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

[mamatink7]

Beekissed..
Thank you. You saved me $ I will put toward the chicks in another way.

 

[Beekissed]

YW!

If you stick around awhile you just might find we can save you even more money and also help you have a healthier flock along the way.

Lot's of things about chickens in this group that you won't find in any book or website.

 

[Chullicken]

This was such a great forum to read through, obviously with 524+ post!. I was using a old fruit crate with a basking lamp and the usual food/water set up and they just didn't seem very happy with that arrangement. Neither was I. Found one little deceased blessing this morning and having been crushed by that, I decided to try this method. I went out, got a few things and used a similar method as I had read here. What a difference so far, day two. They are more active, chirping, eating and finally drinking some electrolyte water. What a huge difference it seems to make so far. I also switched out from the darkish crate to a transparent Rubbermaid bin. My room stays roughly 68 degrees with the temperature within the new step up roughly in the 70s ambient. I finally decided to join this group officially and I'm loving all the tips, tricks and great advice found within. Thanks everyone!

 

[mamatink7]

YW!    If you stick around awhile you just might find we can save you even more money and also help you have a healthier flock along the way.     Lot's of things about chickens in this group that you won't find in any book or website. 

heck yeah...I'm here for the long haul (waited 20 years to get chicks, I ain't gonna stop now). Next year I'm planning on hatching some IF this in tial year goes well.

 

[Blooie]

I've been reading so many things about DE: nesting boxes, dust baths, use in scratch & I'm sure you ladies will add to it of course. Lol. BUT do we really need it? I am running to TSC and they have a mix of it in which I will buy it this week if I need it prior to coop living

Also, about the mama pad. What is the wire rounded to house the chicks and pad made of (chicken wire, hardware wire...)? I saw how large and I'm sure if I end up hatching my own eventually, I could make it larger if need be. How high should I make it and how much weight can the top withstand? As another lady here mentioned her littles like to snuggle on top as well.
Mind you, I MAY do this for the older ones (2.5wks old) into coop brooder while we have a new set of littles & before putting them together when they're the same size and little older-naturally.
Oops apologize for the book, still new here and so many ideas...
Hugs and thx in advance

Nope. Leave the DE right there on the shelf for the next person who hopes that a bag of stuff will take the place of diligence, observation and hands-on chicken care.

Okay, most of your other questions are answered here in the thread at the beginning. I just can't give absolutes when it comes to Mama Heating Pad...folks have a tendency to overthink this and it's really no more difficult than a frame and heating pad and towel. Add chicks, allow to double in size.

Some use hardware cloth to form the frame, and they kinda run small dowels from one side to the other to keep it stable. Some use wood side frames with dowels supporting the heating pad. Some use cookie cooling racks, wire shelving, cut down and flattened tomatog cages......whatever they have on hand. I used a scrap of wire fencing to form the cave, and I'll be using the same one again this year. All of the chicks will end up snuggling on top - sometimes from day one, sometimes after the first week or so. I couldn't tell you how much weight the frame will hold. All 15 of mine would get up there at one time and it was fine, all the way up until they were evicted from the brooder pen and integrated with the Bigs. Mostly they just lollygagged up there because it was there...they sure didn't need it at 4 weeks old.

When you form your frame, just have it high enough that the heat is at the level of the chicks' backs. That's where they need it at first. Eyeball it, don't worry about measuring it. If it's too high you can smoosh it down a little flatter - too low and you can pull it up in the center a bit.

I don't know if this will work well for your 2.5 week old chicks, I'm sorry, although it will be perfect for your new ones. Most of the people who have tried to switch to MHP with older chicks have reported that they just didn't take well to it. To be fair, a few did, but most just ignore it. Just don't want you to be surprised.

Short answer? NO. DE is most definitely not necessary or even beneficial for chicken life.

I'll let Blooie answer the rest of those questions.....they vary from person to person.

Gee, thanks pal!

 

[Redufresne]

I, too, thought DE was answer to many potential problems. It works great against stink bugs and for some garden pests. I'll now keep it out of coop area! Learning, learning, learning!

 

[3riverschick]

heck yeah...I'm here for the long haul (waited 20 years to get chicks, I ain't gonna stop now). Next year I'm planning on hatching some IF this in tial year goes well.

Hi,
Sent you a private message.
Best,
Karen

 

[aart]

I do put some DE in the bottom of nests under the straw and around under the edges of the vinyl on coop floor and poop boards<shrugs>.
Best (most effective) use I've found for it was in bags of feed that had grain mites in it, so I always have a small bag of it around....cheap and pure from mill.

 

[3riverschick]

This was such a great forum to read . Thanks everyone!

Hi,
check your BYC profile, I sent you a private message.
Best,
Karen

 

[mamatink7]

Thank you so much for all your suggestions. Yeah, I'm one of those who way over think things about this. Ugh
I think I may hold onto this-as things r set in my other brooder-for when I have all littles at same time. (My biggest issue with brood right now is having the 2 different ages)