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

[a74aggie]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for this outstanding idea ! I have 6 chicks, 4 that are 2 weeks old and 2 that are one week old and this is working out sooooo GREAT !
On the highest setting, my thermometer initially indicated 100 and at first, and all chicks the first week were snuggled up under each night just fine.
The oldest ones now sleep at the very front and the 2 others stay farther back.
Working out great and as a first timer, I sleep as well as the chicks do !

 

[10AcreChick]

Bought two ducks at the farm store today. Firsttime duck owner. Can't get them interested in the MHP. Dont think they are more than a few days old and I have it turned all the way down to 2 (out of 6) and they still keep coming out and sleeping by the food and water. And its dark in the room. Apparently they aren't afraid of moving in the dark like chicks. Anyone?

 

[Blooie]

Bought two ducks at the farm store today. Firsttime duck owner. Can't get them interested in the MHP. Dont think they are more than a few days old and I have it turned all the way down to 2 (out of 6) and they still keep coming out and sleeping by the food and water. And its dark in the room. Apparently they aren't afraid of moving in the dark like chicks. Anyone?

I won't even attempt to answer this, never having had ducks, but I'm sure someone will be able to help.

I am so tickled to see so many "dues" rolling in. I may even be able to retire soon!

It does take a lot of mind-set change to get away from that notion that chicks will die in minutes if they aren't kept at 95 degrees for that first critical week, and I'm happy that it's settling out for so many of you.

But I need to stress, once again, to GO BY THE CHICK'S BEHAVIOR! That's your best gauge of how well your MHP is set up and working!

 

[ImportTheBest]

Well, I went out to check on them before heading to bed and about 5 meaties and 1 layer were​ all piled into a corner away from the MHP peeping and trying to get warm. Sigh.

So I gently stuffed them back in the warmth. The good news is they acted more like normal sleepy chickens and didn't run away while I was capturing them one at a time. I guess I'll be checking a few times tonight so that they don't become popsicles!
Note to self, a 4ft tall brooder box only seems like a good idea, in reality 3 ft tall is better esp when you have back issues.

 

[oldhen2345]

I have the SumBeam EXpress Heat heating pad at level 6. It really doesn't feel that warm to touch- but- in the MHP cave the chicks love it. They are quiet when they are in there which means they are warm enough and comfortable. Once I had it put in there with the towel on top to hold the heat in, it did heat up surprisingly inside the cave. I don't know that the chicks need an exact temperature of 100 degrees to survive. I used to be really anal about the heat lamp- had a temperature guage and adjusted the height of the lamp according to the temp. The chicks usually moved to the edges of the light where it was cooler. I just could not make them understand that they needed to be 100 degrees to live. LOL. It's like having kids, I guess. the first ones are so over cared for it is amazing they lived. The next kid does fine with less stress and worry from Mama. By the third kid, you are amazed at how easy they are to care for - warmth, food, water, safe place- they are good to go.

 

[Shezadandy]

the first ones are so over cared for it is amazing they lived. The next kid does fine with less stress and worry from Mama. By the third kid, you are amazed at how easy they are to care for - warmth, food, water, safe place- they are good to go.

LOL Spot-on!!

 

[debid]

So, every morning lately I find they've moved the MHP. The whole thing. The diaper cover will be off to one side, the controller pulled from the wire clip on the wall. It's​ like they have an early morning kegger in there and trash the place?! I peeked in on them in the dark last night and they were tucked in peacefully but when I checked this morning, again with the chaos.

 

[perchie.girl]

So, every morning lately I find they've moved the MHP. The whole thing. The diaper cover will be off to one side, the controller pulled from the wire clip on the wall. It's like they have an early morning kegger in there and trash the place?! I peeked in on them in the dark last night and they were tucked in peacefully but when I checked this morning, again with the chaos.

LOL you need to set up a trail cam....

 

[Blooie]

So, every morning lately I find they've moved the MHP. The whole thing. The diaper cover will be off to one side, the controller pulled from the wire clip on the wall. It's like they have an early morning kegger in there and trash the place?! I peeked in on them in the dark last night and they were tucked in peacefully but when I checked this morning, again with the chaos.

This is a totally new one on me, and I thought I'd heard 'em all!

 

[Nathan J]

Yeah it's amazing how far from nature we can sometimes stray. All you have to do is step back and think about what happens in the real world and it just clicks. I'm betting that the heat lamp technique and the temperature guidelines evolved in the commercial industry and were then adopted for the back yard chicken crowd. They're meant to be foolproof and a lowest common denominator kind of thing.

Let's face it, it's just easier to convey to people and give them a nice, neat, precise script to follow, without having to think too much or pick up on subtle clues from your chickens. "Any dummy can do it" is what they're looking for. And the negative outcomes are subtle and have become just known as "that's how chickens are" (i.e. edgy, mean, neurotic, etc.; all the stereotypes).

I haven't actually researched this, so I could be wrong. But the more I look into this the more convinced I am of this thesis. I've certainly read a number of anecdotes from more experienced folks that have done it both ways that say their chickens are different; more relaxed, sociable, etc. (I've seen some on this thread.)

But as with so much that we "know" (or thought we knew once) from the last century or so, it just isn't so. (Think "fat is bad", "cholesterol will give you heart attacks", "we should raise animals in the zoo in cages eating something they never eat in their natural environment"; I could go on and on; the medical & nutrition world are rife with them.) But one by one these things are being knocked down and being replaced by more common sense and a more naturalistic approach.