmer temps~40-50 in the day, still 30-40 at night...no more heat provided...when you see them all on top of the cave instead of under it, it's time to remove it and just provide a little cave they can heat with their own bodies. Granted, these are meat chicks and require less additional heat than regular chicks but it gives you some idea of how to use the heating pad brooder...gauge the settings by what you see the chicks doing.




In other words, your brooder is too hot and it's causing them to have pasty butt....that's the whole purpose of using the heating pad, to mimic a mama hen, but you won't normally find a mama hen in a box in a bathtub in a heated home. If you did, it would be one miserable mama and babies. In your situation I'd barely have it on #2, if that.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Oh wow, I didn't realize it was so hot. i usually turn the heat off when I notice so it's usually not hot in there but even with then heat off that probably is definitely way too high. Poor things. I'll turn it down in the morning. So do you think it's okay to jump that low so soon or should I try it just a little lower at first? Also, they're moving to the garage very soon (my dad might come home this Monday (had surgery) so if so then they need to be out. Point being when they go in the garage, will 6 still be too high? It's a lot colder out there.

I'll turn it down though.

But so you don't think it's an infection or.anything serious? I know pasty butt is serious but I mean like more serious. Cause i'm scared if she needs medicine and i don't know that she'll die. But hopefully just cleaning her bum and.maybe some ACV or vitamin stuff will help along with cleaning the brooder and separating her

 

[Beekissed]

Do you think it's an intestinal infection like they suggested here? Do you think they all have it?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1045200/chick-emergency-potential-pasty-butt

No.

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/1eq51h7mllg1qw3/AAB1DVA02nfNjtPYZdSO-lxma

And again, the little bump ended up coming off when olive oil was added so I guess it was poop not a mass. Though there does seem to maybe be a cut.

And they keep pecking everything including pool wall, tape and cardboard, shavings, even their poor (i think) but they know what food is and eat it.

If it's an infection, will she die without the.medicine? Worried it might be prescription only

It's not an infection.

Oh wow, I didn't realize it was so hot.

i usually turn the heat off when I notice so it's usually not hot in there but even with then heat off that probably is definitely way too high. Poor things.

I'll turn it down in the morning. So do you think it's okay to jump that low so soon or should I try it just a little lower at first? Also, they're moving to the garage very soon (my dad might come home this Monday (had surgery) so if so then they need to be out. Point being when they go in the garage, will 6 still be too high? It's a lot colder out there.

I'll turn it down though.

But so you don't think it's an infection or.anything serious? I know pasty butt is serious but I mean like more serious. Cause i'm scared if she needs medicine and i don't know that she'll die. But hopefully just cleaning her bum and.maybe some ACV or vitamin stuff will help along with cleaning the brooder and separating her

Please don't separate her and cleaning the brooder will do nothing much at all to end her pasty butt. You've been given the proper advice for the situation. Here's some more....stop reading on those kinds of threads and just use common sense. One chick with a common thing like pasty butt~most usually caused by too hot living conditions~does not mean you have infection in your flock.

If you are this overwhelmed by something this small and common, you'll never make it through raising these birds to maturity without a complete nervous break down. Take a deep breath, count to ten......now, turn down your heating pad until the chicks want to huddle under it for warmth and come out to eat and drink when they don't. Keep an eye on your pasty butt chick to make sure she's not crusting up, but don't wash her butt continually...it will become red and chapped if you do and that hurts.

If you have a coop, skip the garage and move them straight on out to the coop, string some extension cord out there if you have to, but just put them outside and skip all this foofaraw of lights being turned off and on and what temps to use on the heating pad. Put them outside where they belong, put the pad on high with plenty of soft bedding in the brooder, make sure it's big enough they aren't pecking at one another and watch the chicks. You'll know when it's too cold or hot, then you can adjust airflow and heat to the brooder accordingly....if the chicks are always huddling under the pad and rarely come out, it's too cold...create a warmer space by making the brooder smaller and place a warm topper of some kind on top of it. If the chicks are running around happily, ducking under the pad to warm up now and again, you have hit the right spot.

Is there any way your parents can help you with all of this, as it's much like taking care of a human baby....they could give you some insight perhaps.

