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

[beautifulpirate]

I tried mealworms too. Those at least they ate, but it wasn't exact;y a "Jaws style" feeding frenzy either. I would really like to find something they are crazy about, so I can use it to help them 'imprint' on me.

Do the mealworms (just a sprinkle) a couple times a week and trust me, once they get used to it, they'll come a running. When I first gave my babies meal worms, they didn't go crazy about them. But everything was so new and scary for them at the time. Yesterday I went to sprinkle a few out for them and they went nutsat the sight of the bag. One of them even hopped up high enough to snatch one out of my hand.

 

[FlyWheel]

Um, not usually. That generally means respiratory irritation of some sort, either from DE (if you are using that), ammonia (which isn't likely given their ages and how short a time they've been out there) or a virus of some kind. I can reassure you that it's not related to them being under the pad, so we can rule that out first thing. Chicks raised under a broody or a heat lamp can do the same thing. So I think if no one chimes in here with assistance (on accounta I honestly just plain don't know) you might post over in the Illnesses forum and describe exactly what they're doing. Or you can just watch them for a day or so more and see if it self-resolves, which it certainly can do.

OK, I've heard DE was a no-no around chicks (calcium); that's why I got the bedding with the PDZ, so I wouldn't have to use the DE for pest control. Did I read something wrong?

@ShanandGem They are beautiful!! We're so glad you were able to join the Broody Brigade!

@FlyWheel Cut up some apples. They'll be your new best friends!~

I don't have any apples at the moment, bananas?


The chicks are still sleeping on top of the MHP. I checked them last night around 10 and they were all bunched together, but sleeping peacefully (no chirping, even after they knew I was there), so I left them. This morning around 7 I went out again, it was 35F. The light hadn't turned on yet, but four of them were spread around the brooder; one standing on the pad two wandering around doing chick things and one taking a drink at the waterer. The other three were still snuggled together sleeping on the pad, but all got up when they heard me. So it seems that even on a 30 degree night the pad itself is comfortable enough for them.

I'm going to have to rethink this "cave" idea.

 

[Redufresne]

I tried posting this yesterday, but dont think it worked. This mornng, it was 25 degrees outside. In April! In southern PA! Makes no sense. But at about 7:45, the chicks came venturing out of the coop (I can see the coop door from my window), so I know they managed! They seem to sit on top of the burried heating pads when it is so ridiculously cold out, then they go back outside. They all seem healthy, even the black austrolorps. Getting big! All seem to have fairly pleasant personalities. Pics:

 

[hbeam21]

Your chicks are so cute and you gave me great ideas. Thank you

 

[Beekissed]

There are molds and there are molds...so many different kinds fit under that genre.
Many are beneficial, some are toxic...most folks can't tell the difference.
They can be a respiratory irritant, chronically or not.

An antibiotic won't do squat against them and may well compromise the 'natural' immune system enough for other organisms to bloom to the point of unhealthfulness.
Decades old pet peeve of mine to misapply and/or overuse antibiotics...in people or animals(pets and livestock).
Balance of good foods and environment will keep the healthy healthy...the sickly won't survive, as it should be.

My birds regularly have little 'sneezing attacks'...usually after eating or drinking too fast or while dust bathing.
Only had one bird with some kind of respiratory problem, swollen sinus, gunky eye, sneezing.....
...was still fairly active so I didn't treat, she got over it within a week or so. Had slight re-occurance, but she recovered fully.
She's gone now, was an older bird, culled for soup, that I got as an adult as my starter flock.
Might she still have been carrying it, maybe...might the whole flock be carrying it, maybe...but everyone seems healthy so....<shrug>

Early morning ponderings...just another perspective.

Amen.

 

[Ridgerunner]

[@=/u/409537/FlyWheel]@FlyWheel[/@] if it's any consolation, my 4 BO girls behave the same way at 2.5 weeks. They "roost" on top of MHP and have been for over a week. I think because my house is much warmer at 68 than if they were outside. They won't eat yogurt, fermented food, oatmeal, apple, or bread. Throw some dirt, chickweed, dandelion blossoms, etc. in there though, and they go nuts. Mealworms are a hit too. Then every night right before they go to bed, they have a loud chirping session. I think they want to see if I'll come check on them or bring treats. Who's training who, I wonder?! But they're thriving and happy!

I tried mealworms too. Those at least they ate, but it wasn't exact;y a "Jaws style" feeding frenzy either. I would really like to find something they are crazy about, so I can use it to help them 'imprint' on me.

Patience is your best friend in many things to do with chicks and chickens. Don’t expect instant gratification. If you want to tame your chicks, take a book and a chair down there, sit and read a chapter or two, then quietly leave. Don’t do anything directly with them to threaten or encourage. They will probably be sacred of you, the chair, and the book at first, but they will soon get used to you and the chair and book.

People like to think that every chicken instinctively loves certain treats, not true at all. Chickens hate change and are very nervous around anything different. Offer different treats and give them time to get used to them and investigate. It may take hours or days. Many people rave about how much their chickens like cabbage. When I toss some cabbage leaves from the garden in the run mine mostly run over to check it out then pretty much ignore it. They’d prefer something else. But if I leave it laying in there it eventually gets eaten. At least, most of the time.

