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

[mduerksen]

They are going to be too big to get in and out after a week or so. And the tub is only going to be big enough for a few a days, tops. The thing new chick owners underestimate the most is just how fast those chicks will grow. They double in size every week.

I got 14 chicks last week and had a tub a bit bigger. It was too small by the 4th day!

Can you bend the wire frame down in the back? That would give the chicks a contact spot. I missed that the first time bent my frame, but was able to bend it in the back. Mine is a cave and some worry about the chicks get stuck but mine are good

 

[Beekissed]

I understand how a heating pad works. It sounds as though you are saying that this whole method requires that the heating pad be in contact with the chicks backs.

From the original poster of this thread (Blooie): "They aren't in actual physical contact with the pad, (except for those times when they climb on top of it and play or take quick naps) so they are pretty good at choosing the optimum place to be for comfort."

So maybe what I'm doing is closer to the Premier heat plate approach. But surely there is more than one way of accomplishing the main objective, which in this case is to provide sufficient heat, whether its via radiant vs. conductive.

All that said, I could certainly build something that gets the frame lower to the floor and slants to accommodate different heights...

Yep...that's what I'm saying. In the house, it may be just fine to have the heating pad forming some kind of radiant heat for them in a small, enclosed space. But, for outside brooding, which is where this HP method was first used, the ambient temps shift from day to night and the airflow is much more than inside a home, the contact heat will keep the chicks from getting chilled and having to clump together~sometimes smothering one another in the attempts to stay warm~underneath a "cave" that has no outlet in the back.

The Premier approach also depends upon the surface of the brooder plate coming in contact with the chick's backs. That's the whole premise of this kind of heater, that it mimics the warmth provided by a broody hen....but I've yet to see a broody hen stand above the chicks and let them try to stay warm from the heat radiating from her body.

You might also consider changing the thickness of the padding on top so that they can gain warmth from the pad while sitting on top of the frame as well....the more contact they have with the actual heating pad, the better. Don't know why Blooie would state they don't actually come in contact with the heating pad, but they do and they need to in order to get the full benefit from the heat source. That's the whole point of using a heating pad in the first place.

 

[jaslyman]

Yep...that's what I'm saying. In the house, it may be just fine to have the heating pad forming some kind of radiant heat for them in a small, enclosed space. But, for outside brooding, which is where this HP method was first used, the ambient temps shift from day to night and the airflow is much more than inside a home, the contact heat will keep the chicks from getting chilled and having to clump together~sometimes smothering one another in the attempts to stay warm~underneath a "cave" that has no outlet in the back.

The Premier approach also depends upon the surface of the brooder plate coming in contact with the chick's backs. That's the whole premise of this kind of heater, that it mimics the warmth provided by a broody hen....but I've yet to see a broody hen stand above the chicks and let them try to stay warm from the heat radiating from her body.

You might also consider changing the thickness of the padding on top so that they can gain warmth from the pad while sitting on top of the frame as well....the more contact they have with the actual heating pad, the better. Don't know why Blooie would state they don't actually come in contact with the heating pad, but they do and they need to in order to get the full benefit from the heat source. That's the whole point of using a heating pad in the first place.

Ok - well this is very helpful, thanks for the detailed explanation. Clearly I misunderstood a key detail! Well, I'm certainly not wedded to that particular frame - it's just something we had laying around (no pun intended!).

So, I could either making a dome type structure by folding some welded wire fencing I have or could make something akin to what is used here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/862691/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate. Sounds like those would be better options. The chicks won't arrive until next Tuesday at the earliest, so we have a few more days to adjust our plan accordingly.

 

[junebuggena]

Wire fencing works great. You need something that you can adjust as they grow. And they do grow very quickly.

 

[Blooie]

Ok - well this is very helpful, thanks for the detailed explanation. Clearly I misunderstood a key detail! Well, I'm certainly not wedded to that particular frame - it's just something we had laying around (no pun intended!).

So, I could either making a dome type structure by folding some welded wire fencing I have or could make something akin to what is used here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/862691/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate. Sounds like those would be better options. The chicks won't arrive until next Tuesday at the earliest, so we have a few more days to adjust our plan accordingly.

Actually I must confess that you didn't misunderstand a key detail - I misstated a key detail. In the beginning I did say that "chicks don't come in direct contact with the heat". What I was meaning was that it isn't like they are wrapped in it or something.......and I didn't state that very well. Later on in the thread, and many many times since, I have recommended that people lower their frames so that the heat is right at the chicks' backs. But the thread goes back too far to allow me to edit the bad wording of the post you were referencing. So it wasn't your mistake, it was mine, and I apologize for the confusion.

