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

[myfivegirls]

I'm considering doing one with adjustable legs as that was the hardest part, trying to adjust it as the chicks grew. As far as the open sides idea, I've used for several years a homemade square hover brooder with open sides where they could go under to warm up.
I still like it, but without easy access to regular light bulbs ( I'd use 90, 75, 60, etc) & although I'd sometimes use the 250 in the winter, most of the year, it's too hot. So, I'm trying to transition to mostly the MHP. I looked at prices of the ceramic light bulbs & wow, I'd much prefer the heating pads!

 

[Dmontgomery]

Exactly.....I used carriage bolts because it's what I had, can't remember length, had a couple different lengths.
Bolts not long enough, threaded rod would work, make them the length you want, still only need the tnuts to hold them.

I looked at your "pseudo brooder" and I have all the components to make something similar. Did you change anything from the original 2015 design? Do you remember how cold it was the day you made the video? They looked very comfortable.

Blooie, I like Bee's idea of strapping the pad under the wire better too. Is the plastic garbage bag just on top or does it encase everything?

I assume I should slide a thermometer underneath to test it out ahead of time. What temperatures should I be looking for?

 

[aart]

Quote: I have played with changing the rack, ended up removing every other wire so heads don't get stuck, had that happen a couple times but with no injuries/fatalities. Pad underneath rack would remove all risk of 'rack capture', but introduces other complications I didn't care to deal with but am still thinking about.

The video was taken at a couple days out of incubator, brooder was inside house at about 60-65F ambient.
I've since brooded out in coop starting at one week old at much lower ambient temps, convinced this was possible after watching a broody hen raise chicks in sub freezing weather....chicks were out bopping about at 5F, albeit for short durations.

Don't bother trying to get a temp under there, it doesn't work like a heat lamp by heating the air and ground/floor underneath it, but by the chicks being able to contact their backs against pad. That contact aspect is why adjustable legs are essential IMO...and a flat pad utilizes more of the pad surface thus adequately servicing more chicks.

 

[Dmontgomery]

I have played with changing the rack, ended up removing every other wire so heads don't get stuck, had that happen a couple times but with no injuries/fatalities. Pad underneath rack would remove all risk of 'rack capture', but introduces other complications I didn't care to deal with but am still thinking about.

The video was taken at a couple days out of incubator, brooder was inside house at about 60-65F ambient.
I've since brooded out in coop starting at one week old at much lower ambient temps, convinced this was possible after watching a broody hen raise chicks in sub freezing weather....chicks were out bopping about at 5F, albeit for short durations. 

Don't bother trying to get a temp under there, it doesn't work like a heat lamp by heating the air and ground/floor underneath it, but by the chicks being able to contact their backs against pad. That contact aspect is why adjustable legs are essential IMO...and a flat pad utilizes more of the pad surface thus adequately servicing more chicks.

What other complications please?

I wish I had reliable broody hens and did not have to worry about any of this. We replaced nearly the whole flock last spring and bought hens for egg production, not broodiness. Only the 4 year old OEGB sat on eggs last year. She can only cover 3 at a time but gave us 2 hatchings. Unfortunately it came out to be 6 roosters. I'd love to let the hens do all the work and give us a couple dozen babies. I wouldn't need the MHP or the grow out pen and either!

So there's no way to test out my creation ahead of time? Just need to have the heat-lamp backup ready to go, in case.

 

[aart]

Quote: The various fastening techniques can be laborious and clumsy IMO, they just don't satisfy me as a designer.
Many introduce more components to 'clean'....I like simple, easy to operate and maintain.
There have been more than a few chicks trapped in the gaps of various coverings/wrappings of assembly.
There are many ways to do this type of chick heating, like the design of almost everything DIY there will be drawbacks with any technique.
What I have now works fine and I haven't found any further improvements that panned out yet.

Yeah, not really any way to 'test' and a lamp back up is not a bad idea, I still utilize a lamp(with 60W incandescent and dimmer cord) in certain situations,
like when first removed from bator I put one over the food/water area until I'm convinced they are all eating, drinking and moving well.
Then you may have to 'convince' them to go, and stay, under the pad...might have to hold them under until they 'feel the heat' and 'get it'.
Like about everything else built for chickens you'll have to remain flexible and creative, observe and adjust accordingly.
One thing I did measure accurately was the surface of the pad, using a laser type thermometer it reads about 100-110F, which is about par with the commercial chick heating plates.

 

[Beekissed]

I looked at your "pseudo brooder" and I have all the components to make something similar. Did you change anything from the original 2015 design? Do you remember how cold it was the day you made the video? They looked very comfortable.

Blooie, I like Bee's idea of strapping the pad under the wire better too. Is the plastic garbage bag just on top or does it encase everything?

I assume I should slide a thermometer underneath to test it out ahead of time. What temperatures should I be looking for?

The garbage bag is under the pillow case and is used just like the pillow case, encasing the whole setup. No way a chick can be trapped in the wires with this setup and no way any moisture or poop will encounter the HP. It's simple, effective and cheap...no fussing or adjusting is needed. I've used the same setup over and over with excellent results. as the chicks get larger, one merely has to pull up a fraction on the wire at the peak of the brooder to increase the height of the roof...no legs to adjust when using just the square set wire frame.

This shows the position of the pad and how the wire frame is shaped...the bungees in this pic are placed on the outside of the whole setup but are merely next to the pad in this pic to how how the pad is positioned.




This shows how low the brooder is to the surface, bringing it in contact with the chick's backs.....




This pic shows the finished brooder, as it is used in the brooder area by me....





And I've found it's simple enough to keep it pretty clean of poops on top if I just deposit some bedding or hay on it and then just brush that off each day and put a fresh handful or two up there. The HP generally bakes the poop dry enough to be brushed off easily.

 

[twigcrafter]

Never use duct tape in brooder! So sad, I learned this the hard way. I put duct tape to cover the edges of the mesh and it came undone during the night. I woke up to 3 tiny bantan babies glued so tight I had to cut the tape off as best I could. 2 are fine. the other one is not. 2 still have bits of tape on them. I can't get it all off with out pulling off their fuzz. I feel so horrible about it

 

[bruceha2000]

Stuff happens @twigcrafter don't beat yourself up over it.

Don't worry about those last little bits of tape. Chicks moult out several times before the get their adult feathers. Those pieces of tape will be taken care of 'naturally'.

Live and learn and (as you did) teach others.

 

[twigcrafter]

thanks Bruce,
it gets worse. I put the chicks in another brooder under a light so I could fix the mamma brooder and I found a dead chick stuck to the ceiling in duct tape.

I'm trying the cookie sheet in a pillow case set on bricks, and tuna sized cans. They seem happy under the light, but I'm worried about fire safety.
on the bright side, I recounted the chicks and I was sent 4 extras not two. So I did end up with what I ordered + 2 doa, 1 not doing good because of me, and 1 I killed by me by duct tape accident.

I hope my mistake helps others not to do what I did.

 

[bruceha2000]

How stable is the cookie sheet on bricks and tuna cans?? I think one of the reasons the original design works well is its simplicity. You just smoosh it into the shape you need to start with then smoosh again as needed as the chicks grow. Self supporting on its edges. Since it is a single piece of material (often fencing) it can't fall off its supports. Of course that can't happen with some of the "flat plate" designs that have threaded legs supporting side rails either.