One time I gathered a yogurt cup of corn ear worms when I was harvesting corn from the garden to can. I dumped those worms on a clear dirt spot around a group of 10 week olds that were free ranging. Those chicks eyed those worms carefully and started very cautiously moving toward them. A worm wiggled! Run away! Run away! But they didn’t run far. Soon the braver ones started cautiously moving back toward them. A worm wiggled! Run away! Run away! This repeated four or five times before a brave cockerel snatched a worm. That’s all it took, the entire pile of worms was gone in a few seconds. Chick TV can be better than anything on cable, satellite, or antenna.

The first time I ran my lawn mower near the run, the chicks freaked out. They ran inside the coop in a panic. But it didn’t take them long to discover that when I went by with that noisy monster small bits of green stuff was thrown into the run. After a few times, they were crowding the fence when they heard that lawn mower, waiting for their treats.

Just be patient. Offer them different treats and let them decide if they want them or not. Eventually they will, at least some of them.

A good trick is to use a certain container every time to bring the treats. It’s good if it makes a rattling noise when you shake it. Use a certain call, like “Here chicky chick” when you feed them the treats. It should not take long for them to come running when you make that call or rattle that container. That can be very useful to get them into the coop or run if you need to. But you will have to do this a few times before they learn.

 

[Blooie]

OK, I've heard DE was a no-no around chicks (calcium); that's why I got the bedding with the PDZ, so I wouldn't have to use the DE for pest control. Did I read something wrong?


I don't have any apples at the moment, bananas?


The chicks are still sleeping on top of the MHP. I checked them last night around 10 and they were all bunched together, but sleeping peacefully (no chirping, even after they knew I was there), so I left them. This morning around 7 I went out again, it was 35F. The light hadn't turned on yet, but four of them were spread around the brooder; one standing on the pad two wandering around doing chick things and one taking a drink at the waterer. The other three were still snuggled together sleeping on the pad, but all got up when they heard me. So it seems that even on a 30 degree night the pad itself is comfortable enough for them.

I'm going to have to rethink this "cave" idea.

DE is the minuscule skeletons of little critters and it's all sharp edges. I don't use it. I used to. I believed in it so much that I could have been a DE salesman! I used to think that I was an enlightened and excellent chicken keeper because I put it down on the floor of the coop, in their nest boxes, and made a dust bath for them with plenty of DE added. MY babies weren't going to have mites or lice or any of those other pesky things.

So one day I'm out there putting DE down after cleaning out nest boxes or some such, and I glance over at one the girls flopping in her dust bath. In the beam of sunlight I could see all this gray dust floating. Then I remembered that I was wearing a bandanna because DE made me cough something awful, even being careful not to just toss it around....besides, the back of the bag said to use respiratory protection when using DE. Um, wait a minute here. DUH, Diane!! The chickens' respiratory systems aren't as tough as mine in the first place, and no matter where they were in the coop or run they were kicking that fine powder up and inhaling it....and they inhaled lots of it in their nests or the dust bath. And, as Bee reminded me, if I wanted successful deep litter, why the heck was I putting DE down on it when its entire job is to kill some of the same critters I needed to help break down the litter.

As far as feeding it to them to "get rid of worms" how is it supposed to do that? It goes in to the crop. Most worms live in the intestinal tract so by the time the now ground and wet DE gets to where they are it's totally worthless. There are plenty of DE advocates who swear by the stuff.....supposedly it can cure everything from hangnails to hemmorhoids. But I have never used it again.

PDZ I do like. It's really good at absorbing odors and such. Every once in awhile I'll walk into the coop and detect that ammonia smell creeping in. So I can scatter a little PDZ to knock the smell down until I can go get my bags of goodies and get some of that added to bring things back in balance. DE and PDZ are two different products with 2 totally different uses.

Now about the chicks sleeping on top and all around the heating pad. Remember that by just a couple of weeks old they wouldn't all fit under Mama Hen anymore anyway, so it's very natural for them to climb on top of her or tuck themselves in around her rather than going under her. I suppose you could well skip the cave part in the beginning, but I just won't. When they are tiny they need heat at their backs, not at their feet. Those they can tuck up under themselves to warm them. The purpose of the cave is to replicate Mom, and that includes giving them a warm, dark place not only to sleep, but to dash under for security if they get spooked. I know some folks just put the pad on the ground and let the chicks use it and that's fine for them. But when I see a broody hen lay on her back and the chicks sleeping on her tummy I'll reconsider!

 

[MesMama]

Ugh. Well that was cheerful reading. If she doesn't make it to the morning, she's getting packed up for the state diagnostic lab.

Just got done feeding the four day old kitten which means I have three hours to sleep until the next one. Good night all you night owls!

Hope all is well today!

 

[Beekissed]

Amen and amen, Blooie!




In wanting healthy flocks, it's best to plan for the long term rather than the short term. If every single problem gets dusted with DE or antibiotics used on it, then you can calculate the life of your flock....it will be a short term flock. Short term solutions make for short term lives....sort of like suicide.

 

[MesMama]

Amen and amen, Blooie! In wanting healthy flocks, it's best to plan for the long term rather than the short term. If every single problem gets dusted with DE or antibiotics used on it, then you can calculate the life of your flock....it will be a short term flock. Short term solutions make for short term lives....sort of like suicide.

I have forgotten the broody thing from last summer when I had them, it's so true that they get too big very quickly to fit under the hen and that more often than not they are just like your pic, rarely were they under her. I was SO surprised last summer at how quickly the mamas took the chicks out and about and at like 2 weeks they were pretty much only under her at night (there was only one chick per hen, had 2 hens) but then the next week the mamas took them into nesting boxes.