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

[poodlechicks]

I love this thread and so many of you have become friends. I have worked on my coop all winter. Chicks schduled to arrive April 15th. I have wanted chickens for 40 years. I'm a pastor life changes on a momemts notice. Tomorrow I cancel my chick order. I am broken hearted beyond words. I will be living my dreams through your photos. Keep sharing them. Pray for us we are very discouraged.

Praying for your family to find love and acceptance wherever you settle. Don't be discouraged, for you might just be able to raise chickens in the near future.

 

[mobius]

Here is what can happen:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1093721/heat-lamp-exploded-overnight#post_16803990

so sorry @Tooshay89, I didn't know either but those lamps made me SO nervous! I did use one but changed to MHP....Dust getting up to the lamps can make them break, I think, and chicks can kick up a lot of dust...

 

[Beekissed]

With as many times as I've advised on moving chicks outside, I am nibbling some humble pie this morning as the semi-anxiety settles in for moving the week olds outside into the coop partition with the MHP tomorrow. Got temp ranges at upper 20's to barely 50 over the next week or so.

My house has zone heating so I can keep the upper living area toasty for me and the lower level has been at ~60 since hatch.
Today the thermostat down there is off, and a window is cracked open to cool it even more.

Coop is draft free and I have plans for insulating(the already insulated floor-haha) under the MHP with some thick straw flakes.
They all seem healthy and hearty, eatingdrinkingpooping well, the few days older ones trying out their wings.

But still....it is a bit nerve racking on the first go round...have always brooded inside for 4-6 weeks until now.
I will miss being able to check on them frequently with a glance down the stairs...but won't miss the dust and brooder cleaning.

Cathartic Venting over.......for now, haha!...off to prep coop nursery and tend to big birds.

No worries, Aart! I've had them out day one in temps that low in my hoop coop...my brooder is hay bales so that gives good insulation on three sides, the fourth side is completely plastic so the sun can come into that brooder, the floor had a piece of plywood down to keep the cold from the ground seeping up through the bedding, then put a good 6 in. of coop litter on the floor. At night covered the brooder with a sleeping bag, left them uncovered all day in 30s-40s temps and they were active as all get out.

You got this and after you have done it, you'll be confident of doing it again and again. I'd never brood inside again, no matter how cold the temps. There are ways of making them just as warm outside as in and that HP brooder is one of those ways.

 

[jrjoplin]

Well, I'm a terrible, novice chick mama!

when I went to bed last night, I noticed all 4 girls were hunkered down next to the nipple waterer instead of under MHP. I figured that was their choice, so I went to bed. When I got up this morning, I realized MHP was OFF, because the high winds on Saturday night caused some power fluctuations! But they seemed fine this morning, following about 24 hours of no MHP. Hopefully they had enough feathers and the 68 degree house was adequate. Thank goodness Mother Nature is smarter than I am!

That happens all the time here. It seems like the power flickers every time the wind blows or it sprinkles. I invested in a battery backup (search UPS on amazon). It provides a constant supply when the power goes off and will last up to 30 min for a short outage. I got mine at Walmart, I think it was about $35. A little expensive but it alleviates a lot of worry.

 

[Blooie]

Great idea for backup!! And doing something to protect outlets from tripping is essential, I think. My electrician hubby put our outside outlets in outdoor rated boxes with code approved covers so I don't really think too much about it - put the plug into the outlet, close the cover, and go about my business! We also have a plastic thingy that we use if we have to have an extension cord out there, like we did last spring for MHP before Ken put the second outlet in the run. I had to run an E-cord from the run, through the pop door into the coop and then plug it in. The thing we got to go around the connection (where the heating pad cord is plugged into the extension cord end) is like a clamshell - you open it, make your connections and lay them inside, then close the cover.

 

[lazy gardener]

You can also get a long snakey plastic sleeve to go around an extension cord to help protect it from pecking/rodent chewing. I don't know how effective it would be re: rodents, but it does provide just an other layer of "peace of mind".

 

[jrjoplin]

My stepfather is a retired electrician. I wait till he and my mother are at the house and say "wouldn't it be nice if there was an outlet here?" it usually only cost materials and lunch. Now I just need someone in my family to marry a plumber.

 

[Blooie]

My stepfather is a retired electrician. I wait till he and my mother are at the house and say "wouldn't it be nice if there was an outlet here?" it usually only cost materials and lunch. Now I just need someone in my family to marry a plumber.

There ya go.....I need a plumber and have a beautiful unmarried daughter!! Hmmmmm Wheels are turning.....

 

[poodlechicks]

There ya go.....I need a plumber and have a beautiful unmarried daughter!!  Hmmmmm   Wheels are turning.....

 

[aart]

Great idea for backup!! And doing something to protect outlets from tripping is essential, I think. My electrician hubby put our outside outlets in outdoor rated boxes with code approved covers so I don't really think too much about it - put the plug into the outlet, close the cover, and go about my business! We also have a plastic thingy that we use if we have to have an extension cord out there, like we did last spring for MHP before Ken put the second outlet in the run. I had to run an E-cord from the run, through the pop door into the coop and then plug it in. The thing we got to go around the connection (where the heating pad cord is plugged into the extension cord end) is like a clamshell - you open it, make your connections and lay them inside, then close the cover.

scrunches up nose....giggles.....a What?!