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

[Nathan J]

OK, I got some pictures. First time doing this so I hope I don't screw it up.

Can anybody confirm that the black with yellow on face are the Barred Rocks, and the ones with black face "mask" are Australorps? Or is it the reverse?

 

[debid]

Lower left is a barred Rock. They have a spot on top of their heads, Australorps don't.

 

[Nathan J]

Quote: Ah, OK. So I guess I had it backwards. I was just searching the forum to try to ascertain the answer to my question and had just realized that. (ETA: Of course if I had just done a Google image search it would have been easier and faster! Doh)

So this one is a BR:


And these two:


And this is a Black Australorp (at least I hope so!):


Sorry for pulling this off topic. No more.

 

[Blooie]

So, another update on my saga (if anybody cares

). I went back out about an hour & 20 later and they were all still under MHP. Just a little soft cheeping as I pulled back the cover and let some light in. But nobody came out. I did some cleaning up and used some cardboard to make their world a bit smaller, as advised by @Shezadandy . They still didn't come out. No problem. I haven't turned on their light so the garage light is just providing some soft light, kind of like a dawn effect. I'll turn theirs on after I get done here.

I've been feeding them fermented chick starter on a couple of food container lids and I have dry in a feeder. They've barely touched the dry and crowd around the fermented/wet. So that's good, as the reverse is sometimes a problem, apparently (I think?). I also put some Nutri-Drench in their water, as well as ACV, garlic, honey. I'm still trying to get a sense of just how much mess to allow in their food; balancing waste vs. sanitation. They do like to stand in it, don't they? Surprisingly little poop in there though, as far as I've can tell.

I was going to put a drop of the Nutri-Drench in their mouths upon first arrival but that quickly went by the wayside. There was no way I was going to make that happen with that big dropper and my somewhat clumsy (aka newby) handling of them! So I gave up after dripping a bunch on the first one without a bit going in his little mouth.

I'm sure it's possible, but not with me right now! Interesting scent to that stuff. Not offensive, just unique. (vitamin-y smell, now that I think about it; duh).

Sorry for lack of pictures but I don't have a smartphone (shocking, right? how do I live?

) and so taking and posting pictures is a big hassle that just doesn't fit in right now.

Edited to add: I've got 5 Barred Rocks, 5 Black Australorps, and 6 Golden Comets (they sent an extra), from Cackle Hatchery. They shipped on Monday and I got them at 3 pm on Tuesday, for those wondering. They are all in good shape so far, active, etc. Hopefully that continues.

Nope, nobody cares....that's why this thread is 895 pages long!

You're silly!! Of course we care! If you want to keep the space heater on, go ahead. I don't think it's hurting anything if it's only keeping the room at 39 degrees, unless you have it sitting right at the brooder box and aimed at it. If that's the case, you might be kinda counteracting the fire prevention advantage of MHP. Did you enjoy that soft little churring sound they make when they're all tucked in for the night? I just love that!

Remember that those chicks won't live under MHP all of the time - they duck under for a quick warmup and then they're out exploring again. So as long as they figure out WHERE the heat is, just let them self regulate. It's what they're programmed to do. Granted, in the beginning they sometimes need a little tough love to teach them where it's warm, but once they have it, they'll sit on top, along the sides, and underneath. I've seen broody hen raised chicks that couldn't figure out to get back under mom, too! Silly things, standing on the other side of the coop chirping their little heads off because they're cold but not smart enough to go over and pop under mommy.<sigh> But once they have her figured out, they remember. With MHP, they crawl all over the darn thing, and you'll look at them and think, "Get UNDER there where it's warm! That's what I built the darn thing for!" But they don't NEED to be under as much as we think we do...we've been taught that they have to be at 95 degrees constantly for the first week, 90 the second, and so on so we panic when they aren't constantly warm.

You got them to sleep in there all through the night. You've got this!!

 

[Blooie]

Ah, OK. So I guess I had it backwards. I was just searching the forum to try to ascertain the answer to my question and had just realized that. (ETA: Of course if I had just done a Google image search it would have been easier and faster! Doh)






Sorry for pulling this off topic. No more.

As far as I'm concerned you were just paying your membership dues in the Broody Brigade and asking a question at the same time.....

 

[aart]

I've been feeding them fermented chick starter on a couple of food container lids and I have dry in a feeder. They've barely touched the dry and crowd around the fermented/wet. So that's good, as the reverse is sometimes a problem, apparently (I think?).
I also put some Nutri-Drench in their water, as well as ACV, garlic, honey.

I'd just give them plain water, or maybe just the ND, and make sure they are all drinking it (did you dip beaks?)...
.......and of course check them all for pasty butt.

 

[DourS]

Thanks everyone for all the great information in this thread. My 6 BOs are doing well. One's a little slow but I think she will come around.

.

 

[Nathan J]

and make sure they are all drinking it (did you dip beaks?)...
.......and of course check them all for pasty butt.

Yep, they seem to be drinking fine, although it's really tough to be sure about all 16 of them. Hard to keep track!

I'm gonna do a pasty butt inspection right now. Thanks

 

[Nathan J]

You've got this!!

Yeah, I was just concerned that they weren't getting the "go under there and be warm" thing, even after several iterations of putting them there and them wandering out after a nap. That with the extreme overnight cold. I do get the whole concept, for sure. Thanks to this thread.

But they're fine, even though most of them appear to have spent at least part of the night huddling up away from MHP.

 

[10AcreChick]

It's been awhile since I have been on this thread. It's so awesome that it is always here when I have questions! Blooie, want you to know that I FINALLY made my MHP out of cattle panel and HC over it. Definitely the way to go! Sturdy as all get out! Made a rectangular lean-to type for some 4 week chicks I have, and they jump all over that thing! I also made a dome-shape sloped frame that I am going to add to the coop brooder when I move 30some more 1 weekers out in a couple weeks (hatching this Saturday, wish me luck!). I have some questions!

First, anyone think I'm going to have problems adding 30some one week olds to a brooder with nine 5-week olds? I'm hoping they will outnumber them so they won't be bullied and picked on? Not worried about MHP size, as I am going to have two and they are sloped, so it's the chicks choice where she goes in the cave!

Second, I have been trying to find the BEST thing to cover my MHP with. My heating pad is underneath hardware cloth, on the bottom side of the roof of the cave. I keep using old pillow cases to cover the top, one because I have extra pillow cases laying around and two because if I just covered it with straw or wood chips we all know they would just kick all that off and then poop would just fall through to the heating pad. The heating pads are washable, but I don't want to get them all that dirty or have to wash them in the middle of a brood! I know I can wrap it in seran wrap, but they will still kick off the straw (or it'll just slide off) and the seran wrap won't absorb and be nasty for them to sit on. I'm running out of pillow cases, and have no intention to wash them in my washer. So, I was thinking like some kind of fake grass rug (though it needs to be thin so the heat will warm the top) that I could spray with the water hose and have two so I can put a new one on while it dries? Anyone got a better idea?

Third, my current hatch is on day 18 and I will be locking down today. Candling has shown some drastic differences in air cell size between the eggs, maybe due to thick or porous shells, I'm not sure. Some look good, some way small (like 10 days), some pretty large. What do ya'll recommend, if anything, to deal with this during lockdown? Should I keep humidity the same I always do, around 65%, or something different? I do not have two incubators.

Thank you!