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

[chiquititas]

I have just gotten 2 day old chicks today, but have had to use a heating lamps to keep the chicks warm because the heating pad does not seem to reach the 95 degrees recommended for new chicks. I'm keeping them in our shed which is not insulated so it gets a little cold. So my question is, what can I do to make the cave better so my chicks actually use it? I would much rather have the cave than the lamp. Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

 

[aart]

Here are a few chicks enjoying the brand new suspended MHP that I made last night. There are exits all around and the height is adjustable by just adjusting the rope. Eventually the rope will be replaced by classier chain, but the rope was lying around...

Now that's thinking outside the box..keep us posted!

I have just gotten 2 day old chicks today, but have had to use a heating lamps to keep the chicks warm because the heating pad does not seem to reach the 95 degrees recommended for new chicks. I'm keeping them in our shed which is not insulated so it gets a little cold. So my question is, what can I do to make the cave better so my chicks actually use it? I would much rather have the cave than the lamp. Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

Forget the 95 degrees. Their backs need to be able to touch the heating pad, so adjust your pad support to be the right height for the size of chicks. Scroll back thru some of the pics and posts on this thread. Welcome to BYC!

 

[Jensownzoo]

Now that's thinking outside the box..keep us posted!

Can't take credit for the idea...someone else posted a few months back about something similar and I thought it was brilliant. My current system was working, so I didn't change it but when I had to build new ones to accommodate a sudden flood of chicks? Just had to try it!

 

[junebuggena]

I have just gotten 2 day old chicks today, but have had to use a heating lamps to keep the chicks warm because the heating pad does not seem to reach the 95 degrees recommended for new chicks. I'm keeping them in our shed which is not insulated so it gets a little cold. So my question is, what can I do to make the cave better so my chicks actually use it? I would much rather have the cave than the lamp. Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

Here's the thing about the heating pad, it's not warming the cave. And it's not supposed to. The heat source is CONTACT WITH THE PAD. It is not an ambient heat source like a light. The chicks get warm by pressing against the pad, just like they would with a mother hen.

 

[Beekissed]

I have just gotten 2 day old chicks today, but have had to use a heating lamps to keep the chicks warm because the heating pad does not seem to reach the 95 degrees recommended for new chicks. I'm keeping them in our shed which is not insulated so it gets a little cold. So my question is, what can I do to make the cave better so my chicks actually use it? I would much rather have the cave than the lamp. Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

Remove the heat lamp and they'll use the pad. They will stay where it's the most warm and the heat lamp is providing an ambient heat. Turn it off and place the chicks under the pad tonight in the dark. They'll use it.

 

[Blooie]

I have just gotten 2 day old chicks today, but have had to use a heating lamps to keep the chicks warm because the heating pad does not seem to reach the 95 degrees recommended for new chicks. I'm keeping them in our shed which is not insulated so it gets a little cold. So my question is, what can I do to make the cave better so my chicks actually use it? I would much rather have the cave than the lamp. Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

As others have said, it's not supposed to reach 95 degrees in there, so turn the lamp off and let them get warm under the pad. Those few of us who have tested the temps under it find that it runs in the low to mid 80s and that's perfect. They are getting warmed up by contact with the pad, not just radiant air temperatures. Think about a Mama Hen with her chicks, The only place it's warm is under her - and that's where they scoot when they get chilly. The air around her isn't warmed, and the chicks run all over the place exploring and getting into things even when there's snow on the ground. Mine do - they are raised outside in the run, temps in the teens and twenties, and I haven't lost or had a sick chick yet. They play and eat and drink, then duck under the cave for a quick warmup before they start all over again.

It's sometimes difficult to get your head around, isn't it, after reading and hearing "95 the first week, 90 the second week" all the time. It's like the Golden Rule of chick raising, except that it isn't really.

The only place the chicks should feel warmth is under or sitting on top of the cave. So relax - you aren't doing anything wrong. Just take out that lamp, show them where to warm up if they need to be shown (they usually don't) and welcome to the Broody Brigade!!

 

[Leahs Mom]

Perhaps this information from Brinsea's Ecoglow heat-plate brooder will help clear up some of the questions on the differences between the heat pad brooder and a heat lamp, air temperatures under a heat lamp vs. radiant temperatures, etc.

