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

[monkcat]

So, went outside first thing, it is 61 degrees, sunny. Chicks are running around scratching in the litter chirping and bouncing at each other. Look like very happy chickens. So relieved!

 

[Blooie]

Me too! I was a little worried after I realized how open your coop was and that maybe the rain could "dampen" their enthusiasm.

 

[monkcat]

When they were still dry after the strong winds and rain we had, I felt better about that part of it. I also took a large clay flower pot, turned it on its side and put in front of the opening but with about 6 to 9 inches distance from it to form a wind and rain break, just in case. They could still go in and out if needed but blocked them a bit better.

I think we are going to put up some temporary wood blocks outside the coop at least for this cool snap. May just prop something up to block. Or put a small coop within a coop and cover it until Thursday when the temps will go back up drastically. Now our cool Temps are estimated to be in the mid to upper 50s rather than 40. Way happy about that!

 

[monkcat]

Oh and the entire back side of the coop was dry. Was really glad to see that as the front was really soggy and soppy

 

[LindaB220]

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

It sounds to me that you are right on target. Love these ideas.

 

[LindaB220]

There are a few sources for heating pads that have a button allowing you to bypass the auto-off feature. The one I use is the Sunbeam X-press Heat. I have both the small one, available at Walmart or sometimes Walgreens, for around $20.00 and the larger one, also a Sunbeam x-Press heat, available on Amazon.

I bought the larger one. It's on my bed now. I'll have to order me a new one because the babies are on day 12 in the 'bator. Blooie, you said that it will accommodate less than I'm gonna get. Probably 35+. It only gets to about 65 at night. Maybe I'll throw in some feather dusters. It's going to be in the grow out pen inside the bottom of a good size plastic dog crate. Maybe make the top like aart's with a grill and put it longways with dusters on the side. I may just leave them in the storeroom for the first week. Ideas?

 

[Blooie]

I bought the larger one. It's on my bed now. I'll have to order me a new one because the babies are on day 12 in the 'bator. Blooie, you said that it will accommodate less than I'm gonna get. Probably 35+. It only gets to about 65 at night. Maybe I'll throw in some feather dusters. It's going to be in the grow out pen inside the bottom of a good size plastic dog crate. Maybe make the top like aart's with a grill and put it longways with dusters on the side. I may just leave them in the storeroom for the first week. Ideas?

Linda, if you don't pull the heating pad all the way down the sides, it should accommodate that many for those first few critical days, even a week or more. LazyGardener was going to use a large and a small butted up on top of the cave to hold all of hers, but for the life of me I can't remember what she ended up doing. I know she told me, too. Shame on me!

I really like aart's setup with the frame and the grill, especially for that number of chicks. The feather dusters on the sides will help with the "overflow" of chicks, I would think. I'm anxious to see yours all set up. I wish I could give you concrete "do this, don't do that" suggestions, but this whole process is new enough to me too that there are some questions I just can't answer. That's why hearing and seeing others' ideas is so helpful...I'll never have 35+ chicks at one time, but someone else might and be able to use your experience rather than mine. Cool, huh?

 

[Blooie]

When they were still dry after the strong winds and rain we had, I felt better about that part of it. I also took a large clay flower pot, turned it on its side and put in front of the opening but with about 6 to 9 inches distance from it to form a wind and rain break, just in case. They could still go in and out if needed but blocked them a bit better.

I think we are going to put up some temporary wood blocks outside the coop at least for this cool snap. May just prop something up to block. Or put a small coop within a coop and cover it until Thursday when the temps will go back up drastically. Now our cool Temps are estimated to be in the mid to upper 50s rather than 40. Way happy about that!

I think that's a very good idea.....maybe even hang clear plastic shower curtains up around it. You could then pull them back when you don't need them. Be a wind break, hold the rain out, and if you had a colder but sunny day it would act a bit like a greenhouse and hold a little more warmth inside.

 

[LindaB220]

Linda, if you don't pull the heating pad all the way down the sides, it should accommodate that many for those first few critical days, even a week or more. LazyGardener was going to use a large and a small butted up on top of the cave to hold all of hers, but for the life of me I can't remember what she ended up doing. I know she told me, too. Shame on me!

I really like aart's setup with the frame and the grill, especially for that number of chicks. The feather dusters on the sides will help with the "overflow" of chicks, I would think. I'm anxious to see yours all set up. I wish I could give you concrete "do this, don't do that" suggestions, but this whole process is new enough to me too that there are some questions I just can't answer. That's why hearing and seeing others' ideas is so helpful...I'll never have 35+ chicks at one time, but someone else might and be able to use your experience rather than mine. Cool, huh?

Scared spitless at this many. And as soon as the 'bator is empty, I'm doing it again. I'll sell off a lot of littles. I'm trying to get as many Blosl and XW eggs to hatch as I can. I want a really good choice for breeding next year. Blosl pair and XW trio. The rest are extras. Plus 16 Black Australorps. It's so warm here that I won't need it much.

 

[monkcat]

We plan on doing plastic for fall/winter. Likely shower curtains. But for now will probably do more temporary. This is unusual weather for us. It was mid 80s last week. It will get much, much warmer very quickly For us. We are in south Mississippi. What is cold to us is likely not to many here. I was cold at 69 degrees! With a t-shirt, jeans and a long sleeve shirt over the T! If the didn't get driving reason yesterday, they won't get it. Short of a hurricane that is. And in that case, it's still usually warm. Lol they are under a drop shed butted up to a 24x48 foot building over 15 feet high. The east side of their coop is 15 feet uner a roof, the west side is a 13 feet from where the mama heating pad is from the edge. Now the north is closest at 9 feet from the edge of the roof to where the pad is. And there are stands of planted pines to the northwest which helps with the wind.

I'm not being disagreeable. I really really appreciate input. Just trying to help visualize where they are because the coop is very open. But at the same time is somewhat sheltered. With that in mind, would love to know what you would do in this setup. The heat and humidity is why we built the open air coop. But I have to say, I was skeptical of the 5 gallon bucket. That was hubby's idea. But after checking Temps just putting my hand in, and judging their behavior, I do feel better. But I am such a newbie, I welcome the feedback!