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

[jessnurse05]

HELP HELP HELP............. maybe.

As this is my first hatchlings (about 3 days old?), I am a nervous FluffButt Momma. I can't get my 8 OFF the MHP! There are at least 4 who slept inside the ChickCave while 4 who slept on top. OK no worries.

Now ALL of them are sleeping on top. They've been kicking, scratching and pecking at the bedding on top of the ChickCave, until they uncover the press and sealed towel. However, it doesn't seem like they wanna get off! I've put them down back to the food and water but as soon as I do, BAM.... they're back on top.

What I know so far:

1. They have eaten at least once from their feeder (as we saw them do it, and we see the food scattered all over the brick)
2. We're not sure whether or not they've drank any water, although they've all had their beaks up to the nipples at least twice.
3. Right now, the inside of the ChickCave is a balmy 86°F, not sure about the top.

So, tips? Advice? Reassurance!!!

~D

If they are active, eating, drinking and pooping then don't worry! My 2 day old babies don't seem to eat and drink much, but they are definitely pooping so I know they are also eating and drinking.

How warm is the room where the brooder is?

Check and see if the chick cave is too low for them too. At first mine was too low and I noticed them pancaked on the floor under it with their wings out and panting. I just adjusted it so it was about an inch taller and then they were fine.

 

[Molpet]

We literally brought them home about 6 hours ago. They went into the brooder with just the food and water first. We then put the MHP ChickenCave in about 45 minutes later. They did duck in and out of if, then 4 slept inside while 4 slept on top. They all bobbed around the brooder and ended up on top where they've stayed.

tonight if they don't go in you may have to put them in and keep your hand in front to keep them in until they settle down...it's all new to them too

 

[Smuvers Farm]

If they are active, eating, drinking and pooping then don't worry! My 2 day old babies don't seem to eat and drink much, but they are definitely pooping so I know they are also eating and drinking.

How warm is the room where the brooder is?

Check and see if the chick cave is too low for them too. At first mine was too low and I noticed them pancaked on the floor under it with their wings out and panting. I just adjusted it so it was about an inch taller and then they were fine.

Ambient room temp is 68°F. Interior ChickCave is 86°F. The front of the cave is about 5 inches high. Should we reset it higher?

 

[Smuvers Farm]

tonight if they don't go in you may have to put them in and keep your hand in front to keep them in until they settle down...it's all new to them too

Gotcha. We've stuck them in and blocked them off a couple of times. The first time is when 4 stayed in and slept. The second time they just jetted out pretty quickly! lol

 

[jessnurse05]

Ambient room temp is 68°F. Interior ChickCave is 86°F. The front of the cave is about 5 inches high. Should we reset it higher?

Ok, that is about what my setup is like. I would just make sure they all get under it before you turn off the lights for the night and then check to make sure they stay under. They probably aren't eating and drinking too much because of the stress of the day.

 

[Smuvers Farm]

Ok, that is about what my setup is like. I would just make sure they all get under it before you turn off the lights for the night and then check to make sure they stay under. They probably aren't eating and drinking too much because of the stress of the day.

OK thank you! I was worried and not worried.... and that was causing more anxiety than necessary.... lol

 

[Blooie]

Ambient room temp is 68°F. Interior ChickCave is 86°F. The front of the cave is about 5 inches high. Should we reset it higher?

Nope. It should be fine. When I first started doing this, @azygous asked me what the temperature was under there. Shoot, I didn't know, but I got curious later on so I put a wireless
thermometer under it. The temperature read 82,5 under it and 69.8 degrees in the room. WHAAT??? My chicks should have been dead instead of running all over the place being adorable after 5 days in there.



As for the chicks not going underneath it, I'd relax. They don't spend all their time under the broody hen, either. They like to lay on top of her, tucked along a wing, or out exploring their surroundings. Even as little chicks they like being higher. If you think they should be under there more, turn the heat down a notch and see if it was just too hot for them under there. Then tonight, put them in, darken the room, and hold your hand in front so they settle down. You should hear the sounds of 8 little chicks purring as they go to sleep. I remember hearing that for the first time and I couldn't get enough of it.

I use large pine flakes in the brooder indoors, and the first day I put paper towels over it. Oh, sure, they nibble at it, but they really don't eat enough of it (if any) to worry about. The biggest reason I do the paper towels is to keep an eye on the poop. Yep. I only keep chicks indoors the first day or so. I want to make sure they aren't suffering from shipping stress, to know that they know where food and water is and that they are getting some of it, and to make sure they know where the warm spot is. I only do that with chicks out of my incubator or those that have been shipped.....chicks I pick up locally do directly to the outdoor brooder, and I use straw in there. We had a power outage during a snowstorm with high winds, and I had week old chicks out there when the power went out during the night while we were sleeping. The sound of it coming back on is what woke us and we immediately got dressed and went out to check them and turn the pad back on. Shoot, they were more upset with us and that pesky flashlight than they were the storm - the straw held enough residual heat to sustain them.

Good luck, everyone!

 

[cjpeeps]

I don't know if I can answer all of your questions, but I can tell you what I've done. This is my first year hatching chicks and I'm on the 3rd batch! For the first 2 that hatched I did paper towels for 2 days because I heard that they would eat the pine shavings. Then I put in pine shavings and ditched the paper towels. They pecked at the shavings but they didn't eat anything significant from them. The next batch hatched a week later and went into the same brooder so they started on the shavings and they were just fine. Shavings blow EVERYWHERE since I'm using a dog kennel as a brooder (reinforced with hardware cloth) so I switched to straw once the little chicks were a few days old and were running and hopping all over.