 

[Blooie]

Bee is absolutely right! It's probably partially my fault too because I did say to set the pad on 6, but I raise chicks outside when it's in the teens and twenties and I didn't specify lower for inside. I set it on 6 so it's warm in there before they are put in for the first time then I watch the chicks and turn it down when they tell me to by their behavior. But that's all the rap I'm going to take. You have been advised what to do, and first and foremost is to leave those poor babies alone and let them learn to be chicks. I realize you have one with a problem right now, but it's not MRSA or gangrene - it's pasty butt. Yes, it has to be treated right away. Yes, it is dangerous for chicks. But on a scale of 1-10 for elaborate treatments and medications, this rates a 1. Water, a little time, and a little oil, then as Bee said, turn the heat down.

Listen to the lady.....she has been my mentor since I first showed up on her thread, along with the others there, and she knows more about doing this MHP thing than anyone. I learned about it from her.

 

[curious chickee]

So checked on the chicks after trick or treating about 8 were huddled on top of MHP chirping, I tucked them underneath and now all snuggled in and quiet.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Thanks again for all the help! I'll avoid separating her then though I do need to replace the shavings but I'll avoid deep cleaning it or anything like that. And I did turn the heat down this morning. Was going to put it on 2, like you said, but it's a little bit chilly this morning so I left it on 3. I think even just that should make a big difference though. Also, I'm not surr if this is normal but I went up to turn the light on (cause it's cloudy) and I thought it'd be really dark but it was actually about as much light as usual (some light, lots of shadows) and they were all sleeping or at least still on top. And they've been doing that lately, the sleeping till I come in, when before they'd be up the second the a little sun comes through. I don't know if I've inadvertently trained this and they think the artificial light is the sun? It's pretty dark without it though.

As for the freaking out thing mentioned by both, yeah,that's definitely true, I probably overreacted, buuuuutttt.. For rhe record I actually wasn't reading other threads on it, the one linked was my own and that's where I learned of this idea. Of course, I think it's just normal pasty butt, like you said, but they said diarrhea they'd separate and treat and also that the red vent indicates an intestinal infection and if so the medicine's necessary. Now, of course, you guys have me believing it's just pasty butt and not a huge deal but that's the only reason I was more worried and especially because I've never had them before so I wouldn't know the difference, and the infection would be believable with the lack of ventilation, but I am glad that it's not that and there's no worrying needed really. And in fact, I actually was not really worried about pasty butt (besides when I first noticed it and didn't know what it was) and only became worried when that person told me it was an intestinal infection and there's obviously conflicting answers so it's confusing but I'm going to assume that it is, in fact, normal pasty butt and if she doesn't get better well, then, I guess I will worry about it then.

I unfortunately don't have the coop built so garage it has to be. :/ although I keep changing my mind on how I wanna build it haha originally, like last time I wanted chicks, wanted brand new then now we have pallets and was going to build with that but now I'm thinking, thanks to my dad though so I guess I'm not changing my mind that much, to just use our dog house and add an addition to it. It needs to be emptied out though but it wouldn't be so hard to buy some plywood and make an addition aha but anyway, not built yet. The thing is though, they did seem pretty happy and even at times, at least at first, they'd all huddle next to it which I assumed meant they were cold but then they started being normal with some eating, some drinking, some sleeping, which I thought was normal but evidentally they're too hot. I guess I should have noticed though when they started not hanging out under it.

As for my parents, well my mom could probably help but she's kind of staying out of it I think cause she knows it's sort of "my" thing and my dad just had surgery so can't. I could probably ask though.

Thanks again.

And I'm going to answer both of you in one so thanks to you too blooie.

You did say have it on 6 but I'm not sure it's necessarily your fault because I should have had the common sense to turn it down inside too. Completely forgot your chicks were outside or figured it was a uniform setting I guess.

But yeah, I'll have to leave them alone or at least just sit in the room with them and stop grabbing them. They've been alone a few days though but I guess that doesn't make a difference when I come back home and grab them. I'll work on stopping and/or finding a completely non stressful, nom chasing and grabbing, method of holding or photographing. Or maybe with a bigger or outdoor brooder or a people door rather than high cardboard I could just take pictures without having to pick them up. I'll find a better way or maybe just completely leave them alone today and wait until tomorrow for the one week pictures. And I'll start maybe leaving them alone a few days between stuff too. But again the thing is I want them to get used to me/be friendly and while they do need to be left alone most of the time, I feel like the less I'm with them, the more they're going to be scared when I am with them. But then again I guess they'll wind up way more scared and afraid or skittish by me snatching them all the time.

And you're probably right that it's not a big deal. but again, only worried cause they seemed certain it was something but you guys seem certain it's not and the pad was too high so I'm more apt to believe you guys and calm down. And I put the olive oil last night and turned the heat down to 3 this morning.

I'll definitely listen though and thanks again.