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

[Blooie]

Actually all of my first chicks were out without any heat by 5.5 weeks, temps in the teens, with snow. It snowed the second night they were out, on April 1st, and we had snow up until June 6th.. Scout was just a little younger when he was out there in -4 degrees, but that's NOT something I would normally advocate. He did it, did great, and didn't even have any one to cuddle with, but I would feel terrible if someone said, "Well Blooie says put 'em out in negative temps" and then something happened. If yours are still using the pad, then they are telling you they still appreciate that little bit of extra heat, so I'd listen to them instead of an old lady in Wyoming!

 

[Couchmo]

...

Congrats!!! What kind are they?

There are 20 Black Australorp pullets, 5 Straight run Black Australorps and 1 free mystery "exotic" chick. Only time will tell the breed of the last one, lol.

 

[bruceha2000]

You can buy it without the top and divider and I was really on the fence about it. I need to cover it anyway. Its going in the coop with the current residents and theyll be all over it making a mess of things. I finally said frig it and got the whole thing. It wouldve olny been 35 bucks to my house without, but whatever. I think 17 inches should be enough to give them a roost and when theyre ready to pop out of there, I hope to have a second coop put together in and can split the run in half easy enough. Letm grow out in there for while, get a little bigger before letting them in with the rest of the crew.

And no. Not getting any weet weets

I brooded my first batch of chicks (June 2012) in the house in a bathtub we didn't use. I made them a small "roost" and some stood on it but I think as much as anything so the could get up to the edge of the tub. I made a nice set of bleachers and put it in the brooder pen in the coop for the girls this June so they would have something to sit on when they weren't out (broody raised, trained and protected). I don't think any of them EVER sat on it. But they jumped up on all sorts of stuff out in the barn alley/run.

BTW, they seem way more comfy/happy under the MHP than chicks were under the EcoGlow...

- Ant Farm

That there is the ad line of the year!

Diapers?

A cloth is a cloth is a cloth Bee!

I have LOTS of diapers from when I was doing the stay at home dad thing with DD1 from the age of 1 to 2. She will be 23 in a month.

I cannot believe how happy they seem!




I hope they are warm enough, my DW is all concerned. I think if they were cold they would be further back in the cave.

Yep!

And on the grit, guess it can't hurt. I suspect you already know they don't need it until they are eating something other than commercial chick food. Of course any chick might be eating flies or spiders from the get go if one happens to wander into their brooder.

 

[holm25]

Blooie I love this!! I am going to try this out this spring!

 

[duluthralphie]

I brooded my first batch of chicks (June 2012) in the house in a bathtub we didn't use. I made them a small "roost" and some stood on it but I think as much as anything so the could get up to the edge of the tub. I made a nice set of bleachers and put it in the brooder pen in the coop for the girls this June so they would have something to sit on when they weren't out (broody raised, trained and protected). I don't think any of them EVER sat on it. But they jumped up on all sorts of stuff out in the barn alley/run.


That there is the ad line of the year!


A cloth is a cloth is a cloth Bee!

I have LOTS of diapers from when I was doing the stay at home dad thing with DD1 from the age of 1 to 2. She will be 23 in a month.


Yep!

And on the grit, guess it can't hurt. I suspect you already know they don't need it until they are eating something other than commercial chick food. Of course any chick might be eating flies or spiders from the get go if one happens to wander into their brooder.

I feed mash and not crumbles most of the time. I am just more comfortable making sure they have grit and it seems to help keep pasty butt in check, but I know not everyone believes as I do on this.

 

[akaruby]

Mine are almost fully feathered so I'm sure it's okay. I'm glad they are using the heating pad, I'm sure it's still a little cold for them. I'll monitor them closely with the negative temps coming up and see how they act.

 

[aart]

Mine are almost fully feathered so I'm sure it's okay. I'm glad they are using the heating pad, I'm sure it's still a little cold for them. I'll monitor them closely with the negative temps coming up and see how they act.

I had a broody hatch chicks in the coop last winter about this time...it was frigid, negF's a lot of the time.
Biggest problem was liquid water, luckily mama knew horizontal nipples and I just rotated out waterers every couple hours.
But I did also gave them soaked crumble a few times a day to make sure they were hydrated.

 

[TheChickenQueen]

I know this is mentioned on the first post, but how well do these work below freezing? Next month here it should be mostly just below freezing here and I'm hoping to fire up the incubator and start getting some chicks, but my dad and I are both worried about them handling the cold out in the garage after they start to get too big for the house.

 

[Beekissed]

I know this is mentioned on the first post, but how well do these work below freezing? Next month here it should be mostly just below freezing here and I'm hoping to fire up the incubator and start getting some chicks, but my dad and I are both worried about them handling the cold out in the garage after they start to get too big for the house.

I had mine out in this when it was below freezing(20-30 at night, 30-40 in the day)....you just have to insulate your brooder well and keep out any drafts. I was brooding out in the coop, but had placed the whole brooder setup on a sheet of plywood, they had deep litter bedding of leaves and hay and the brooder walls were bales of hay. That was covered with fencing that supported a sleeping bag at night,but the sleeping bag was removed during the day. In the daytime the sun came into that side of the coop, directly into the brooder...two sides of which did not have hay bale sides, just plastic over fencing(hoop coop). They did very well and hardened off to the temps quickly.

 

[Jensownzoo]

Quick question: I have a bunch of wire panels from a modular shelving unit like this one:

Plan is to bend one into the sloping hoop shape for a MHP for 7 chicks arriving next week. I can probably use two heavy pliers in tandem to bend it, but was wondering if there was a better/easier way or tool to get the job done?