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

[MichelleT]

I don't know why I forgot to respond to this, but I'm sure by now you've figured out that yes, they are too big if she can get in. Did you figure out away to remedy it?

I just made them a little shorter. And the run is now available to little ones all day. My red sex links are not mother material but they're starting to accept that the little ones aren't going anywhere. They don't peck at the chicks anymore, just kind of charge them. I think sometimes they do it just to watch the chaos that follows.

 

[MichelleT]

I just made them a little shorter. And the run is now available to little ones all day. My red sex links are not mother material but they're starting to accept that the little ones aren't going anywhere. They don't peck at the chicks anymore, just kind of charge them. I think sometimes they do it just to watch the chaos that follows.

"Them" being the doors (that I shortened). Not the chicks.

 

[AllynTal]

...Was at my sister's place this weekend admiring their additions for this year (a little younger than mine if i recall correctly)and she and mom both could not stop talking about how easy MHP made things. They brooded in the coop with the older flock and the integration was a complete non issue. Here's the babies out ranging near the adult flick

I have been saying that since the first day using MHP. Brooding and integration are seamless. I brooder them right in the coop with the olders. I had to drop out of a chicken FB group because I couldn't stand the idiocy there. I was being accused of being cruel and how I shouldn't have chickens because I was singing the praises of the MHP. A woman said her chickens pecked to death her chicks when she tried to integrate them at 8 weeks, so me suggesting that I could integrate them sooner was just a lie and I shouldn't give advice if I don't know what I'm talking about. Here's a few of the most recent hatch with some of the fully mature chickens. Chicks are about 6 weeks in that pic. (Chicks are marked with the pink dot in the pic.) Do they look like they're getting pecked to death?

Oh! And here's a shot at four weeks.

 

[Blooie]

I've received the same attitude on BYC's Facebook page at times, but I keep plugging along. I say my piece with a little patience and kindness, answer any questions, provide photos and links and let folks decide for themselves. Name calling I totally ignore. Misconceptions I correct. And differences in flock management styles I just accept. If anything gets a little too far fetched - like spreading panic that chicks have litterally burned their feet off on MHP, I debunk that quickly. I figure I'm not here to rattle cages, or sell miracles- I just want to offer alternatives. And when worst comes to worst, i know how to turn off notifications for a post so I'm not adding fuel to a fire or becoming a target. Oh, and the scroll button on my mouse works perfectly so I can scroll past the insults to my character. When the profanity and the posts become way too cruel and veer to the subject of whether my parents were married cousins, I'll report that

Most heartening to me is the sheer numbers of people who aren't active on BYC home page and had still managed to put one together and are shocked at the differences in their chicks. If I'd known I should have been part of the witness protection program to keep Blooie and Diane separate, I'd have dyed my hair or something. But they see my photo and instantly know who I am and want to share their experiences. And they share them with others as well. Chipping away at the old school method without offering a viable alternative turns people away. But say, "this is what thousands of us, whether we're old hands or getting our first chicks are doing" lends a bit of respectability to our points, which helps everyone do a good job, even if it's their first time with chicks.

And I have an amazing team walking with me.

 

[MichelleT]

I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your attitude and patience. I am SO grateful for your wisdom... that I don't have 4 week old chicks in my house still, that I didn't need a huge brooder to accomadate their constant growth, that they're pretty much hands-off at this point, that the the only thing (besides making my doors too big! oops!) I have had to be super-vigilant about is that the pad doesn't get turned off. They're somewhere between 4 and 6 weeks right now and although the pad is on (2) still, they seldom use it anymore. They're darting in and out of their safe-place (which is getting way too small for them to be in there full time now anyway), tearing around in a group of 5 and happy as happy can be.

I can't say that our transition has been 'seemless', but my prior flock consisted of 'retired' organic industry layers. None are prone to broodiness and have never been in a mixed flock before. They're not friendly to the littlies by any means, but they ignore them about 50% of the time and the rest of the time they're separated (out-of-run foraging) or they charge them, but don't peck. I honestly think that they charge them just to get a laugh out of the craziness that ensues; they don't chase them down at all, just watch the mayhem. I also provide other safe-places in the run... I prop the window that I put on the brooder at night up against a wall with enough room that they can fit behind it. Their brooder is close to a fence so that they can go behind it if need be. They don't really need to though.

I'm thinking that soon I'll leave the brooder up and ready for safety and move the MHP into the coop ... maybe with a clothes basket or something on top to that the big girls can't get to them first thing in the morning if I don't get down there fast enough. AT what point do I know they're ready to move into the big house?

 

[perchie.girl]

when they have all their feathers

 

[MichelleT]

when they have all their feathers

Thanks. A couple do, but I have a couple that still need their head feathers, although they're coming. So pretty soon!

 

[AllynTal]

....I'm thinking that soon I'll leave the brooder up and ready for safety and move the MHP into the coop ... maybe with a clothes basket or something on top to that the big girls can't get to them first thing in the morning if I don't get down there fast enough. AT what point do I know they're ready to move into the big house?

As long as they have a place to see and be seen, but where the olders can't get them, they can go out to the coop from the incubator. If you wait until they are all feathered out, they don't need the MHP anymore so moving them with the MHP can be done sooner.....like now.

 

[PeepsInCarolina]

CAUTION! I am a new chick mama, and when buying a chick feeder, our local hardware store only had the galvanized. These are dangerous to chicks, even larger chicks! One of my tiny chicks got cut on his neck while eating. I am attaching a photo. We doctored him, and he seems fine, but we removed the thing right away.......it's so sad We also had the long one for the big chicks, and one got his head hung. Just a warning to chick owners.....

 

[AllynTal]

I think the problem may be in the quality of the feeder, not the material it is made of. The plastic feeders can have sharp edges, too, if the flash isn't trimmed when it is removed from the mold. The danger is in not checking for sharp edges. Running a finger around the openings of the feeder will reveal potential problems.