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

[aart]

Quote: If you read down the half dozen posts from the one you quoted, you'll see an explanation....probably the umbilical area.

 

[nikkers390]

Took this today....sorry for the narrow view....I was holding the camera wrong because I'm old and easily confused.

This video is adorable. I love the babies. Watching the video, I noticed the cement blocks outside the pen. I have a couple of the 1/2 block ones in one of my pens that houses a NN rooster and a few of his ladies. I went in the pen a couple of days ago and the rooster was nowhere to be seen but I did hear him crow. To get straight to the point, he was totally wedged in one of those blocks. All I could see was his head and his tail. He never would have gotten out on his own. When I say tight, I mean TIGHT. It took me ten minutes to get him out of there. I even considered breaking the block... not a good idea. I got him by his "shoulders" and wiggled him out 1/4 inch at a time. I was so afraid of hurting him. When finally he got out, I held him for a while. He was trembling. Relief, pain, fear, indignation? Who knows. When I set him down, he acted like nothing happened. He called his girls to the food, drank some water and went on with his roosterly duties. If a chicken CAN get in trouble, it WILL get into trouble.

 

[FlyWheel]

<Snip!>

Absolutely! NO mistakes are allowed in the Broodie Brigade. EVERYTHING has to be done to perfection and the carefully engineered specifications of a MHP setup

THOUSANDS of chicks could have been killed by your carelessness

</Snip!>

Oh great. Now I gotto go and dig out my old micrometers?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Moxiechick

I am in tears right now as I type this. I went to go check on the brooder this morning and found my little Blue Ameraucana chick wedged between the hardware cloth and the heating pad, dead.

I feel like this is all my fault. I let her down! The system seemed to be working wonderfully. They've been happy and growing. She was only a week old! She was the main reason I decided to go with raising baby chicks this year, instead of getting started 6 week old pullets from the feed store, as I've always wanted a Blue Ameraucana. I feel just sick right now!

I just thought I'd share this so it doesn't happen to anyone else.

First of all, it is NOT your fault! You didn't wedge her in there neither did you know she would get stuck. I feel for your loss, I too have lost that extra spacial chick (actually, she was a black crested duckling). Trust me, this system is a lot safer, I almost lost all seven of my chicks and my house when the heat lamp I was using fell into the cardboard box I was using as a starter brooder!

Yes, that is actually burned through, both the corner of the box and all the bedding
was reduced to nothing more than ash and smoke!​

Your warning will not go unheeded. Take heart in the fact that your chick's bad fortune will very likely save a many others.

Yep that is what happens. They get in but they either aren't smart enough to figure out how to turn around or just physically can't.

Man, After reading this I am so glad I just laid the heating pad on top of a simple frame made from a single layer of hardware cloth.

Occam's razor?

 

[TerryH]

So tonight we decided that we are going to change the bedding and expand the brooder box. I had made provision for this by cutting one side in half and sliding another 3 sided box over the first when we first set up the border. Easy enough. I added a couple of new pieces of firewood for their entertainment. Everybody needed a big snack after being out in a little box while we worked on their home.

Everything seemed normal...

Until bed time. They had no clue that they had the same MHP that they have always have. They were all piled up in one corner. We literally had to catch every one of them and not only put them in the MHP but force them to stay there. Eventually their little brains kicked in and they all stayed under quietly chirping themselves to sleep like they always do. Chickens are weird.

 

[COChix]

I am in tears right now as I type this. I went to go check on the brooder this morning and found my little Blue Ameraucana chick wedged between the hardware cloth and the heating pad, dead. 

I feel like this is all my fault. I let her down! The system seemed to be working wonderfully. They've been happy and growing. She was only a week old! She was the main reason I decided to go with raising baby chicks this year, instead of getting started 6 week old pullets from the feed store, as I've always wanted a Blue Ameraucana. I feel just sick right now! 


I just thought I'd share this so it doesn't happen to anyone else.   

Sorry this happened to you.

 

[Finnie]

Some dues to pay!

My second ever hatch of Cream Legbars and Easter Leggers, moved from the incubator to the "dog kennel brooder" with the mini MHP:

 

[poodlechicks]

So tonight we decided that we are going to change the bedding and expand the brooder box. I had made provision for this by cutting one side in half and sliding another 3 sided box over the first when we first set up the border. Easy enough. I added a couple of new pieces of firewood for their entertainment. Everybody needed a big snack after being out in a little box while we worked on their home.

Everything seemed normal...

Until bed time. They had no clue that they had the same MHP that they have always have. They were all piled up in one corner. We literally had to catch every one of them and not only put them in the MHP but force them to stay there. Eventually their little brains kicked in and they all stayed under quietly chirping themselves to sleep like they always do. Chickens are weird.

Your set up looks a lot like mine. The same happened to my chicks when I expanded my brooder

So nice to see your mom is enjoying her chicks a great deal.

 

[aart]

..... They had no clue that they had the same MHP that they have always have. They were all piled up in one corner. We literally had to catch every one of them and not only put them in the MHP but force them to stay there. Eventually their little brains kicked in and they all stayed under quietly chirping themselves to sleep like they always do. Chickens are weird.

They are....one little change can really throw them into stupidland haha!........but a little guidance usually turns the light bulb back on.

 

[TerryH]

They are....one little change can really throw them into stupidland haha!........but a little guidance usually turns the light bulb back on.

A little issue this morning as well in stupidland. One of the Austrolorps was not under the MHP when we went in to wake them up. We held her thinking she was just cold. Tried putting her under the MHP after that but she won't stay. Acting very lethargic with her head down. Got her to drink a tiny bit of sugar water but still the same. She did eat some. Guess we just wait and see or is there something else we should be doing??

 

[Beekissed]

First of all, it is NOT your fault! You didn't wedge her in there neither did you know she would get stuck. I feel for your loss, I too have lost that extra spacial chick (actually, she was a black crested duckling). Trust me, this system is a lot safer, I almost lost all seven of my chicks and my house when the heat lamp I was using fell into the cardboard box I was using as a starter brooder!

Yes, that is actually burned through, both the corner of the box and all the bedding
was reduced to nothing more than ash and smoke!​

Your warning will not go unheeded. Take heart in the fact that your chick's bad fortune will very likely save a many others.

Man, After reading this I am so glad I just laid the heating pad on top of a simple frame made from a single layer of hardware cloth.

Occam's razor?

That's one reason I used a pillow case. Chicks can't even access the wire frame at all, no way shape or form. The tight bungee cords to hold the pillow case up tight to the frame also cannot be accessed....so tight I can barely get a finger under there. If chicks can find a way to die, they will search diligently until they find that way and do it. No worries and don't feel too badly about it....it's heartbreaking, all the same, but we've all made mistakes that caused the death of a little one without meaning to and that's a hard lesson....but one that you learn VERY well.

When you build your coops, brooders, fences, etc. you'll be looking for anything that can hurt your chicks or chickens and be eliminating that from now on....could save the life of others, as was stated above.