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

[GardenNut]

Many seniors respond to pet therapy, but your mom has a special soft spot for chickens. She'll probably want to see them a lot and have some great suggestions/experience to share! Thanks for those pics. Those are like dues two-fold!

 

[dpenning]

Chicks are 2 week old today... a few are a couple days younger...raised pad up.
I like having them(and their noise, stink, dust) outside.....but.....I don't handle them as much and they do NOT like to be picked up.
Couple of them really fight it....maybe partially because they are sprouting feathers.
They are going to be very unhappy tomorrow as all will be caught, confined to a tote, then re-banded and released.......gonna be a Chickie Rodeo!

Tell us you got this on video!

 

[Blooie]

@TerryH You and your mom just put the first really BIG smile I've had on my face for 3 days, and I thank you for that! Consider your dues paid, paid, PAID again!!

One thing I noticed in your first pictures of your chicks under MHP was the cave seemed a little high in the center. Can you smoosh it down a little so the heat is closer to their backs? If not, just toss an extra layer of shavings or bedding under there to raise them. They really need the heat for the first few days. Good job, really nice setup! And your chicks are adorable!!

 

[dpenning]

Ok, you guys have to bear with me on this but I can't resist sharing this. We moved my mom, who will soon be 89 onto our street 7 years ago. We always had chickens and such growing up, She loved, loved, loved her chickens. I went and got her so she could check out the new babies. It was so fun to see her enjoying them!!

Here are a few pics...

Cheryl helping her with one of the Black Astrolorps...

I was a little misty eyed at her snuggling with the chick.

Here she is checking out the MHP. She thought it was a very cool idea. She just calls it their momma.

Who knows how long we have left with her. It seems she gets more fragile every day. It was so cool to see her so happy over a few little chickens.

Love this! Thanks for sharing. My mom is only 79 and still comes to stay and take care of my critters when we go out of town. This past weekend was the first time I thought maybe she just needs to come visit and not be responsible. She so loves the animals tho. Hugs to mom.

 

[eagrbeavr]

That was very sweet

 

[TerryH]

@TerryH You and your mom just put the first really BIG smile I've had on my face for 3 days, and I thank you for that! Consider your dues paid, paid, PAID again!!

One thing I noticed in your first pictures of your chicks under MHP was the cave seemed a little high in the center. Can you smoosh it down a little so the heat is closer to their backs? If not, just toss an extra layer of shavings or bedding under there to raise them. They really need the heat for the first few days. Good job, really nice setup! And your chicks are adorable!!

Thanks @Blooie . It was a special. I saw the same thing you did in that pic. I already squashed the MHP a bit and also added more shavings. I have the heating pad on 6. Everybody is under there and quiet so I'm assuming all is well. The Marans have been under the MHP virtually the entire time. The rest have moved in and out. I'm assuming that the Marans were just cold. I'd feel better about it if they would pop out like the others but hopefully they are ok.

 

[aart]

Quote: Ummm...the re-banding?...Nope!...... happens tomorrow. ......and there will be no video, only me to do it all so<shrugs>sorry.

....... The Marans have been under the MHP virtually the entire time. The rest have moved in and out. I'm assuming that the Marans were just cold. I'd feel better about it if they would pop out like the others but hopefully they are ok.

If they were hatched just today or yesterday, they should be fine.....
just need to be warm while they rest up and absorb the rest of that yolk
.....but tomorrow you'll want to sprinkle some feed on the ground and make sure they get a drink.

This last 6 chicks I bought, first time I haven't had to show them the water,
one went right over and started drinking right away and the others followed,
they may have been more than a day old tho.

 

[TerryH]

If they were hatched just today or yesterday, they should be fine.....
just need to be warm while they rest up and absorb the rest of that yolk
.....but tomorrow you'll want to sprinkle some feed on the ground and make sure they get a drink.

This last 6 chicks I bought, first time I haven't had to show them the water,
one went right over and started drinking right away and the others followed,
they may have been more than a day old tho.

Thanks. I think that's the deal. I don't know for sure but it looks to me like the ones from the farm supply might be a day or two older than the Marans. When I picked up the MPH to put more shavings under it and squash the frame a little bit and the Marans were fine, They just looked up at me like I was crazy. Guess we will see in the morning. Nervous first timers here.

 

[henless]

Okay. That makes me feel better to have a some corroboration. I know the chicks will let me know what they need once they get here, but I wanted to have it set as well as I could prior to their arrival -- you know, preheat the cave and all that. Distressed peeps on arrival, to me, would be saying, "You knew we were coming and this is the best you could do? HarRUMPH!" Have you ever been harrumphed by a chicken? It's a little embarrassing, actually.

I used my MHP last September for my Cream Legbars. It's still hot here in Texas. I put it on medium and adjust down from there. They did fine with it. I had 2 week olds and 3 day olds. The older ones would sit on top while the babies would go underneath. Even when its hot outside, they still need some warmth for the first week or so. I think I took it out after 3 weeks or so.

I hope so. Someone in this thread linked this heating pad that it's the one they use and I got it, too. Doesn't say anything in the documentation that it has auto-shutoff.

I bought 2 of these this year. Mine were a bit cheaper when I bought them back in Feb. It's working fine. It's on high right now with new babies under it.

This is how I have it set up. I have the pad bungied underneath.



Here it is in use. Babies were hatched this past Saturday, and they went out in the brooder on Monday. They love to press up against it with their backs to warm themselves. I have the towel pulled back to see the chicks better. They duck under and go right in. I only had to show them once. They put themselves to bed at night.



My newest additions. Two boys & one girl.



Blooie how's the hatch going? Hatching isn't easy, at least not for me. I am getting better. I improved my hatch by 300% this time! LOL

 

[Blooie]

I got nuffin'. Day 21 and not even a little movement in the 8 eggs I have in the incubator. I'll wait...and wait.....

The new eggs that I thought would be so much better didn't show me much to get excited about tonight when I candled. Despite letting them sit undisturbed for 24 hours after I received them,then putting them in Brinsea without turning them for the 30 hours, only one out of the 11 has what I'd consider a "normal" air sac. The rest look water floating all over the place in the them. The first day I did candle them but just a cursory look - I didn't want to handle them so I just put the flashlight on top of them and looked down through. At that point I thought all but 2 looked okay, but as I said I didn't move them..just candled them in place. Tonight I was moving them, and the air cells looked like the bubbles in a carpenter's level. Discouraged but will keep treating them like they all have perfect air cells. Two showed obvious veining but with the air cells bobbing around I just don't know.