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

[Jensownzoo]

I have heard that mice will eat their feet to, and find it very likely, mice will chew on anything that stands still long enough.

I can believe it...I just didn't think of it. Or like the image in my head, especially because where the older chicks are now is a mouse/vole-heavy area.

 

[eagrbeavr]

I"m not too concerned about it myself. My girls are slobs and theres enough food mixed in the litter to keep mice occupied on that and not chicken feet

 

[bruceha2000]

Bruce, do you have some of those patience pills for me? I'm fresh out

Nope, sorry. I used up most mine waiting for my June girls to start laying last fall and the rest waiting for the 2012 girls to start back up this year, some of them haven't yet.

 

[circlehouse]

So on another note, what material for roosts is best? About to build the roosts and poop boards. Thanks!

 

[TerryH]

Hey, Terry! Looks like you've been busy! How many chicks are you expecting? You'll be amazed at how fast they grow! The only thing that I'd suggest is to lose the newspaper. I know, I know, that means you'll have to take it all apart and rebuild it. But newspaper is notorious for causing foot and leg problems in chicks. Some people have used puppy pee pads to cover the floor for the first few days. When I was doing this in the house, I just covered the whole bloomin' floor with pine shavings and put paper towels over that until I knew they weren't going to eat the shavings instead of their food. Once you know they are eating well you can take the paper towels off and leave them on the shavings.You might also want to put some marbles or pebbles in the waterer to keep them from drowning or tracking through it.

And you know we need pictures of the chicks when they get here!!

Thanks! We have been very busy. We are getting 12. Mixed between Black Astrolorps, Buff Orpingtons, Copper Marans and Blue Laced Red Wyandottes. We are planning on doing the puppy pads on top of the newspapers. We do have marbles for the waterer. We'll be switching them to a horizontal nipple waterer as soon as I'm comfortable that they can use it. I'll post pics. We are picking them up tomorrow evening!

 

[GranolaGirl72]

Girls went outside for a bit today!

I am confused, what is that green stuff......

 

[jaslyman]

Sweet!!

Why the base out front so far?

I may have separate bedding in this area vs the rest of the brooder. Probably not really necessary, but what the heck.

 

[Ridgerunner]

So on another note, what material for roosts is best? About to build the roosts and poop boards. Thanks!

In my opinion wood is by far the best material for roosts. It’s not slick like metal or plastic, and it’s a good insulator. Metal and plastic are not good insulators so they can take heat away from the feet. For me, I want the roosts to be made from wood.

You can get a lot of different opinions on what wood. Some people firmly believe that the chickens need a flat surface to roost on to keep their feet warm. Others believe their toes are more comfortable if they can curl around a round roost. I experimented with tree limbs, 2x4’s flat and 2x4’s on edge. From what I observed the chickens themselves don’t care, they can all work. But some people care a lot.

My temperatures rarely get much below zero Fahrenheit, so I don’t experience the cold some others do. I’ve never had any frostbite problems on chicken’s feet with my tree limbs or the 2x4 on edge. Centrarchid had some nice photos that showed the chickens’ feathers covering their feet when they are wrapped around a tree limb. I’ve seen the same thing, the chicken fluffs up when it settles down on the roost when it’s cold and the toes are covered.

2X4’s flat work just fine. You’ll probably make a lot of people happy if you use 2x4’s and install them flat.

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

I"m not too concerned about it myself. My girls are slobs and theres enough food mixed in the litter to keep mice occupied on that and not chicken feet

I keep lots of hungry cats

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

So on another note, what material for roosts is best? About to build the roosts and poop boards. Thanks!

In my opinion wood is by far the best material for roosts. It’s not slick like metal or plastic, and it’s a good insulator. Metal and plastic are not good insulators so they can take heat away from the feet. For me, I want the roosts to be made from wood.

You can get a lot of different opinions on what wood. Some people firmly believe that the chickens need a flat surface to roost on to keep their feet warm. Others believe their toes are more comfortable if they can curl around a round roost. I experimented with tree limbs, 2x4’s flat and 2x4’s on edge. From what I observed the chickens themselves don’t care, they can all work. But some people care a lot.

My temperatures rarely get much below zero Fahrenheit, so I don’t experience the cold some others do. I’ve never had any frostbite problems on chicken’s feet with my tree limbs or the 2x4 on edge. Centrarchid had some nice photos that showed the chickens’ feathers covering their feet when they are wrapped around a tree limb. I’ve seen the same thing, the chicken fluffs up when it settles down on the roost when it’s cold and the toes are covered.

2X4’s flat work just fine. You’ll probably make a lot of people happy if you use 2x4’s and install them flat.

Agreed wood is best, and I do not know that the birds care as long as they are at least 2 inches wide.