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

[mphsgal]

I tried this in a plastic tub. It holds heat so well that I have the heating pad set on "1" !! I have way too many peeps in there (16) so I'm going to move them to a small coop in the run. It's for 4 birds and when they outgrow it they will be moved to a more open but fenced off area. Today's heat index is 102F but it can get into the 70s at night so I'll put the "broody pad" where they can use it or get away from it.
Thank you so much for posting this! My little house is a LOT cooler without a heat lamp!

 

[perchie.girl]

I tried this in a plastic tub. It holds heat so well that I have the heating pad set on "1" !! I have way too many peeps in there (16) so I'm going to move them to a small coop in the run. It's for 4 birds and when they outgrow it they will be moved to a more open but fenced off area. Today's heat index is 102F but it can get into the 70s at night so I'll put the "broody pad" where they can use it or get away from it.
Thank you so much for posting this! My little house is a LOT cooler without a heat lamp!

LOL... I brooded 40 guinea keets In one hugmungus tub with lights... Um er tried.... Gave up after two weeks and put them in a netted encosure 48 x 48 x48 cube covered with plastic hardware cloth.

That was about six years ago before MHP.

By two weeks they could shoot up six feet if you werent careful....

Oh and the ambient temp was 90 that summer.

deb

 

[dyorto]

I was just out admiring how handsome my rooster was getting at 13 weeks. We have had a few raccoons spotted around so I've purposely been locking the birds up early. My run has a chicken wire fence but isn't secure. Tonight I went out while it was still light out and found all the girls in the roost and my rooster no where to be found.
After searching around I did catch a glimpse of a raccoon and found several of my rooster feathers.
I know I'm going to have to trap and shoot the raccoons, but do I keep the 5 hens confined to the coop until then? I've never had a loss or a predator issue before so any help is helpful. I know I ultimately need a secure run, but that will be a bit

 

[woods79]

Our little Orpingtons are a week old, sitting on their MHP on this nice warm 80 Deg. day...one got a hold of a bug the other day, it was like kids in a candy store with one piece of candy left. found out I needed to keep food and water close to the cave or they would get lost the first few days but they learned quickly.

 

[dpenning]

I was just out admiring how handsome my rooster was getting at 13 weeks. We have had a few raccoons spotted around so I've purposely been locking the birds up early. My run has a chicken wire fence but isn't secure. Tonight I went out while it was still light out and found all the girls in the roost and my rooster no where to be found.
After searching around I did catch a glimpse of a raccoon and found several of my rooster feathers.
I know I'm going to have to trap and shoot the raccoons, but do I keep the 5 hens confined to the coop until then? I've never had a loss or a predator issue before so any help is helpful. I know I ultimately need a secure run, but that will be a bit

I've always heard once a predator knows where the buffet is they will keep coming back but honestly other than the one time my entire flock was wiped out my predator losses have been very spread out. I would probably only allow supervised range time for a day or two then go back to business as usual.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
this has been the case for me.... it seems to happen about once every five years or so. just occasional losses then Bam wipe out. At one point I had thirty chickens in a mixed flock. They were reproducing well enough on their own to keep the flock stable. Probably three broody hatches during the summer was enough.

Then I had a bobcat move in who was feeding kids and in thirty days I was down to one hen....

deb

 

[junebuggena]

If' you've got a mother trying to feed a family in the area, you are going to have repeat visits. You'll also have repeat visits if you are in a more urban area, with more competition for food sources. If you live in a more remote area, where the local predators are constantly on the move, attacks will be more sporadic.

 

[perchie.girl]

If' you've got a mother trying to feed a family in the area, you are going to have repeat visits. You'll also have repeat visits if you are in a more urban area, with more competition for food sources. If you live in a more remote area, where the local predators are constantly on the move, attacks will be more sporadic.

In ten years now I havent heard her again. Got eighteen acres in the desert amongst 20 acre parcels. coyotes have a range of 20 miles. my chickens are long gone. four years now. The predators have moved on to richer pickings.

When I set up again there WILL be hot wire, netting over the runs, pop doors, and conditioning to come into the fortress at night. Because the chicken house will even be protected against human incursion. If I fail the next time the coop will be turned into a workshop because I will be done with it alll.

deb

 

[chfriedmam]

We are getting a box of chicks in a couple weeks and I'm also in la area, lows in the mid 60s lately. I am wondering if I could get away with using a seedling mat or two with some sort of "cave" inside our coop. It does seem like it will be so much better for their development to just start out in the coop. PS no other chickens to integrate with.

Despite what everyone says, the heating pad touching plastic wrap and blankets makes me nervous. Those pad have a shut off valve because they've killed lots of people in the past setting beds on fire.

 

[Serenashome]

We are getting a box of chicks in a couple weeks and I'm also in la area, lows in the mid 60s lately. I am wondering if I could get away with using a seedling mat or two with some sort of "cave" inside our coop. It does seem like it will be so much better for their development to just start out in the coop. PS no other chickens to integrate with.

Despite what everyone says, the heating pad touching plastic wrap and blankets makes me nervous. Those pad have a shut off valve because they've killed lots of people in the past setting beds on fire.

we used a seeding mat and it worked like a dream.