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

[aart]

Quote: Did you try a dimmer extension cord?
I found the seed mat wasn't hot enough...but I didn't actually try it on chicks, IIRC the surface was not nearly as warm as the heating pad.

 

[Molpet]

Did you try a dimmer extension cord?
I found the seed mat wasn't hot enough...but I didn't actually try it on chicks, IIRC the surface was not nearly as warm as the heating pad.

I had the MHP w/3 settings and medium was what that batch of chicks liked at first... it was warmer when the batch was given to me that I put under the seed mat.. they were all in the basement .. yes the seed mat was not as warm as the heating pad on high... close to medium, a little cooler maybe.. the seed mat was a lot longer so it went under them a few inches too.. I don't have any pics.
No dimmer cord and I now have 3 heating pads LOL

 

[bruceha2000]

@Blooie thanks for the reply. I have plenty of time to figure out what i want to do. I'm strongly leaning toward the Brinsea Ecoglow, but figured I'd ask anyway.

You can but:

1. it is much more expensive, the large one is 16"x12" and costs $140+ the small one is 8"x12" and costs $80. For less than half the price of the small one you can get a heating pad that is 12"x24". Make sure it either doesn't auto shut off or has an override for the auto shut off. In the latter case, they won't come back on after a power outage, you need to turn it back on and make sure you again override the auto shut off.
2. unlike a heating pad it has no value other than brooding chicks, something most of us don't do all that often.

Making the MHP cave is not difficult. The only problems I remember reading here (and I've read every post since Blooie started it) are:

1. Chicks getting themselves between the pad and the frame and dying when they couldn't get out. Forward is easier than backward! It has NOT been reported all that often, certainly a VERY low percentage of all chicks brooded with MHP and the experience posted here. This is EASY TO AVOID! Attach the pad under the frame, enclose the entire thing in an old pillowcase and seal the end shut in some fashion.
2. Lots of chicks in the cave without a "back door". Ones in the middle of the pile that may be getting too hot can't get out. Clearly if you are considering an 8"x12" Brinsea you aren't planning to hatch a lot at once but should you want to do a lot at once you can make a wide 12"x48" (NOT 24"x24") cave. It would probably need some support for a span that long unless you are using really stiff wire for the cave. With a cave that wide you could even leave the ends, like the back, open a couple of inches high and all the chicks will be able to move around to find their "comfortable now" spot and come/go from all sides.

 

[aart]

@Blooie thanks for the reply. I have plenty of time to figure out what i want to do. I'm strongly leaning toward the Brinsea Ecoglow, but figured I'd ask anyway.

I wanted one too, really bad!!....Just too pricey.....so made my 'MHP'...what I called Pseudo Brooder Heater 'Plate'.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate
Different than many of the 'cave' type 'MHP's on this thread, it emulates the flat contact surface and the adjustable legs.

 

[AutumnHens]

I think honestly you can build an MHP out of just about anything so long as you keep safety and the chicks requirements in mind. I finally settled on a heating pad wrapped in a kitchen towel that was press and sealed to two license plates to stiffen it and held up by bricks. All of which I had laying around except the heating pad. I tried the under tank reptile heater but it just didn't feel warm enough to the touch and it wasn't adjustable. I assembled it yesterday to check and it didn't work as planned so I bee-bopped out to the local Wal-Mart and picked up a heating pad that didn't auto shut off. Set it back up again and it appears to be perfect.

On another note I just got my shipping confirmation, the chicks are deployed!!!

 

[Shezadandy]

Ultimately I did a mix. The two weeks (with 6 chicks I hatched for a friend which I had for 3 days) (and now for the 4 chicks I hatched for me) I used one of those racks you screw into your kitchen cabinet to hold tall narrow things like foil and saran wrap etc. because it's easy to bend the "legs" for newly hatched babies and make them taller as they get bigger. Having an 'escape hatch" out the back is important, as is finding a way for chicks not to stick their necks between the bars and the pad- easily solvable.

I loved it especially for chicks right out of the incubator- a secure warm place they snuggled up together.