 

[Beekissed]

Agreed. Simple and versatile seems to be the most successful design. After all, the hen is both of these. I wouldn't even get too bogged down on press and seal things....if the cloth is thin enough on the brooder frame, the heat from the HP will quickly dry any feces left there and then it's easily knocked off. Throwing a handful of bedding up there would work just as well, so that when they poop you can just knock off that bedding and put more up there. If you've got the heat adjusted right, there really shouldn't be too much sleeping on top of the brooder frame anyway, so only occasional poops deposited there.

 

[mobius]

The wire fencing is very adjustable, and that is key, I adjusted mine MANY times for the six chix. They grow super fast. I decided that when they were spending a lot of time on TOP of MHP, that was my clue to readjust up or down.

After going into the coop, I have had to keep an eye on those little buggers cause they have taken to playing in the pine shavings and FILLING the MHP so they couldn't get in. Also, it is good to secure the towel because I swear they rearrange it when my back is turned....

Following Blooie's lead I put electrical tape on all the sharp edges, and for six chix, the wire fencing is about 12x24, exactly fitting the heating pad.

Mentioning brooder size, I had a rubbermaid type tub but that only lasted a week for six, then it was the bathtub, which only lasted another two, then a fabric dog pen, for another week, to give them more room to exercise their wings and feet...I think they need space to flap and hop early. Then the coop was ready in a week and outside they went. But the brooder inside changed three times, and it needed to... I am happy that I had the items and locations to do it...silly me I thought that rubbermaid style tub would last forever!!

But that is a newbie for ya!!



!!HELP find Blooie's missing heating pad!!!

<<that's how I feel when I have lost something !!

 

[jaslyman]

Actually I must confess that you didn't misunderstand a key detail - I misstated a key detail. In the beginning I did say that "chicks don't come in direct contact with the heat". What I was meaning was that it isn't like they are wrapped in it or something.......and I didn't state that very well. Later on in the thread, and many many times since, I have recommended that people lower their frames so that the heat is right at the chicks' backs. But the thread goes back too far to allow me to edit the bad wording of the post you were referencing. So it wasn't your mistake, it was mine, and I apologize for the confusion.

No apologies necessary, if I had read more I would have figured it out myself. You've provided so much great information to so many of us!

 

[bruceha2000]

A few pictures from our first day. I have to admit being a first time with MHP I had that skeptical little voice even though I knew the system worked. After today there isn't a doubt this is the way to go. It's been a few years since I've had chicks in a brooder but I can't remember ever having it be this quiet. I've even checked just because I wanted to make sure they were still in there. Nothing but soft happy peeps; that is until i start messing around in the brooder. Enough of that though I know you are all just here for the pictures.

I got one little NN but she (hopefully) isn't too photogenic.

Oh, no, we don't look at the pictures! We come here for the articles!!

Looks like a happy healthy bunch of chicks. Maybe you could knit or crochet a scarf for that poor NN.

Huh... I confess to not reading all 450+ pages of this thread, but everything that I read shows the heating pad lying atop some sort of metal frame, with space for the chicks below it. The temp, as I said, is 85 degrees under the frame, which is consistent with what the original poster had.

I think if you go back through some of the earlier posts you will see that @Blooie posted that temperature only because someone asked what the temp was in the cave. One of the hardest things for people to grasp (believe??) is that the constant 95F then 90F then .... thing DOES NOT APPLY to brooding hens nor does it apply to brooding methods that use contact heat. The air temperature IN the cave doesn't matter unless it is too hot.

Being too lazy to go back and find one of my prior posts, this is what seven 4 day old chicks do when they are in a MAX 70F outdoor brooder. Note the heat source is available as needed, just like a MHP.



And this is what a natural brooder looks like. There isn't a volume of heated air space under there, just 7 chicks. Well, OK, 6. One is sitting on the "front porch":

Actually I must confess that you didn't misunderstand a key detail - I misstated a key detail. In the beginning I did say that "chicks don't come in direct contact with the heat". What I was meaning was that it isn't like they are wrapped in it or something.......and I didn't state that very well. Later on in the thread, and many many times since, I have recommended that people lower their frames so that the heat is right at the chicks' backs. But the thread goes back too far to allow me to edit the bad wording of the post you were referencing. So it wasn't your mistake, it was mine, and I apologize for the confusion.

Maybe Miss @Blooie could use the little pencil at the bottom of her first post to clarify this detail

 

[NotAFarm]

Quote:

Actually I must confess that you didn't misunderstand a key detail - I misstated a key detail. In the beginning I did say that "chicks don't come in direct contact with the heat". What I was meaning was that it isn't like they are wrapped in it or something.......and I didn't state that very well. Later on in the thread, and many many times since, I have recommended that people lower their frames so that the heat is right at the chicks' backs. But the thread goes back too far to allow me to edit the bad wording of the post you were referencing. So it wasn't your mistake, it was mine, and I apologize for the confusion.

Maybe Miss @Blooie could use the little pencil at the bottom of her first post to clarify this detail

There is cut-off for editing older posts.....it must have passed since Blooie mentions she can't correct it.