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

[aart]

I'll keep an eye on it, TY! I have it folded over and set on top of a cookie sheet with attached legs. The blanket itself is less than 20 years old and seems to heat evenly. The chicks seem to love it. Whenever I check on them they are toasty warm and cuddled up against it in their cave. I'm probably going to cover it with an old towel just so it doesn't get too dirty. This is really just temporary. In the next week or two my larger chicks shouldn't need supplemental heat anymore and then the littles will use the Sweeter Heater instead. Here are some not great pics!

Cookie sheet might work great at radiating the heat.
What kind.... aluminum?
Pic of legs and sheet please?...are they adjustable?

 

[monkcat]

I have been using a mama heating pad on my chickies since Tuesday. It works beautifully! So happy about this. We should have their coop and run finished Monday. I think the transition in moving them in will be so much smoother since they are accustomed to going to sleep at dark like they are supposed to. Thanks to all who have so generously taken the time to share this with everyone!

 

[Blooie]

That's what we do, Monkcat - share! It's not about our egos, it's about making chicken keeping easier and more fun, with healthier birds as a result. So glad it's working well for you. And like you, I'm grateful for all the input and the back-and-forth dialog. Now in a perfect world my Alka Seltzer would kick in!

 

[monkcat]

My chicks are an estimated 2 & 3 weeks. I am down to a 5 on the heat level. They are usually sitting on top of it. A few go inside, but doen't really stay in there. I'm guessing I can go down to 4 but don't know how soon I can go down. Just went to 5 yesterday. It is, however, quite warm here during the day. Night cools a bit. 50-60's. Daytime 80-90. They are in an air-conditioned room, but it's a sunroom and is usually very warm compared to the rest of the house. I'm guessing upper 60's at night and upper 70's to 80's daytime. They seem comfortable. Just not really going inside, but can't tell if it is a "roosting" behavior as it is the highest point. And at what point do you wean them completely from it?

I have searched for this info, but am not getting anything definite. Well as definite as you can with chicks.

Oh - and I do hope it kicks in quick for you!

 

[perilloux5]

Just had a hilarious time trying to get all 24 of my babies to stay in the cave long enough to realize that it was were they should be. It might be because it is 73° outside, they were all huddled in the opposite corner. They finally stayed under.

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[shorttimer]

I'm really glad I found this thread before I got my chicks. Actually it was the day before, which gave me time to think about the concept. So I spun it a little different. I took a temp controlled seed mat, with a towel over it, and then the chaff from roasting coffee mixed with pine shavings, which is super absorbent and fluffy, and put it under the chicken cave and the heating pad over it. I also put a towel over the heating pad to avoid the poops, but it still got it. It's washable. My idea was heat rises and if it got cooler than normal I could put the heating pad on low & they would be encapsulated in warmth. Well, as luck would have it It never got cool enough to have to do both of them & the chicks just seem to be happy as can be. It's a real learning curve and I admit I've been doting all over them since I got them. They were all supposed to be the same age, however when they got here 3 of them were 4 or 5 weeks older than the others, which were about the same age. So I got 3 Buff Orpingtons, 3 Barred Rocks and 3 Black Australorps, which were the older ones. The weather here varies, but is usually in the 60s- 80s during the day & 50 at 3-5AM. I threw together a 3' X 6' X 1 1/2' covered in chicken wire & put it in the yard after about 4 days. KInd of like a chicken tractor without wheels. They took to it immediately. I started giving them a limited amount of mealworms the second day out & they just went crazy. Maybe 3 each. I'm just amazed at the accuracy and speed at which they can hit their target. Just before the chicks came I also planted a 17 seed cover crop package That Gabe Brown uses on his no till ranch in South Dakota. I was so impressed with the videos he has I thought it would be a good idea to plant a multi crop seed package so when the little ones are big enough to go into their 12 X 14 run they will have lots to chose from & hopefully they won't destroy it real quick with all their scratching. It's coming up real nice. I also individually give them about 10 min of petting time each day so they are friendly when the get big. The older ones are not coming around so quick, but I'm hoping the mealworms will help with that. I'll be doing small amounts of FF & fodder soon and am using a NON GMO chick crumbles from King Milling. So I'll be in, 2 weeks this up coming Sunday and I'm really having fun for having chicks the first time. Well I guess I got carried away

 

[Blooie]

My chicks are an estimated 2 & 3 weeks. I am down to a 5 on the heat level. They are usually sitting on top of it. A few go inside, but doen't really stay in there. I'm guessing I can go down to 4 but don't know how soon I can go down. Just went to 5 yesterday. It is, however, quite warm here during the day. Night cools a bit. 50-60's. Daytime 80-90. They are in an air-conditioned room, but it's a sunroom and is usually very warm compared to the rest of the house. I'm guessing upper 60's at night and upper 70's to 80's daytime. They seem comfortable. Just not really going inside, but can't tell if it is a "roosting" behavior as it is the highest point. And at what point do you wean them completely from it?

I have searched for this info, but am not getting anything definite. Well as definite as you can with chicks.

Oh - and I do hope it kicks in quick for you!