My friend did the heat lamp during the day and the MHP at night. When she moved them outside, she switched over to a turkey roaster rack flipped upside down because they'd gotten too big for the original frame. She reports that once outside (much colder) they put themselves to bed every night under the MHP.

Our 4 indoor brooded chicks-- that were supposed to be raised by a broody in the coop, (she killed the first chick by kicking it out of the nest while wet, cold day, didn't catch it in time =( and once I opened the front of the nest, that wretch took off and never looked back) ... so I took the one still living newly hatched and remainder of the eggs inside to a waiting incubator- used the MHP for the first 2 weeks, but they started standing on top of it. Ultimately, I did wind up putting my sweeter heater over the top of their tub, and they've transitioned to it now- it hangs over both sides of the tub- over a log for daytime warming in the run part, and over the tub where they still tuck themselves in at night. If I'd stuck with the MHP I'm sure I could have re-rigged it for similar effect, but my 2nd favorite thing, the sweeter heater was just sitting there unused- also doesn't use light for heat.

If I'm ever stuck broody-less again I'd definitely start with the MHP again. =)

 

[GardenNut]

I think honestly you can build an MHP out of just about anything so long as you keep safety and the chicks requirements in mind.  I finally settled on a heating pad wrapped in a kitchen towel that was press and sealed to two license plates to stiffen it and held up by bricks.  All of which I had laying around except the heating pad.  I tried the under tank reptile heater but it just didn't feel warm enough to the touch and it wasn't adjustable.  I assembled it yesterday to check and it didn't work as planned so I bee-bopped out to the local Wal-Mart and picked up a heating pad that didn't auto shut off.  Set it back up again and it appears to be perfect. 

On another note I just got my shipping confirmation, the chicks are deployed!!!

I ordered 25 meat chicks today to be delivered in late March! This my first attempt at meat chickens, but I'll definitely be using MHP! I raised 4 BOs last spring, my first chickens, and didn't lose a single one!

 

[Blooie]

Ultimately I did a mix. The two weeks (with 6 chicks I hatched for a friend which I had for 3 days) (and now for the 4 chicks I hatched for me) I used one of those racks you screw into your kitchen cabinet to hold tall narrow things like foil and saran wrap etc. because it's easy to bend the "legs" for newly hatched babies and make them taller as they get bigger. Having an 'escape hatch" out the back is important, as is finding a way for chicks not to stick their necks between the bars and the pad- easily solvable.

I loved it especially for chicks right out of the incubator- a secure warm place they snuggled up together.

My friend did the heat lamp during the day and the MHP at night. When she moved them outside, she switched over to a turkey roaster rack flipped upside down because they'd gotten too big for the original frame. She reports that once outside (much colder) they put themselves to bed every night under the MHP.

Our 4 indoor brooded chicks-- that were supposed to be raised by a broody in the coop, (she killed the first chick by kicking it out of the nest while wet, cold day, didn't catch it in time =( and once I opened the front of the nest, that wretch took off and never looked back) ... so I took the one still living newly hatched and remainder of the eggs inside to a waiting incubator- used the MHP for the first 2 weeks, but they started standing on top of it. Ultimately, I did wind up putting my sweeter heater over the top of their tub, and they've transitioned to it now- it hangs over both sides of the tub- over a log for daytime warming in the run part, and over the tub where they still tuck themselves in at night. If I'd stuck with the MHP I'm sure I could have re-rigged it for similar effect, but my 2nd favorite thing, the sweeter heater was just sitting there unused- also doesn't use light for heat.

If I'm ever stuck broody-less again I'd definitely start with the MHP again. =)

Glad it worked as well for you as it does for those of us who have been doing it for awhile. You're a lot more detail oriented than I am....I just pick up or hatch the chicks, stick 'em under the heating pad, and that's what they use for the first 3-4 weeks. I turn the heat down and/or raise the cave when they start spending more and more time on top than underneath, until it's off, leave it set up for another couple of days, then pull the entire brooder. I like it simple, and the chicks thrive so I'm happy.

 

[AutumnHens]

 

[GardenNut]

They're adorable! What kind are they?