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

[Molpet]

They are year round. I live right next to a small nature preserve that surrounds a creek, so I have everything from skunks to Foxes to hawks to owls... I don't know what I'm thinking trying to raise chickens. No free ranging unless we are outside!
I'll try to start adapting them. Thanks for the advice!

I live next to a high power line and then a forest preserve .. the red tails sit on the power towers but do not come my way (yet anyway) because the dog chases them..they go around the dogs/chicken free range area.... a sharp shin shows up once in awhile , but leaves as soon as he sees the dog.

 

[TexasChkn]

Howdy neighbor! I'm in Tomball! That's a pretty good idea with the cobweb. I have been reading and I heard putting some sparkling objects hanging can also help deter so maybe I'll combine the two. I'm sure I will lose a few before I learn the best way to protect them.
I had both good for nothing dogs out with us when the hawk came, they didn't even see what was going on! But they also aren't use to the chickens yet and have been told to keep their distance so they weren't close.

 

[lazy gardener]

I had a lot of hawk predation last summer. Northern Goshawks tore 2 adult birds to shreds. I got a puppy this spring, and am hopeful that she can be trained to peacefully co exist with the chickens. Right now, that's the current challenge I'm working on. She sees them as a source of entertainment. I've hung some CD's to act as light catchers. Need to hang about a dozen more around the yard. They throw a lot of light in random patterns, so I hope they will deter the hawks.

 

[mayrooni]

so how many chicks can fit under one of these? I have 100 cornish x coming next week, then in a month 50 egg layers...how can i make this setup work with that many?

 

[Coop de Grass]

You are courageous! Are you just starting with Chickens and diving right in? I would guess that you need a lot of these, or some way to make a cave that is wide but shallow... you would still have to have several heating pads, but I haven't tried this yet! I think you need advice from @Blooie !

 

[Couchmo]

We have hawks and other birds of prey here. They are circling almost constantly. I currently have my grown chickens using one 10' x 10' x 6' chain link fence dog kennel as a run and the baby chicks are using another. I ran 24" wide chicken wire all around the base of each run and then used 3 widths of 48" wide chicken wire across the top to make a roof of sorts. Haven't had any predator injuries/deaths. PTL

. All happy here

 

[ShrekDawg]

 You are courageous! Are you just starting with Chickens and diving right in? I would guess that you need a lot of these, or some way to make a cave that is wide but shallow... you would still have to have several heating pads, but I haven't tried this yet! I think you need advice from @Blooie
!

I agree!! Seems like @Blooie @Beekissed and @aart are sort of the main ones here, though everybody usually has useful ideas. Aart's heat plate idea instead of a cave may work best for that many chicks, more surface area, but as coop said, you will probably need multiple pads. @10AcreChick had a similar heat plate idea

 

[ShrekDawg]

so how many chicks can fit under one of these?  I have 100 cornish x coming next week, then in a month 50 egg layers...how can i make this setup work with that many?

 

[henless]

Good evening. Do any readers use a heating pad that has just the HI - MED - LO settings, and if so, any idea how it compares to the Sunbeam Xpress with the 6 settings? I may be setting a lot of chicks this spring, and really don't want to do a heat lamp. Not sure if I'd set LOTS of chicks under multiple heat pads in one space, or if I'd divide my brooder space into 2 areas with 2 MHP's. May even have some ducks in the mix.

My pad worked great. I started it on high, and just adjusted as the chicks needed. When I noticed they didn't hang under as much, I lowered it down to medium then did the same when I dropped it to low. I'm sure the pads with more settings would make it more precise, but I worry about the electricity going out when I'm at work or away from the house. This way, I know the pad will come back on and stay on.

I recently purchased this larger pad. I haven't tested it yet, plan on doing that this week. It's larger then the previous one I bought. It does not have the 2 hour shut off.

Does that Lo-med-hi pad have an auto shut off over ride? or does it not have one? I could not tell by looking at the product URL info.

For you chick crazy people I have joined "Incubators Anonymous" thread her on BYC. It has helped me, I am down to 200 eggs in my incubator now...

No auto off over ride, because there is no 2 hour auto off feature.

Heck, and I think @Henless and I should be getting a kickback from the Sunbeam company!

I agree!!!

So I took my 9 day old chickens outside. It's a beautiful 75 degree with light breeze. They had a blast but 15 minutes in I noticed my australorps panting a little. When I moved them to the shade they stopped. My issue is I live near Houston TX and this is by no measure hot. How do I get them used to the warmer weather?
Right now they are in the house with a MHP because we aren't done building the coop.
Also... had my first encounter with a red tail hawk. He actually dove at them and didn't stop until he was 20 ft from me and realized I wasn't going to move

Move them out as soon as you can. Even now, my hens seek shade in the late afternoon when the sun is shining in their coop/run. The winter sun hangs lower, so not as much shade for my South end coop. I put up a shade cloth for the top half of their South wall.

In the summer, I make sure they have plenty of water and shade. On days that it gets over 95, I do turn fans on to help circulate the air. My coops are totally open air. I have hardware cloth for all 4 sides. This helps a lot in the summer, but it still gets plenty warm.

 

[Beekissed]

so how many chicks can fit under one of these? I have 100 cornish x coming next week, then in a month 50 egg layers...how can i make this setup work with that many?

With those numbers your cheapest and best option is the heat lamp. Your CX are going to grow rather quickly and they won't need the heat lamp for very long and your layer chicks will also be able to use the heat lamp best, but again, they won't need it for very long anyway. If wanting the best of both worlds, the lamp can be centered over a structure that provides a dark place for the chicks to huddle but still having the warmth they need. That would be real easy to construct with just plywood and 2x4s and you could even add some fleece on the underside to give the chicks the feeling of a mama. That would give them a dark place to sleep in away from the glare of the lamp, but something that is still warm.

OR...I don't know how hot these get, but buying a couple of these might be an option....they supposedly heat up to 20 degrees warmer than room temps. They are already easy to clean and you could afford to buy two of them at this price. They don't seem to have varied temp controls like the heating pads but maybe someone has tried them and can give a review? http://www.amazon.com/Viagrow-Seed-...9798&sr=8-5&keywords=heated+pad+for+seedlings