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

[junebuggena]

I think that one of by barred rocks might be a roo. The comb is getting a bit red

That 'light' barring is only possible on males...

 

[eagrbeavr]

Thats a beautiful video. Congratulations to her and you all

 

[FlyWheel]

I could have saved myself a lot of trouble...

...By forgetting the silly cage/cave frame idea and just laying the heating pad on the floor of the brooder! Here it is the second day and they still insist laying on top of the MHP instead of inside it. Worse, they scratch off all the bedding then lay down together on one spot! I believe the temperature is right, because for most of the day they were only sitting on top for a few minutes before jumping off to wander around the rest of the brooding bin, like eat drink, scratch and other general chicken-type stuff, then returning to the pad.

Tomorrow night it is supposed to get down into the lower thirties. It shouldn't get that cold inside the garage, but hopefully by then they'll figure out they're better off inside!

My chickens are weird.

 

[Blooie]

I could have saved myself a lot of trouble...

...By forgetting the silly cage/cave frame idea and just laying the heating pad on the floor of the brooder! Here it is the second day and they still insist laying on top of the MHP instead of inside it. Worse, they scratch off all the bedding then lay down together on one spot! I believe the temperature is right, because for most of the day they were only sitting on top for a few minutes before jumping off to wander around the rest of the brooding bin, like eat drink, scratch and other general chicken-type stuff, then returning to the pad.

Tomorrow night it is supposed to get down into the lower thirties. It shouldn't get that cold inside the garage, but hopefully by then they'll figure out they're better off inside!

My chickens are weird.

Aww, poor FlyWheel! Your chicks were older when you started using MHP weren't they? So many people now I have a hard time remembering.

 

[jrjoplin]

@Blooie what a wonderful video.

I set the camera back up for the night to see how I might need to adjust the shelf on my MHP. I'm going to watch them on and off (who am I trying to kid) tonight and see but it may not be adjusted for a few more days. By the end all 25 are inside the cave for the night. There is a lot of chirping but I had just left the garage after topping off the feeders and waterers. The video is almost 8 minutes long but you can see how they go in and out before finally settling down. Not as cute as the daytime video but hope you enjoy the night vision chick cam.

 

[FlyWheel]

Aww, poor FlyWheel! Your chicks were older when you started using MHP weren't they? So many people now I have a hard time remembering.

They couldn't have been more than 10 days old when I changed from heat lamp to MHP, was that too late? They all seem happy and healthy, they just prefer the roof to the inside. Oddly enough, my grown birds feel the same way about their coop (and no, they've never met). They'll lay eggs inside but judging from the poop they spend their nights on top. At least it's easier to keep clean! So now, instead of a coop they have a 32 Ft2 nesting box!

I tried giving the chicks their first treat today: A thawed strawberry and some plain yogurt; they wouldn't touch it! So I thought Maybe they aren't ready to take things from my hand yet? and layed it on top of their feeder. A few of them gave it an experimental peck, shook their little heads and ignored it from then on. Well after about an hour it was still untouched, had been dumped on the ground and was covered in wet bedding so I removed it. At least now I know my babies don't like strawberries (at least not those that had been frozen and thawed) or yogurt.

Like I said, my chickens are w

ird!


HEY I just noticed, this is my 100th post!

 

[Coop de Grass]

They aren't. They are to keep her legs straight. Her hips are getting so much better, but the bones in her lower legs have been twisted since birth. In the beginning, she wore double casts on both legs. They went from hip to toes. The first layer was plaster, the second fiberglass. That's why we can look back at her pictures now and know exactly where she was in the casting process - each time she got new casts in the series, we chose different colors for the fiberglass. So we know how old she was when the striped ones went on, the purple ones, etc.

She has AFOs (ankle/foot orthotics) going from mid-calf to her toes, inside her shoes. Riveted to them are the torsion cables, the KFOs (knee/foot orthotics) jointed at the knee and the hip,and attached to a leather belt around her waist. They won't "cure" anything. They just keep her feet under her in the correct line to allow her to walk. Without them her feet - especially the left one - turn inwards terribly. When she tries to walk without the braces, she trips over her own feet. The left foot can literally face totally backwards when she's just standing relaxed. Since she has no nerves or feeling in her feet, she's totally unaware that they're turned in. She can't feel the floor so she doesn't know where her feet are.

The steel torsion cables are more twisted steel wire inside the cables. She is so much more active than most kids wearing these that she has snapped the steel cables twice, and that tells you how much stress she puts on those cables. Most kids are just walking in them. She climbs into her carseat, onto the furniture, and even climbs into her kitchen chair, then climbs up on the table for her catheterizations. She is tough on them, I'll tell ya! She also likes to turn sommersaults - not an activity those are designed for. <sigh> So although the cables do their jobs well and keep her feet pointed correctly, they have become dangerous. She's now in the strongest ones they make, and these are really starting to bow outward and behind her instead of following the natural line of her legs. Last appointment in Denver they told us we need to have the cables removed from her AFOs totally, so she'll just be walking in AFOS and her shoes. We're more than a little worried about what that's going to do to her confidence, and we already know from past experience before she got her first set of cables that her feet still turn inward with the just the ankle/foot orthotics alone. But besides the danger of high tension wire snapping against her leg (the bruise from the last time was horrific) there is so much torsion that she's ruining her knees completely. So we are at a Catch 22 with her feet and legs at this point.

This walk today was a big deal. A real big deal! And it breaks my heart to know that it could well be the last time she's this fluid walking, unless they can find something else to do the job. But as I've said a million times before, if Kendra never walks another step in her life and stays in her chair, she's still the most special little girl I've ever known, and I love her dearly!

Edited to add: Thanks, guys! I'm so proud of her, and she was loving it....her face says it all!

Blooie,

I am speechless. I think that your remarkable little girl will take on the world. Equipment changes, biomedical engineering advances daily, and solutions are found for adapting equipment based on what is needed. Digital printers are making body parts! Keep your faith strong, and rejoice in the determination and happiness that shines in that little face.

 

[mobius]

Yesterday finally got the proper roosts in (two levels) and took out MHP...six weeks old... day before yesterday they were all on top of MHP in the coop.

MHP removed, went out last night to check. All six sitting next to each other on lowest roost. Facing the same direction! All I could see were six little butts...did not have to train them at all... this morning 39F when I got up...

Wow! It is ALL GOOD!

 

[jrjoplin]

I spoke too soon at last check they are all in front of the cave asleep.

 

[Blooie]

Blooie,

I am speechless. I think that your remarkable little girl will take on the world. Equipment changes, biomedical engineering advances daily, and solutions are found for adapting equipment based on what is needed. Digital printers are making body parts! Keep your faith strong, and rejoice in the determination and happiness that shines in that little face.

We never give up hoping for more, but we are always grateful for what we have. When the kids first found out that she'd be born with Spina Bifida, we had a family meeting over here. First we all had a good cry. Then we researched and talked and planned for how we'd have to be prepared to teach her the things she'd need to know. Well, the joke was on us - she's been the teacher for the past 4 years!

Yesterday finally got the proper roosts in (two levels) and took out MHP...six weeks old... day before yesterday they were all on top of MHP in the coop.

MHP removed, went out last night to check. All six sitting next to each other on lowest roost. Facing the same direction!

Wow! It is ALL GOOD!

You know, far be it from me to say I told you so, but I TOLD YOU SO!!!