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

[GreenLove]

Thanks for the responses!

 

[Blooie]

You are so very welcome!

 

[Wol1]

My teenage son is constantly pointing out things like that. He's very nice about it, like he's speaking to someone who's not all there.

 

[lazy gardener]

Dandelioness: Count it a blessing that you've raised such a son!

 

[Blooie]

Well, it was bound to happen eventually. I have discovered the "down side" to Mama Heat Pad, and it's one that I never saw coming. I had the Littles outside with the Bigs. They are were all together, grazing and scratching and being chickens. I smiled as I watched them, suddenly so grown up and independent and I realized that the time spent raising them absolutely sped by. It was so easy on all of us - me, the family, the Bigs and the chicks, that the thought suddenly popped into my head - "I have no babies left." And before I knew what happened I was thinking, "Well, gee, I'd still like to have some Doms, and maybe some Buff Chanteclers, oh, and a couple more Light Brahmas......

Instead of being tired of the mess, the stress, and the worry, I was wanting to do it all over again!! This system made it too easy!! NOooooooooo

 

[Grizdad]

Last week I got the MHP going for our 8 girls. I wanted to get them out of the tupperwear bin that was in the house and acclimate them to their new chicken tractor in the garage. They were at 3 weeks for the move. At first I was concerned as they did not go in the cave. By the second day, they were on top and figured out where the warmth was. That night the lights went out and the coop was buttoned up. Came out in the morning and when I turned the lights on and opened the coop windows, they shot out of the cave and went straight for the water and food. I admit the first few nights were concerning but now it is nice having them go to bed and have quiet in the house.

Couple of questions... Can they see when it is dark? Guess so as they find their way into the cave.

Second, how often should I clean the top of the MHP as it is a favorite spot to poop on?

Benefits of the move:

More room for them.
Water and feed stays cleaner.
They like the coop and get up on the roost. Something not done in the tupperwear.
They probably sleep better.
No heat lamp on 24/7.
They seem to be more fond of us probably because we are not reaching in the top of the brooder.

 

[Blooie]

Oh, I'm so happy that it's working out for you! I tend to cheat on the towel - I'll let it go for a few days because with the heating pad on the mess dries up really quickly, so they aren't standing in wet poop. Then I'll take the towel out, give it a shake to get the loose stuff off, and fold it with the soiled side in and put it back on. Next time I just toss the towel. (This is when it comes in real handy to hit a Goodwill or other thrift store and buy up a bunch of threadbare towels that you don't mind losing!) When they were little, I used Press 'n Seal on the top, but when they went outside that was just too much fussing, and the poops are so much bigger when they get older!. So, like I said, I turn the towel inside out (be sure you don't just flip it over and end up with all the poop sitting on the heating pad!) and put it back. I also heaped straw on top of the heating pad and towel, but they love to scratch and it all disappears!

Chicks and chickens usually start heading for bed just before or as it gets dark. Once they are bedded, they barely move. I'm sure they can see in the dark, but because they "hit the hay" early and sleep pretty soundly, very little disturbs them. So whether they can see or not really doesn't matter....they aren't moving!

That's why most of us do whatever catching, moving or adding chicks to a broody we need to accomplish in the dark. They barely flinch!

Mine seem to accept us hanging around them better than my other chicks did last year, and I think it's because they aren't constantly being fussed at and, like you said, having hands reaching into the brooder from over their heads. Lots of folks accomplish the same thing by having a regular brooder that's above floor level and can be opened from the sides rather than the top. But I think the biggest difference is that they know they have that security of the warm, dark cave to scoot under, rather than just running around a lit up brooder and trying unsuccessfully to find a way away from what's scaring them. Builds confidence!

Congrats on having such a smooth transition. Wait until you try it from day one! It's amazing!

 

[Beekissed]

And I do even less than Blooie....I just take some bedding and place it on top of the poo. By the time they scratch that off of there, they have also scratched off the ~by then~heat dried poo along with it. Then I do it all over again the next day. It works and the chicks are never dirty, so it's all good. Eventually they seem to stop pooping there as they age out, so then it's a non issue and I stop moving bedding on top of the cave. By the time I take the brooder heater out of their space you can hardly even see any poo on the cover, but I strip it off and launder it anyway, getting it ready for the next group.

 

[Blooie]

And I do even less than Blooie....I just take some bedding and place it on top of the poo. By the time they scratch that off of there, they have also scratched off the ~by then~heat dried poo along with it. Then I do it all over again the next day. It works and the chicks are never dirty, so it's all good. Eventually they seem to stop pooping there as they age out, so then it's a non issue and I stop moving bedding on top of the cave. By the time I take the brooder heater out of their space you can hardly even see any poo on the cover, but I strip it off and launder it anyway, getting it ready for the next group.

I"d be happy if they'd scratch the poo off with the bedding.....mine seemed to have missed that page in the instructions.

 

[Beekissed]

I think it's a matter of surface, Blooie. Your heating pad is mounted on the outside of your wire, whereas mine is mounted on the inside of it. This leaves the surface under the chick's feet on top of the cave a hard, ridged surface on my little cave, as opposed to a softer surface with more give to it on yours. Also, you are using a highly textured surface like a towel, that has more small fibers to cling to the poop, whereas mine is merely flannel, which has less fibers to bind with the poo. Scratching a hard, less fibrous surface that has dried stuff on it is easier than scratching a soft, padded, string filled surface that has dried stuff on it. Especially for little feets.