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

[perilloux5]

  I wonder if I'm the only person who only had to put two chicks under MHP one time each and then never had to do it again with any of them.......I put one chick under with the oldest ones, and the rest followed then went in and out on their own.  The second batch, added a week afterwards into the same brooder, saw the older ones going in and just followed right along.  The third batch, my Buff Brahmas, I moved one chick under then never had to repeat it.  

I think you must be, it took six days before mine went in on their own. After the first two days of putting them in I left them alone, figured if they got cold they would go in.

 

[Beekissed]

Nope...I only had to show them once and then no more. Each time I used it for chicks or ducks it was like that...could be because mine are being reared outdoors when it gets naturally light and dark, so they "go to roost" as is their instinct.

 

[Blooie]

The day/night cycle does have a lot to do with it, doesn't it Bee? I don't panic if they aren't under it. I don't expect them to stay there any more than they'd stay packed tight under a broody most of the time. They go under when they need it, and those aren't always the times I'm watching them. I don't really care if they spend much time under....they know if they need it and they know where it is.

 

[Blooie]

@azygous, how's the Littlest Warrior this morning?

 

[azygous]

I woke her up at 5:30, and she didn't want to come out from MHP. For an entire half hour she didn't make a peep or effort to come out, just remained snuggled to the back of her cave, so I suppose she's not an early riser, because when she did come out she was perky and enthusiastic.

She went right to her water cup, perched on the lip and took a big long drink of fresh Corid treated water. Then she dove into her food.

I was so thrilled, I blurted, "Well good morning sunshine! So I guess she has a name now. Sunny for short.

 

[Blooie]

Oh, that's just fantastic news! "Sunny" it is, then! Are you planning to reunite her with the others soon then?

 

[azygous]

Maybe I'll try later today or tomorrow. She isn't a ball of fire like the others yet. But I suppose it's worth trying. She isn't peeping like a tyrant today. I don't know if that means she's feeling better or worse. See? I worry either way.

 

[lazy gardener]

azygous, I'm glad your little chickie is feeling better. Good call on the Corid.

Blooie, have you checked your eggs to see if Scout is getting the job done?

Am I the only one who has chicks out in temps mid 40's that are not using the MHP? My chicks snuggle down beside it, but don't go under it in the evening. In the morning, they are all perky, with a few running in and out, but I would expect them to be diving under it when the sun goes down. They are 10 - 11 days old now.

The 5 week old chicks put themselves to bed with minimal assistance tonight. Still a lot of complaining. They sleep on the perch like big kids now! 3 of the girls will be going to their new home next weekend, I think. The 2 ? wheaten colored chicks, I hope they are girls are making me start to wonder if they are roos also. If so, that means that I'll be selling 3 of my 5 pullets. I'm so hoping that the 2 questionable ones are girls. One of them has white tips to a lot of her feathers, almost looks like a speckled sussex. They both have black hackles.

 

[perchie.girl]

@lazy gardener

They probably dont need MHP...

deb

 

[azygous]

I named her Sunny. She's the only one with a name so far. But she's only just staying about the same and not growing at all. Except for her wings. It's very odd. Her wings have overtaken her body, and she looks more like a house fly. The other Cream Legbar is now much bigger, but has only just begun showing wing feathers, still having mostly just her wing stubs. Could "she" actually be a boy? I thought they could sex Legbars pretty accurately. Sunny has a much lighter head than the other Legbar, too. Anyone know about Legbars?

So. Today I brought in a chick from outside to visit Sunny in her infirmary. It was a happy reunion, and they got along great, they ate together, and sunny actually ate more than she usually does. But the other chick ate most of the food then got restless. She is, after all, an outdoor, run-around-in-lots-of-space chick, and she wanted to get back to it.

After a while I did the reverse. I took Sunny out to the grow-out pen and let her visit with the others. But it didn't work out well. The others ran circles around her. She was too cold, tried to go into the cave to warm up, but didn't want to stay in there alone. The others were plenty comfortable and weren't using the MHP at all since it had climbed into the 70s. So all Sunny did was cry, go into the cave for a minute, then turn right around and come back out. Then back in. All the time chirping rapidly.

So I brought her back inside and she went in to her MHP and glued herself to it, slowly warming up and quieting down.

She's still sick, has no real energy like a chick ought to have, certainly nothing like her mates outside that were tearing round and round the pen practically non-stop. Especially when they happened to "find" a meal worm. And they're rapidly becoming much larger. And yes, LG, cold resistant much like your chicks.

I did offer her some tofu after I brought her back in and after she had warmed up. It was a huge hit, and she thought it was a wonderful treat and ate a tiny bit with a dab of Nutri-drench on it.

By the way, I thought to use some of my cannabis salve (legal in my state) on her little swollen vent, and it's dramatically improved. Nothing else was doing anything, but 24 hours later after the magic salve, her sore butt is much better.