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

[GardenNut]

Cutie pies! Congrats and enjoy!

 

[Blooie]

They are so cute! Yep, your dues are paid!

 

[16 paws]

You know I just wanted to post on this thread to try and help someone that may have a special needs chicken use the mama heat pad brooder. I am sorry that some people may be upset for some reason. I would say that some posts are rather hurtful rather than helpful.
Marie

 

[Blooie]

You know I just wanted to post on this thread to try and help someone that may have a special needs chicken use the mama heat pad brooder. I am sorry that some people may be upset for some reason. I would say that some posts are rather hurtful rather than helpful.
Marie

For me Mama Heating Pad actually started with a special needs chick, our Scout. Had to bring him in when he froze his feet at the waterer and used MHP the whole time he was in the house, then again when he went back outside to live.

Your initial post was a bit hard to understand but I tried to answer it honestly. You said in that post that your chick was blind, deaf, and that it couldn't find the heat or the food and water. I took that to mean that you had a very seriously injured check and the prognosis for that chick, from where I sat, seemed pretty bleak. Taking that into account, I still stand by my answer. Sometimes, as hard as it is, culling a chick that has very little "life" left in its life and expecting her to be able to follow the other chicks when you clearly stated that she couldn't see or hear them is the best choice and is the responsible thing to do. If your chick wasn't at that point, then it would have been helpful for you to have said that in your post. All I had to go by was what you wrote at the time.

I didn't get upset. I felt bad for you because it sounded like you were determined to save a chick who most likely would die anyway and die in a way the chick didn't deserve and knew my response would be taken as harsh and cold. Hurting your feelings was not my intent then, nor is it my intent now. But if you go back and read your first post, you will be better able to understand why I honestly thought your chick was suffering and none of us want that for any chick.

You are absolutely right - MHP is a fantastic solution for an injured or special needs chick, and I do appreciate that you took the time to come here and post your experience. I can't speak for anyone else who responded, although it looks like several people offered you more hope and some suggestions. I can speak for myself and say that I'm sorry you felt offended. That's not what I'm here for, and not the spirit of this thread.

 

[harley587]

Hi Blooie. Thank you so much for sharing this. I am very nervous about heat lamps and this looks like a much better method.

 

[Blooie]

Hi Blooie. Thank you so much for sharing this. I am very nervous about heat lamps and this looks like a much better method.

I think you'll be happy with it...those of us who won't do it any other way sure believe in it. If we can help you in any way, let us know. And of course, you dues are photos of the chicks!! Welcome to the Broody Brigade!

 

[junebuggena]

I've got 10 4-day old chicks with a broody hen at the moment. When you have a good broody with chicks, you realize just how unnatural heat-lamp brooding is. It's about 57* out, it's overcast and a bit drizzly. Those chicks are happy as can be running around, playing, eating, and just being chickens. They are only under momma for a few minutes at a time.
The heating pad brooder is as close to emulating a broody hen as possible.

 

[Victoria-nola]

Victoria-nola, here's a pic from one of our BYC members, Mim, and her LGD and chickens.....




I'm currently training up a LGD breed pup on chickens and he's doing wonderfully....currently 10 mo. old and hasn't once even chased a chicken and he's been living cheek by jowl with them on free range since he was 2 mo. old. He will even share meals with them, even if it is raw meat, his favorite thing.

I'd discount by half everything you hear about LGDs....I've heard so much inaccurate information about what they can or cannot do around chickens these past 8 mo. I've had Ben and he's proven all that information wrong. I had a previous LGD mix dog and she proved them all wrong too. It's all about getting the right temperament pup and doing early and often training on them.

It's worth it to have peace of mind about the flock and predators....I don't have to build a Ft. Knox coop, nor even shut my pop doors at night and that's all year round. I don't have to bury fencing around a run....I don't even have a run and haven't had one for years upon years. I have minimal predator losses over many years of doing this and I'd never do it without the dogs. Even if I kept my chickens in a coop and run, I'd still never do that without a good dog or two out there all the time. It's like having good homeowner's insurance.....it's just a smart thing to do.

Thank you so much. Sorry I dropped out for a few days, have a (paid) job due and the farm work doesn't ever stop. That is one wonderful photograph. I appreciate what you're saying here. I'm on a FB group for LGD and Positive Training. But what your post prompted for me is that people are bringing their problems to that list, so then without realizing it, I start thinking those problems are typical, instead of the atypical things that need special help. That's very helpful. There is a local person who breeds half GP/half Anatolians. I'll see about getting in touch.

 

[aart]

But what your post prompted for me is that people are bringing their problems to that list, so then without realizing it, I start thinking those problems are typical, instead of the atypical things that need special help.

Can be hard to keep in mind when reading forums is that many of the posts on them are the problems.....
....people come to forums when they need help with a problem....
.....so it can seem like there are always/typically those problems in whatever arena you're reading about.

Good stories to problem stories ratios are often about 1 to 20.

 

[mollymoore]

About 4 years ago, I came home with 3 gold laced wyandottes. I didn't have a coop or anything built, and they were little chicks. I put together a brooder for them using an old wicked blanket chest I had planned to throw in the trash. I didn't want to use a heat lamp for the risk or fire, nor did I want a light blazing at all hours in my bedroom (yes, I kept them in my bedroom). I remembered what my father used to do for his tropical plants in the winter months and figured it would do the same thing for chicks! So, I got out the trusty old heating pad and draped it over a small shoe box in the brooder. It was a big hit and those chicks grew up to be beautiful, productive ladies. They were very spoiled birds that would jump into my lap to have their ears scratched.

Eighteen months after those first chicks and a big coop and run building project, a nasty old opossum found a flaw in the aviary netting and tarp I used for a roof attached to the run and coop. It destroyed my flock leaving one lone surviving silver laced wyandotte. It was one of the lowest points in my life. Not just because my pet chickens were left in pieces strewn across my back yard, but also I had lost my dog to cancer the month before and my mother-in-law was under hospice care for a long illness (we moved her and her husband in when they both became ill). It was very hard to see what had happened to my pet chickens on top of everything else. I re-homed the last chicken with a friend and decided that someday, I might try again when life was more calm.

I'm really glad to have found your thread, @Blooie . It's very inspirational to see all the different ways folks have found to use a heating pad in a brooder. I really like your setup for your chicks at your home. It's so nice to see all the modifications of the cave or huddle boxes that everyone has made for their chickies. This time around, I'm using 2 heating pads for my 4 chicks and they are loving it! I've been reading it for some time now. When the weather is more clear and I have some natural light in my craft room, I will share a photo.

@16 paws I think your experience is significant and helpful to someone that has a chick they want to give some extra special TLC. From your photo, it looks like the MHP has been a success! I really can't say that I could have done any better if something like that would happen to one of my pets. I also can understand why you feel hurt. I think your chick looks beautiful and you are doing a good job doing the best you can for her to have a shot at life. I'm rooting for the two of you!!!