For those that don't know, the heat pad brooder uses the same principle as the Ecoglow/Premier 1 heat plates. Here is the info from their site:

if they are too warm. If brooding very young quail or very small numbers of any small birds, it is a good idea to confine them in a cardboard box at least twice the size of the EcoGlow, but put the brooder against one side of the box so that the birds can only enter on the other side. This conserves warmth under the brooder but still allows birds to move freely out into the open as they wish. Another useful trick is to put the whole box on a slab of 1” Styrofoam to reduce heat loss from the bottom.

In an extreme case, it can be useful to remove one end of the EcoGlow so that it rests directly on the floor. The other end is best at the middle or higher position. This gives very small birds to option to touch the warm surface or adjust their position for maximum comfort.

Because the heat from the black underside of the EcoGlow is largely radiant, measuring the temperature with a thermometer is of little value. Radiant heat passes through air without warming it. Only a solid object will absorb and be warmed by Radiant heat. So a thermometer will register the air temperature but not the radiant heat.....the effective temperature felt by the chicks. Always watch the behavior of the birds. They will naturally huddle together if they are cool. The more of them, the less external warmth they need.

For larger numbers of birds, two to four EcoGlow 20 can be assembled side by side. Above four units, it is probably better to leave a gap between units for birds to exit freely.

 

[azygous]

I had an attempted chick suicide this morning! I lifted the cave frame to clean out the overnight turds, and there was a little chick with her head caught at the very rear where the power cord comes off the pad. The bungie had slipped due to repeated lifting to clean under it, and it created a fold in the pad that wasn't easy to see for a chick bent on finding the absolute only place in the entire pen to kill herself to stuff her head into.

Luckily she couldn't wiggle any farther into the space between pad and frame or she may have suffocated. As it was, I lifted the pad, shook it, and out she tumbled, no worse for the attempted suicide. She shook her head a couple times, and then she was racing off to join her sisters in feverish chick games, deciding it's not a good day to die, after all. Heck, the sun is out after a week of dreary cold and gloom. We all here in Colorado have a reason to live again.

So I refastened the pad to the frame, placing the bungie on the inside of the cord connector so the bungie can't slip again. I mean, really, leave it to a chick to find a flaw in the MHP frame assembly and try, I mean, really try to kill herself. You'd think these chicks are part gopher or something the way they love to burrow.

 

[Victoria-nola]

Moved my new chicks out to the chicken coop last night. No straw locally available so used bermuda grass hay, also the only hay available. It is very humid here and unseasonably cool (about 69F), overcast and with massive rain due tonight, and the chicken coop has open windows covered in hardware cloth because we are in the Deep South and adults don't need heat here (I cover the hardware cloth if it gets really cold). Point is, there is no good way to prevent the humidity getting inside the coop and therefore the brooder.

But, the hay in the brooder area is very cold and clammy feeling. I'm fixing to add the heat lamp (infrared black reptile style ceramic bulb) just to dry it out some in there. Can't find my thermostat at the moment so it would just be on 24-7, which defeats our purpose with MHP.

Any thoughts about another solution? The chicks are getting cold pretty quickly when they exit MHP which makes me worry they will not get the hydration/nutrition they need.

Any thoughts?

 

[junebuggena]

Moved my new chicks out to the chicken coop last night. No straw locally available so used bermuda grass hay, also the only hay available. It is very humid here and unseasonably cool (about 69F), overcast and with massive rain due tonight, and the chicken coop has open windows covered in hardware cloth because we are in the Deep South and adults don't need heat here (I cover the hardware cloth if it gets really cold). Point is, there is no good way to prevent the humidity getting inside the coop and therefore the brooder.

But, the hay in the brooder area is very cold and clammy feeling. I'm fixing to add the heat lamp (infrared black reptile style ceramic bulb) just to dry it out some in there. Can't find my thermostat at the moment so it would just be on 24-7, which defeats our purpose with MHP.

Any thoughts about another solution? The chicks are getting cold pretty quickly when they exit MHP which makes me worry they will not get the hydration/nutrition they need.

Any thoughts?

Relax. 69 is not too cold. The room that my brooder is in, is usually about 55 to 60. They do not need any additional heat, just the MHP. As long as your roof overhang is enough to keep the rain from blowing in through the windows, they will be fine. If not, it's something you should address, by extending the roof line, or covering the windows.