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

[Scotty from BI]

Question regarding the heat pad under the frame. Would it become soiled if it were unprotected, suspended above the chicks? Obviously they could not drop anything on it , but if the tops of the chicks where they would rub up against the heating pad material make the pad smelly or dirty?

 

[junebuggena]

Question regarding the heat pad under the frame. Would it become soiled if it were unprotected, suspended above the chicks? Obviously they could not drop anything on it , but if the tops of the chicks where they would rub up against the heating pad material make the pad smelly or dirty?

The pad covers are washable. And the pad itself can be wiped clean.

 

[aart]

I'm thinking instead of tape use an ace bandage.

Ehh...maybe....but they could work their way under the edges and the layers of bandage would reduce heat.

Question regarding the heat pad under the frame. Would it become soiled if it were unprotected, suspended above the chicks? Obviously they could not drop anything on it , but if the tops of the chicks where they would rub up against the heating pad material make the pad smelly or dirty?

I use small bungies to hold pad under rack, nothing else, have had no soiling of pad, just some fuzz. The pad I have can actually be machine washed.

 

[Blooie]

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

I did get one of mine at Walmart - you can also often find them at Walgreens or other chain drug stores. I only use a Sunbeam xPress heat, and it will say right on the box if it has the "stay on" feature. That's the only essential with the heating pad, it can't turn off after a preset amount of time or it defeats the purpose.

does anyone have an updated spec list? this thread is so long it's hard to know what the current state of the art is for the MHP. In particular, is there consensus on the best height for the front and the back for one day old chicks. I'm at 3.5 inches in the front and about 2 inches in the back. I have bedding piled up around the edges with the towel draped down, in such a way so they can get in and out easily but still retaining heat. I have it pretty low, mostly so they have to hunch down a bit to get under it. they seem to be handling it well, the loud chirping has pretty much stopped. if I point a laser heat gun inside, on a chick I get around 99 f, which is about right. the ground is more like in the upper 70's. I am wondering if I should raise the front some so there is standing room? here is a photo about 20 minutes after the initial introduction. I placed them under to make sure they got that it was warm. I let them all take a good drink from a small bowel before leaving them with a nipple waterer and some food. the last time I checked they seemed to be picking up the nipple waterer technique quite well.View attachment 1121073

If you look at the very first post, other than now putting the heating pad on the inside of the frame rather than on top, I still haven't changed at thing from that very first setup. There have been plenty of modifications and changes since then, all shared on this thread (and thank goodness for that kind of sharing) but the basics just don't change. At the bottom of the very first post in this thread is a link to Beekissed's excellent photos and description of how she sets hers up, and that is what I switched to. Once the link takes you to that page in the thread, I believe her post is about halfway down, maybe a little less. Good luck!

 

[Finge]

Well, I tested it, and it seemed to stay on all night, im using Heat Relief heating pad. It doesn't say that it stays on feature, just that it has an on and off switch on the cord.

 

[Molpet]

Well, I tested it, and it seemed to stay on all night, im using Heat Relief heating pad. It doesn't say that it stays on feature, just that it has an on and off switch on the cord.

does it have a couple of settings? Mine had high, med and low... after a day high was too hot for them

 

[Finge]

does it have a couple of settings? Mine had high, med and low... after a day high was too hot for them

No, it just has a switch that I can turn on and off. that's all it has

 

[darttater]

Does any one tried the MHP with baby ducks? I'm tempting to raise some ducks in near future.

 

[Blooie]

Yes, some have - but remember that with the different body shape on ducks and geese, you'll need to adjust the "cave" height more carefully, and be sure that their setup is farther away from the water! Good luck!

 

[Brittany Bennett]

Don't know if this has been pointed out or not, but your chicks really need to have contact with the heating pad in order to stay warm enough....you need the heating pad to be INSIDE whatever you are using as a cave or the material of the cave needs to be open as in wire, netting, etc. so they can get direct contact with the heat source, as they would a mother.

Here's my setup using a small portion of welded wire fence and using bungee cords to keep the heating pad on the underside of the "mama"....this pic shows the first step in building the mama. Her bones, so to speak.





Then I cover that with a trash bag to keep it clean from poo(her skin), then cover that with a flannel pillow case....her feathers.



More feathers....hay.



Then added chicks...you can see them putting their backs up against her warm "belly". You really need that heating pad where they can put their little bodies up against it without the coffee can creating a barrier to that process.



With such a setup they can feel the warmth from mama from underneath and also by standing on top of her....but the bottom is most definitely warmer.



With the wire framing you can adjust the height in less than a second by just pressing down on the middle. The meat chicks in the above pic didn't need the mama to be low to the ground as they don't tolerate heat as well as standard laying type chicks. For regular chicks I position it so they have to duck and crawl a little to get underneath it so that the heat source is closer to their bodies...as they age I just pull that middle portion upward and also turn down the pad a little so they can transition much like a mama hen does for them.




With a coffee can you can't make such adjustments, nor can they have direct access to the heat source....I'd suggest using a different material for your HPM.

Do you have any fire hazard problems when wrapping the trash bag all the way around the wire and heating pad? I'm worried the trash bag might cause a fire with the pad inside of it then the flannel covering all.