I'm not sure what you mean by pine pellets though. I used the big pine shavings because I had some, but I've also used the fine pine shavings that the feed store sells in a bag by the cubic foot and they have been fine on those too.

Thank you, that is what I recall also about shavings and behavior. I think someone linked to the pellets. They are used for horse bedding, and wet down in that context so that they fluff up. I think the concern is that if eaten they would expand in the stomach of the chick and kill them. The pine pellets I used to use were much to large to be eaten, but might be a bit unstable for little legs, hence the use of paper towels on top until they got a bigger.

I used the shavings covered in paper towel for the first week, then shavings.. I bought some pine pellets to try this year, haven't used them yet...several have been using them and thought they were good https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/164867/wood-pine-pellets-for-chicks

Thanks, yes, that is one of the threads I read. Good info there.

I use large pine flakes in the brooder indoors, and the first day I put paper towels over it. Oh, sure, they nibble at it, but they really don't eat enough of it (if any) to worry about. The biggest reason I do the paper towels is to keep an eye on the poop. Yep. I only keep chicks indoors the first day or so. I want to make sure they aren't suffering from shipping stress, to know that they know where food and water is and that they are getting some of it, and to make sure they know where the warm spot is. I only do that with chicks out of my incubator or those that have been shipped.....chicks I pick up locally do directly to the outdoor brooder, and I use straw in there. We had a power outage during a snowstorm with high winds, and I had week old chicks out there when the power went out during the night while we were sleeping. The sound of it coming back on is what woke us and we immediately got dressed and went out to check them and turn the pad back on. Shoot, they were more upset with us and that pesky flashlight than they were the storm - the straw held enough residual heat to sustain them.

Thank you, that is what I recalled - great tip about the paper towels and observation - thanks! I will look into straw as an option too.

 

[Smuvers Farm]

Nope. It should be fine. When I first started doing this, @azygous asked me what the temperature was under there. Shoot, I didn't know, but I got curious later on so I put a wireless
thermometer under it. The temperature read 82,5 under it and 69.8 degrees in the room. WHAAT??? My chicks should have been dead instead of running all over the place being adorable after 5 days in there.



As for the chicks not going underneath it, I'd relax. They don't spend all their time under the broody hen, either. They like to lay on top of her, tucked along a wing, or out exploring their surroundings. Even as little chicks they like being higher. If you think they should be under there more, turn the heat down a notch and see if it was just too hot for them under there. Then tonight, put them in, darken the room, and hold your hand in front so they settle down. You should hear the sounds of 8 little chicks purring as they go to sleep. I remember hearing that for the first time and I couldn't get enough of it.

I use large pine flakes in the brooder indoors, and the first day I put paper towels over it. Oh, sure, they nibble at it, but they really don't eat enough of it (if any) to worry about. The biggest reason I do the paper towels is to keep an eye on the poop. Yep. I only keep chicks indoors the first day or so. I want to make sure they aren't suffering from shipping stress, to know that they know where food and water is and that they are getting some of it, and to make sure they know where the warm spot is. I only do that with chicks out of my incubator or those that have been shipped.....chicks I pick up locally do directly to the outdoor brooder, and I use straw in there. We had a power outage during a snowstorm with high winds, and I had week old chicks out there when the power went out during the night while we were sleeping. The sound of it coming back on is what woke us and we immediately got dressed and went out to check them and turn the pad back on. Shoot, they were more upset with us and that pesky flashlight than they were the storm - the straw held enough residual heat to sustain them.

Good luck, everyone!

Thank you, Blooie, and everyone!

First time Momma jitters assuaged.

PS. They were trilling for a while and I had to google *do chickens sing?* and was met with comfort when I found out they DO, and that they do from contentment.

So happy!
~D

 

[lpyrbby]

Hi, I've been subbed for a while. I'm not sure the best place to post but as this is the method of brooding we are going to use when we hatch, I thought I'd post here

What is your experience with the mama brooder and bedding? Is there anything with heat retention, or chick behavior? Does it even matter?

The reason I ask is, when we were at the feed store recently pricing supplies, I asked where the pine pellets were, thinking we would use them when the chicks got older. I'd also heard of people using them with paper towels over the top to protect little feet. I had used them before keeping small mammals and found they reduced odor and dust significantly. Anyway, the feed store assistant, bless her, asked me what we needed them for, I tried to explain and she just about lost her mind when I told her what I intended. She kept saying that chicks eat everything, that they would eat the pine pellets, the paper towels, the pine shavings (yet pine shavings are ok to ingest? The feed store were using them in the tanks with glass bottoms and I noticed more than a few chicks with spraddle leg. It wasn't exactly inspiring confidence) It was a bit bewildering because having kept chicks before I know they very quickly figure out what is food and what isn't, and I'd never had a chick eat paper towels before.

I guess I'm just left feeling a bit bewildered by the whole experience - have I missed something important since I last kept chicks? If I have please let me know. Also let me know if you've found one type of bedding better than others with the mama heating pad brooder. Happy to tweak the plans so that we're ready when they hatch. Many thanks!

I'm using pine pellets in my brooder now on my second hatch. No complaints. Keep on keeping on!


Yes, I'm using the heat plate instead of the MHP right now. I'm getting things configured in the new, big coop for the MHP to go out there for future broods.