You could safely pop yours down to the 4 setting with those temperatures - maybe even 3 since they are inside. Mine were at level 4 at 3 weeks old and it was in the 20s at night. They were living outside in the run. As for when to take them off the heat, that's kinda up to you. There are no "at this age do this" rules with Mama Heating Pad which is why you couldn't find anything specific. With the traditional way to raise chicks, "they" tell you to have the heat lamp set so the brooder is at 95 the first week, then you lower the temp by 5 degrees per week. It's a very rigid routine. But if Mama Broody Hen has 8 or more chicks, by this age they aren't all fitting under her at night anyway...some may squeeze under but many sleep next to or on her. And that's what we're trying to mimic here, so don't worry that they don't go under and stay there. You could even turn the pad off during the day and back on at night. Just remember to hit that "auto off" switch. You didn't say when you plan to put them out in the coop or if you plan to make a cave out there during the transition.

My older chicks were 4 and 5 weeks old when I evicted them from the brooder and gave the newest babies - the Tinys - their pen. Night time temps in the upper 20s to mid 30s, depending on the night, and they piled in a heap by the entrance to their old pen and that's where they slept. Other than sleeping time they were running all over the coop, the run, and the great outdoors. I kept an eye on them, though. Had they shown any signs that they were uncomfortable I had a backup plant to put the Tinys in the dog crate brooder with the smaller heating pad and putting the Littles back into their old pen with the large pad set on 2 for another week or so. But it wasn't necessary.

Just had a hilarious time trying to get all 24 of my babies to stay in the cave long enough to realize that it was were they should be. It might be because it is 73° outside, they were all huddled in the opposite corner. They finally stayed under.

​

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Again, don't worry that they didn't want to stay under there. They wouldn't stay under with a broody hen even in below freezing temps...they'd be running all over around their pen and back under for a quick warm-up or if they got spooked. It is a good idea to show them where the warmth is, though, and putting them under and keeping your hand in front until they actually feel the heat is always a good idea that first hour or so. After that, they know where to go.

I'm really glad I found this thread before I got my chicks. Actually it was the day before, which gave me time to think about the concept. So I spun it a little different. I took a temp controlled seed mat, with a towel over it, and then the chaff from roasting coffee mixed with pine shavings, which is super absorbent and fluffy, and put it under the chicken cave and the heating pad over it. I also put a towel over the heating pad to avoid the poops, but it still got it. It's washable. My idea was heat rises and if it got cooler than normal I could put the heating pad on low & they would be encapsulated in warmth. Well, as luck would have it It never got cool enough to have to do both of them & the chicks just seem to be happy as can be. It's a real learning curve and I admit I've been doting all over them since I got them. They were all supposed to be the same age, however when they got here 3 of them were 4 or 5 weeks older than the others, which were about the same age. So I got 3 Buff Orpingtons, 3 Barred Rocks and 3 Black Australorps, which were the older ones. The weather here varies, but is usually in the 60s- 80s during the day & 50 at 3-5AM. I threw together a 3' X 6' X 1 1/2' covered in chicken wire & put it in the yard after about 4 days. KInd of like a chicken tractor without wheels. They took to it immediately. I started giving them a limited amount of mealworms the second day out & they just went crazy. Maybe 3 each. I'm just amazed at the accuracy and speed at which they can hit their target. Just before the chicks came I also planted a 17 seed cover crop package That Gabe Brown uses on his no till ranch in South Dakota. I was so impressed with the videos he has I thought it would be a good idea to plant a multi crop seed package so when the little ones are big enough to go into their 12 X 14 run they will have lots to chose from & hopefully they won't destroy it real quick with all their scratching. It's coming up real nice. I also individually give them about 10 min of petting time each day so they are friendly when the get big. The older ones are not coming around so quick, but I'm hoping the mealworms will help with that. I'll be doing small amounts of FF & fodder soon and am using a NON GMO chick crumbles from King Milling. So I'll be in, 2 weeks this up coming Sunday and I'm really having fun for having chicks the first time. Well I guess I got carried away

Being able to put your own spin on it is part of why this is a neat system. You can do what fits your situation. Your chicks were quite a bit older if they were 4 or 5 weeks older than your little ones - I'm surprised they use the cave at all at that age. Sounds like you have a plan and are moving with it.

 

[monkcat]

Thanks for the reply, Blooie! I am hoping to move them into the coop Monday. I do plan on having a cave set up for them. They do hang out on top of and next to the mama a good bit. Will probably turn them down to a 3 on Monday and see how they do

 

[Corwynnde]

I just set up mine last night and the chicks seem to love it! I went with the smaller pad since I only have 4 chicks. I made the frame out of hardware cloth and put it in a cardboard box, cut one side off the box and then covered with shavings.



I'm running my pad on 5 right now since they're in the house rather than outside. Sooooo much better than the heat lamp, I hardly slept the one night I used the lamp because I was afraid of starting a fire!

 

[lazy gardener]

That's what we do, Monkcat - share! It's not about our egos, it's about making chicken keeping easier and more fun, with healthier birds as a result. So glad it's working well for you. And like you, I'm grateful for all the input and the back-and-forth dialog. Now in a perfect world my Alka Seltzer would kick in!

Blooie, I hear your pain. I forget. Did you give it to me, or did I give it to you?