686'...lol. Probably very different, I live 15 miles east of Lake Michigan, that effects our weather a great deal.
That's what makes heating pad brooding such a departure from conventional heat lamp brooding. You want the place you're brooding to be as cool as possible, outdoors even. The only warm spot is directly under the heating pad. And it's not supposed to be 95* inside the cave. That's not how it works. You're not trying to heat up the whole inside. It's the direct contact with the pad, mimicking snuggling up against a broody hen, that warms the chicks.
We are on test run mode. Our 3 chicks arrive Fri/Sat. This is on setting 2. It will come up to 95 at the center. We are in south Fl. My frame is 2" at the back and graduates to 4" at the front. At setting 2, temps range from 98 to 93 under the hen. I can't find a,happy medium. I'm going to try a lighter weight towel on top. The crate is lined with a puppy pad on the bottom, then shavings, then paper towels. I'm figuring on removing the paper towels after a few days. If anyone can offer suggestions on how to get this more accurate that would be great. They're in the warmest room in the house. AC is off in that room. Room temps vary from 86 (late afternoon down to 76 in the morning. I'm really nervous.
. We are after all in the mile high city. I couldn't live back east due to the humidity, my hair would be a Brillo pad all the time. 
They look feathered in enough that you can ditch the heating pad entirely and just use a 'huddle box'.Chicks will be 3 weeks tomorrow and needed a larger area to live until we build the coop. Hopefully that will happen this weekend. I took chunks of boxes and pushed them together on a pallet, lined the bottom with a couple inches of shavings and then lifted MHP up on 4x4 posts with shavings under it. Still using the dish drainer turned upside down with the pad and towel on top. I did move their original perch that they have been using rather successfully into the new home but as you can see with the larger box and new space, they are choosing to perch on MHP and have themselves fluffed out instead. At just 3 weeks, their bodies are almost completely feathered with the exception of the head and neck. As this is our first batch, I am not sure how that compares to "traditional" brooder chicks. Temp outdoors is around 40° so garage has to be somewhere north of that. The small box on the floor was their home until this morning. I swear they doubled in size last night....
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Nothing wrong with the inverter. I bet you find other uses for it in the future.
I think they would be the same. An Olive Egger is just a blue egg laying breed crossed with a very dark brown laying breed.
Oh, good idea!!! Keep getting 2 new chicks every day until the coop is done
Or maybe they just get tired of being in a chicken's armpit.
Finally got some good shots of my 5 weekers
Nice loooking flock.
