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

[bruceha2000]

Thanks Aart. I had the cage set up last night. Its folded back up now. The chicks arent coming until mid April (ugh). Yes you can access the top from either end. Its in four sections and the two ends fold over onto the inner two, It should work out pretty well with a couple minor tweaks for added safety.

Your ID is appropriate! Not waiting until the last minute to get it ready. I bet you will have the coop and run ready to go before the chicks arrive as well.

Just made this to hold my 12x15 heating pad for when the chicks arrive in the spring. Have a wire shelf that will rest on the wooden dowels, but need to cut that to size still. Will start it sloped from 3inches in the front to 1 inch in the back so they can find their sweet spot. Can get up to 6 inches in height. Looking forward till April when they arrive!

 

[eagrbeavr]

Ha Aart. I'm trying very hard to behave and not buy some chicks now! Figure its a couple months til they come. I can squeeze out a batch before then.

 

[Paganrose]

So I have Baby Chickies coming either tommorow or Thursday! Said they shipped, but the tracking number at the USPS has said received since 11:30 am! Gahhh!

But got my brooder all set up! I have 26-27 chicks coming- so this set up is only for the first week or so before they go out to the brooder in the coop that is much bigger.

I am using an older heating pad- (12x15) no auto shut off and turns itself back on, if the power goes out. I also found a second heating pad (11.5x13.5) at Family Dollar that doesn't auto shut off, and turns itself back on also! It however only has and on or off setting, but was only $13. I will be adding it as a second MHP when the chickies go out to the coop.



My Hubby had a big roll of heat/ducking tape sitting around unused, so I used that to attach the Heating pad to the wire frame.


Brooder set up for the first week. I think I will use some string to tie the pillow case up a bit, so it's not so floppy. I don't want a chick getting tangled in it.

 

[71chickens]

So, I'm going to throw an idea out and somebody tell me if you have already done this. I'm thinking of making a box design that will hold the heating pad but also have roosts underneath for the littles to go. If that doesn't make sense think of it as a heating pad over the top of the roosts. Anybody have pictures of things they have done other than just the regular cave. My chicks are 1 week and 3 weeks old so they still need heat, but they seem to like to roost too. Any suggestions would be welcome.

 

[71chickens]

Just made this to hold my 12x15 heating pad for when the chicks arrive in the spring. Have a wire shelf that will rest on the wooden dowels, but need to cut that to size still. Will start it sloped from 3inches in the front to 1 inch in the back so they can find their sweet spot. Can get up to 6 inches in height. Looking forward till April when they arrive!

So just looking at this design is almost exactly what I am thinking only instead of laying the pad on the dowels, I would attach it to the top of the box and have the dowels for roosting. Anybody think this would work or would they get too cold?

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
baby chicks dont roost Once they can roost they usually off the heat

 

[Beekissed]

Agreed. Chicks snuggle under the warmth of a hen and though they will perch temporarily on a tiny roost, they fall off when they go to sleep...it's comical and sad to watch them grow drowsy in the heat, then jerk themselves awake to keep from falling, then finally just fall off the roost.

You'll want your heating pad to come into direct contact with their bodies while they are in the brooder heater structure and that won't happen if you allow space for them to get up onto the roosts...and all that space under them will allow cool air intake below their bodies. Not a good way to keep chicks warm.

I don't think it would work like you'd think it would.

 

[ShanandGem]

I loved this idea but I can't stand the thought of using anything with an AUTO OFF feature - I would never sleep! I rigged up a small experiment with an aluminum foil roasting pan and two reptile heating pads. Because I plan to brood my chicks outside in the empty coop it just didn't' generate enough heat to keep ME happy ( maybe the chicks would have been fine, who knows).
For a few dollars more than a household heating pad you could buy an extra large reptile heater. It's either on or off, no electronics to go wrong. One size comes with adhesive on it and they tend to be at least a little moisture resistant. Might be a viable option?

 

[Paganrose]

I looked into A reptile heater- but it was so much more expensive for the size I would have needed, plus the few I saw had temps much lower than the heating pad, and not adjustable or as flexible. Plus the sticky nature just seemed impractical to me for use on a frame, and underneath would just get covered with bedding.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I loved this idea but I can't stand the thought of using anything with an AUTO OFF feature - I would never sleep!  I rigged up a small experiment with an aluminum foil roasting pan and two reptile heating pads.  Because I plan to brood my chicks outside in the empty coop  it just didn't' generate enough heat to keep ME happy ( maybe the chicks would have been fine, who knows).
For a few dollars more than a household heating pad you could buy an extra large reptile heater.  It's either on or off, no electronics to go wrong.   One size comes with adhesive on it and they tend to be at least a little moisture resistant.  Might be a viable option?

Actually, there is a heating pad with the ability to turn the auto off feature off!! It's what most here use and recommend, though some have gotten creative. I believe the link is on the first page or else floating around somewhere but I think it's called Sunbeam XPress Heat i used the biggest one. They sell at most drug stores as well as Amazon for pretty cheap. My one from Amazon broke though after a week so I went to CVS and got another one. That lasted the whole rest of the time, all the way until they went outside at 7 weeks old.

Anyway, there are ones where you can turn that feature off so it stays on 24/7 instead of shutting off every 2 hours