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

[Blooie]

@Faraday40 They'll be fine. My brand spanking new chicks were out in their brooder pen in our run and it was in the teens and twenties! When they were a week old, we ended up with a snowstorm, 60 mph winds, and a power outage to boot! Between them snuggling a little and the straw that was packed inside, on top of, and all the way around the heating pad cave, it held enough residual warmth to keep them happy until the sound of the power coming back on woke us up and sent us hurrying out there in the sideways blowing snow to get the pad turned back on. They were more disturbed by our flashlights than the fact that their heating pad was off!

And yep, I did have a lone chick out there, Scout, who had been injured, came in the house for a time to recover, then went back out there brooding crate, heating pad and all. Dropped to either 4 or 6 below zero. (At those temps, what's two degrees??) He thrived.

 

[Blooie]

@aart That feeder is ingenious!!

 

[Faraday40]

Thank you all very much. We're in N. IL, so I understand the difference between freezing temps & below zero. If it works in below zero, then I know a balmy 27'F should not be a problem.

Thank you for putting my mind at ease.

The brooder has changed a bit. Once the chicks learn about food, I hang my own home-made feeders. (I dislike those messy feed store feeders that were in my orig pic.) This is what I made from recycle bin materials. Not as pretty as aart's, but simple to make & practically free. I hang them so the chicks don't poop on top & bedding doesn't get inside. I usually add them when chicks are about 5 days old. (They need to be able to reach their little necks & heads inside.)

 

[mobius]

Thank you all very much. We're in N. IL, so I understand the difference between freezing temps & below zero. If it works in below zero, then I know a balmy 27'F should not be a problem.

Thank you for putting my mind at ease.

The brooder has changed a bit. Once the chicks learn about food, I hang my own home-made feeders. (I dislike those messy feed store feeders that were in my orig pic.) This is what I made from recycle bin materials. Not as pretty as aart's, but simple to make & practically free. I hang them so the chicks don't poop on top & bedding doesn't get inside. I usually add them when chicks are about 5 days old. (They need to be able to reach their little necks & heads inside.)

Very very nice!!! Thank you! What is size of pipe? How many of these feeders per chick? Looks like 1.5 in 90 degree pipe? (guessing...)

BTW I am in NW Montana, and MHP been very very good to me....no worries, if chicks can get under, they are just fine. Put it on six, and make sure any auto-shut-off is over-ridden...

 

[Coop de Grass]

Um, well, it was neatly folded in its original box (which NEVER happens around here) and out in my sewing camper in the closet that holds fabric bolts. Dunno, don't wanna know.

You have a sewing camper????? and store your fabric bolts in it!

What a fabulous idea. I've got bolts of fabric left over from when I made custom window treatments, swags, jabots, cornices, you name it, I made it. Now I just need a place for my fabrics and industrial machine and other stuff. A camper sounds much better than the stacks in the basement! Soooo envious!

I actually made a Roman Shade last summer to throw some shade onto the run!

I could put the camper next to the coop and I just might start using up some of that fabric!

 

[beautifulpirate]

You have a sewing camper????? and store your fabric bolts in it! What a fabulous idea. I've got bolts of fabric left over from when I made custom window treatments, swags, jabots, cornices, you name it, I made it. Now I just need a place for my fabrics and industrial machine and other stuff. A camper sounds much better than the stacks in the basement! Soooo envious! I actually made a Roman Shade last summer to throw some shade onto the run! I could put the camper next to the coop and I just might start using up some of that fabric! e :yiipchick

Place it with a window facing the chicks and you've got chicken TV and sewing time all in one!!!

^A VERY small portion of my stash. Blooie, your sewing camper hijacked the thread lol.

 

[COChix]

Paying my dues......pulled out the three that had hatched this am, the oldest was definitely hungry. Everyone is happy and healthy. Set up a temp brooder in a tub until I shut down the hatch. Then we will set up the dog kennel brooder in the run, still need a roof for the dog kennel.

Just glad that I have a few babies from this hatch, given how bad it has gone. Nothing like chick TV in the living room.

 

[dyorto]

I wish I had more carpentry skills. I keep looking at ideas for inside the coop..... People are so creative!

 

[RooBeeC]

I wonder if a heating pad like this would help with a chicken coop in the winter for grown chickens. Putting a heating lamp in the coop makes me cringe. I live in Wisconsin, so it can get pretty cold and I want to provide them with some sort of warmth on the very cold days.

 

[Molpet]

I wonder if a heating pad like this would help with a chicken coop in the winter for grown chickens. Putting a heating lamp in the coop makes me cringe. I live in Wisconsin, so it can get pretty cold and I want to provide them with some sort of warmth on the very cold days.

well people in Alaska and Canada just let their chickens use their down coats with no heating.. you could make a huddle house, just make sure they get enough ventilation https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/264323/pictures-of-roost-huddle-boxes-please/30