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

[bruceha2000]

I was at the feed store a couple of weeks ago, praising up heating pad brooding. Employee expressed a little bit of "ho-hum you're boring me" interest, and in the same breath, he told me about a recent brooder/heat lamp fire that claimed the life of one woman.

Can't see the obvious then?? Geez. I mentioned it to a guy at TSC, don't know if it sunk in though he seemed (or at least feigned) interested.

 

[Serenashome]

@bruceha2000 it's 91 inside where the chicks are right now. The pad is set to 95, I should have clarified. They seem to be happy and have not changed their behavior. Too hot you think? We thought a setting on 95 for week one, 90 for week two and down 5 degrees each week? They are 4 days old right now.

 

[aart]

@bruceha2000 it's 91 inside where the chicks are right now. The pad is set to 95, I should have clarified. They seem to be happy and have not changed their behavior. Too hot you think? We thought a setting on 95 for week one, 90 for week two and down 5 degrees each week? They are 4 days old right now.

Turn it down until they start to squeak, then back up a notch.
Keeping them as cool as possible will promote faster feather growth.


Replace the word 'lamp' with 'MHP' ....it all still applies.
Here's my notes on chick heat, hope something in there might help:
They need to be pretty warm(~85-90F on the brooder floor right under the lamp and 10-20 degrees cooler at the other end of brooder) for the first day or two, especially if they have been shipped, until they get to eating, drinking and moving around well. But after that it's best to keep them as cool as possible for optimal feather growth and quicker acclimation to outside temps. A lot of chick illnesses are attributed to too warm of a brooder. I do think it's a good idea to use a thermometer on the floor of the brooder to check the temps, especially when new at brooding, later I still use it but more out of curiosity than need.

The best indicator of heat levels is to watch their behavior:
If they are huddled/piled up right under the lamp and cheeping very loudly, they are too cold.
If they are spread out on the absolute edges of the brooder as far from the lamp as possible, panting and/or cheeping very loudly, they are too hot.
If they sleep around the edge of the lamp calmly just next to each other and spend time running all around the brooder they are juuuust right!

The lamp is best at one end of the brooder with food/water at the other cooler end of the brooder, so they can get away from the heat or be under it as needed. Wattage of 'heat' bulb depends on size of brooder and ambient temperature of room brooder is in. Regular incandescent bulbs can be used, you might not need a 'heat bulb'. You can get red colored incandescent bulbs at a reptile supply source. A dimmer extension cord is an excellent way to adjust the output of the bulb to change the heat without changing the height of the lamp.


Or you could go with a heat plate, commercially made or DIY: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate

 

[Blooie]

@bruceha2000 it's 91 inside where the chicks are right now. The pad is set to 95, I should have clarified. They seem to be happy and have not changed their behavior. Too hot you think? We thought a setting on 95 for week one, 90 for week two and down 5 degrees each week? They are 4 days old right now.

That old adage gets tossed out the window with MHP, @Serenashome , thankfully! I don't keep readings under mine, but early on I was asked what the temp was under there. Well, I didn't know, but my chicks were sure happy. So that night I put a wireless thermometer under there. The room was 69 degrees. The temp on the floor of the cave was 82.9 and the chicks were thriving!

 

[OEF5]

@bruceha2000 it's 91 inside where the chicks are right now. The pad is set to 95, I should have clarified. They seem to be happy and have not changed their behavior. Too hot you think? We thought a setting on 95 for week one, 90 for week two and down 5 degrees each week? They are 4 days old right now.

To explain a bit clearer, it is ambient air as the thermostat control is suction cupped to the bottom of the tank, and the MHP is 3 inches taller. Before we put the bedding in, it was holding at about 83-85 and I figured it was warmer closer to the chicks than the thermostat control.

Now it's more insulated so holding heat even better, so we have had to adjust, but this thing is being rock steady on temps and the chicks are loving it. Today was the first day that we have had full sunshine in the morning, and that's an east facing window, so the temp in the tank rose. She's turned on a ceiling fan and close the drapes to shade it a bit.

 

[Serenashome]

This support is fabulous!!!! You guys are so wonderful.

Their behavior says they are doing great, everyone is eating and drinking, they run from one end of the tank to the other and hop onto the top of the MHP We are keeping a 'first time mom' eye on them which is probably too much, but if I were to base my opinion only on their behavior I'd say we are doing great. Reducing heat to promote feather growth makes a lot of sense to me and we will play with it some to see where our perfect temp is. I am sure it can be reduced and they will still be just as active and happy.

 

[ShanandGem]

I brought home some heat lamp brooded chicks a few days ago and they slept for about 16 hours straight under the MHP. I was starting to worry about the youngest one but then she spent yesterday gobbling up everything in sight and exploring the coop (6 little chicks have a 10x10 coop to themselves). I think it's such a natural feeling to be in a dark, warm, covered environment that they just needed to nest for a while.
I sang the praises of MHP to the lady I bought the chicks from.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I think......
That maybe the feed stores/farm stores aren't going to get too excited about an alternative to selling lots of heat lamps & bulbs

 

[lazy gardener]

I agree that they NEED that rest period initially. Think of a new born baby. What does he do during the first couple of days... unless he's a cryer? Eat, poop, and sleep, with SLEEP being even more of a driving force than eating, initially. It's the first sunny warm day we've had in over a week, so I opened the pop door and big door to the cattle panel loft. Babies spent quite a while looking out, then 3 brave ones fell out, were pushed out, or jumped out... not sure which. Immediate PANIC!!!! So, I was scrambling around on hands and knees, "rescuing" the little renegades. Will try again later. Sooner or later, they will figure out that they can go up as well as down. Then the fun will begin!

 

[aart]

I think......
That maybe the feed stores/farm stores aren't going to get too excited about an alternative to selling lots of heat lamps & bulbs

I saw a heat pad for sale at TSC in the chick department during chicks days this year, shown it used on the floor which is not a new technique really. Can't remember the size/cost, think I may have posted about here back then, but it was pricey.