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

[azygous]

Hey you guys! Your chicks at five weeks old no longer need heat! They've been raised outside in the cold and have feathered out early because of it. You do not need to pamper them with continuing heat, especially a heating pad on high.

It's time to transition them to sleeping in a coop. Turn the pad down to the lowest setting for one night, then turn it off the next night. There. Done.

This is how I transition my chicks to sleeping in the coop for the first few nights without MHP. They sleep in an old cat pod. Snuggly and secure. No heat. Then in a week, they start to roost.

 

[casportpony]

New MHP in use! I took the new chicks from the travel box, tapped beaks to the water nipple, and waited. They started getting louder after a bit of exploring so I put a couple under the MHP and the rest followed. Silence. And now they're pros. Easy-peasy!

I managed to get my camera down where I could sneak a peek...

 

[aart]

It's 23F this AM. I went out to peek at the chicks and to check if their nipple waterer was frozen at all. Water is liquid, nipple works. Chicks are in a crescent around the lower part of the cave. I could see all their faces so they backed in until snug to sleep. They made happy little peeps at me and were quiet again when I closed the door. It's so different from how they were with the heat lamp!

ETA: pad is on "high", chicks are from 3 to 10 days old.

That's great.
How did your nipple waterer stay thawed at that temp?

 

[debid]

That's great.
How did your nipple waterer stay thawed at that temp?

The heat pad must have raised the ambient temperature just enough. I thought about hanging the water closer to the pad but decided to just get up early and see instead. It's about 2' away.

Oh, and I guess the whole batch is 3 days. The guy in front of me in line got mixed ages on his EEs so I thought mine might be last week's with those wing tips but after looking at old pictures, they're new hatches. They just tend to feather fast.

 

[The Golden Egg5]

Sorry I'm a newb at this, but would the wire get too hot for the chicks? Should I cover it with a towel? Or leave it for direct contact?

 

[OCeggs23]

Here is our MHP in action!

 

[aart]

Sorry I'm a newb at this, but would the wire get too hot for the chicks? Should I cover it with a towel? Or leave it for direct contact?

No, it won't.

 

[The Golden Egg5]

No, it won't.

Okay thank you!

 

[skidoolady]

So the consensus is to use the heating pad over top in some shape and not under the chicks?

 

[skidoolady]

Here is our MHP in action!

Your little peeps look happy