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

[Kater_tot]

We did loose one chick
I'm thinking shipping stress

 

[Finge]

What type of heating pads can I use for chicks? Can I use one from Walmart?

 

[bruceha2000]

You need a pad that will NOT turn off automatically or if it has that feature, has a way to defeat it. There are a couple of pads that most people have used, you might have to read through the really long thread to find one of the posts that mention them. But, my first sentence is THE requirement and I'm sure there are pads that fit the bill but aren't the "commonly used" ones.

 

[Finge]

okay, I believe this one doesn't switch off automatically. it gets warm enough, so I think it'll work for the chicks im trying to hatch.

 

[Birdinhand]

we have two Sunbeam XXL's and are making two adjustable height MHP's for 37 CX that are coming tomorrow. I'll report back on how it goes. if anyone has any tips about raising CX with a MHP, I'm all ears. I've raised them with great success in the past but am hoping to find a way around the nasty heat lamps that burned my daughter last spring and provide a fire hazard. I am also looking forward to a more natural sleep cycle for the chicks.

 

[aart]

we have two Sunbeam XXL's and are making two adjustable height MHP's for 37 CX that are coming tomorrow. I'll report back on how it goes. if anyone has any tips about raising CX with a MHP, I'm all ears. I've raised them with great success in the past but am hoping to find a way around the nasty heat lamps that burned my daughter last spring and provide a fire hazard. I am also looking forward to a more natural sleep cycle for the chicks.

Looking forward to hearing about your experience, hope you can post some pics of your setup. Only thing that comes to mind from past reading is:
Using 2 pads in a 12x24 layout is better than a 24x24 layout so chicks don't get stuck in the middle and can't find a way out as easily if they are too warm.
I think the 2 pads need to be right next to each other or they'll all try to huddle under one pad as they like to be together.
Recall a CX getting burned on bare skin but think that was from a premier or brinsea heat plate, not the heating pad, tho if pad is on a metal rack that rack can get pretty hot.

 

[bruceha2000]

Yeah, strap the pad UNDER the metal rack. If the rack has a height difference front to back (as is the case with the basic design), the chicks can find the "sweet spot" with respect to how much their backs are up against the pad at any point in time.

And yes, at least one MHP user did find that if there is more than one cave, the birds will try to stay together under one of them yet there is not enough room. Make a single cave that is wider (left to right) than deep (front to back). You'll need to put more effort into the wire frame if you are using 2 XL Sunbeam pads, they are 24" wide which would make a cave just under 4' wide (allowing for side coverage) and WILL need to be extra stiff or have structural support.

 

[lazy gardener]

we have two Sunbeam XXL's and are making two adjustable height MHP's for 37 CX that are coming tomorrow. I'll report back on how it goes. if anyone has any tips about raising CX with a MHP, I'm all ears. I've raised them with great success in the past but am hoping to find a way around the nasty heat lamps that burned my daughter last spring and provide a fire hazard. I am also looking forward to a more natural sleep cycle for the chicks.

Looking forward to hearing about your experience, hope you can post some pics of your setup. Only thing that comes to mind from past reading is:
Using 2 pads in a 12x24 layout is better than a 24x24 layout so chicks don't get stuck in the middle and can't find a way out as easily if they are too warm.
I think the 2 pads need to be right next to each other or they'll all try to huddle under one pad as they like to be together.
Recall a CX getting burned on bare skin but think that was from a premier or brinsea heat plate, not the heating pad, tho if pad is on a metal rack that rack can get pretty hot.

Yeah, strap the pad UNDER the metal rack. If the rack has a height difference front to back (as is the case with the basic design), the chicks can find the "sweet spot" with respect to how much their backs are up against the pad at any point in time.

And yes, at least one MHP user did find that if there is more than one cave, the birds will try to stay together under one of them yet there is not enough room. Make a single cave that is wider (left to right) than deep (front to back). You'll need to put more effort into the wire frame if you are using 2 XL Sunbeam pads, they are 24" wide which would make a cave just under 4' wide (allowing for side coverage) and WILL need to be extra stiff or have structural support.

All good points. This season, I brooded 48 LF chicks with 2 XXL Sunbeams. B/C of the lay out of my brooder/coop, I did not find it practical to do the 12 x 48" configuration. So I messed around with making an L shape, but was not happy with the support system I had in place for that. I ended up placing the standard caves beside each other, with about a 4" "walk way" between them. IIRC, I raised the front 12" W section of each pad so that they sloped down at only the back 12" section of each pad, providing them with exit from both 12" front sections, the 4" pathway, and both 24" sides. It worked well, with the chicks seeming to be plenty warm, and using that pathway as yet an other place to stay warm while viewing their world.

It's been a long time since I've brooded CXR, and that was with the standard heat lamp brooding. I think that even though they are slower to feather, their body mass makes them quicker to wean from heat. OP will have to stay on top of the adjustment of height considering how very fast they grow. Will also need to build the frame super solid b/c those beefy birds will pack on the pounds quickly, and they will all want to be perching on top of the frames. It might be a consideration to give them some huddle boxes, or wool hens as they grow. Given the heat of summer, they won't need electric heat for very long.

 

[Birdinhand]

thanks for the quick replies! has anyone experimented with a "gras skirt" (can't think of any other way to describe it), skirting the edges to hold the heat in without having them go to the ground, so the chicks can come and go from all sides. I'm a little concerned that I'm going with two really large ones, I would have gone with more smaller ones to assure no one gets stuck and overheated inside. I'm getting up and getting to work early on this. I normally would have this all figured out well in advance but we got the idea to pick up the chicks after going to OR for the eclipse but the hatcher was smart and moved their hatch date so their shipments didn't get delayed from all the insane traffic. the hatcher offered to ship and we got excited and jumped on it, so here we are, with chicks arriving today, ack... chicken math strikes again!

 

[Molpet]

we have two Sunbeam XXL's and are making two adjustable height MHP's for 37 CX that are coming tomorrow. I'll report back on how it goes. if anyone has any tips about raising CX with a MHP, I'm all ears. I've raised them with great success in the past but am hoping to find a way around the nasty heat lamps that burned my daughter last spring and provide a fire hazard. I am also looking forward to a more natural sleep cycle for the chicks.

I had 5 in w/some layer chicks and 2 BBB turkeys.. the cx were the first to quit going underneath and just stayed on top.