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

[csneill]

Here's my babies now- cozied up 'next to' the big blue cave but not in it. Of course it's about 85 degrees in Nebraska today & probably 90 degrees in my garage. I don't even have the HP on right now at all. But it's ready when the temp dips down again like it always does in May!

 

[Blooie]

They'll use it. The first line in your posts summed up exactly what has happened. Some chicks have to be shown, and if one balks, they all balk. If one uses it, they all use it. Gently put them under, and then hold your hand in front for a few minutes so they can't squirt out. Let them feel the warmth and understand that this dark, warm place is safe, not scary. Then slowly move your hand away. A few might pop out, but others will most likely stay under there. Then the pop-outs will join them. Don't be so quick to give up! They all seem to get it, and yours will too!

 

[Blooie]

Well, I had hoped to come back with photos of my chicks all lounging on and snuggled under MHP but no such luck. They definitely thought it was a big scary monster that was going to eat them and refused to even go near it. Some finally did figure out hanging out on top, but when they did this the big guys took all the real estate and the little one ended up on the ground beside it, peeping pitifully.

I finally gave up and made a box with the heating pad lying along the floor and up the back side. Tried turning off the lamp again and they all huddled in the corner where the light used to shine, trying to crawl under each other and complaining

This was as close as I could get them to it and may not even end up using it at all as it's going to get warm again next week. The big girls are spoiled anyway, they really don't need the heat anymore and have only gotten it this long because of the tiny one.



Either way, I'm happy to own a new heating pad and I'm ready whenever we get our next batch of chicks

They'll use it. The first lines in your post summed up exactly what has happened. Some chicks have to be shown, and if one balks, they all balk. If one uses it, they all use it. Gently put them under, and then hold your hand in front for a few minutes so they can't squirt out. Let them feel the warmth and understand that this dark, warm place is safe, not scary. Then slowly move your hand away. A few might pop out, but others will most likely stay under there. Then the pop-outs will join them. Don't be so quick to give up! They all seem to get it, and yours will too!

 

[saraem]

Thanks Blooie. I'll give it another shot tomorrow when my little guys are home all day. Our brooder is huge and although I tried holding them under there it was hard to reach and I probably gave up too easily. My kids spend their days just waiting for an excuse to climb in there!

We've spent this week working on transitioning them to horizontal nipples (still working on this), fermented feed (they are loving it after a brief boycot), and MHP. My chicks probably think I'm insane.

 

[Sallys Mom]

My girls are 9 days old now and absolutely will not go into their cave by themselves after dark. They pile up at the front of the brooder. They wait for me to pick them up and place them in there and then they settle in and go to sleep. It's the only team they don't fuss about being picked up. They've got me trained quite well.

 

[Victoria-nola]

I've got 9-10 days before I have chicks hatching in the incubator and this is my very first time hatching chicks. My current chickens were raised in the house and I am very happy to find this other method because I am so worried about bringing the Bigs and Littles together as a joined flock-- love it that they will already know each other. I plan to do MHP method in our coop. I have read a bunch but would like to ask a question that I still feel unsure about. I'm hatching the chicks at my house. I have heard a lot about day-old chicks going straight outside to the MHP-brooder but am still unclear if I would basically be taking the chicks from the incubator (once they've dried) and moving them to the outdoor brooder.

If so, would I then wait until all the chicks are hatched before moving them out to the brooder? It's discussed that once chicks are hatched and dried to move them out, but unless I set up an interim brooder, that would maybe mean a few at a time being moved instead of all at once?

Don't know what to expect and nervous.

Oh, also, could someone please post a link to the "baker's rack" that people are mentioning? Thank you.

Thanks for any help!

 

[COChix]

So our babies are now 5 weeks old and fully integrated with the adults, they still put themselves away in their brooder, inside the coop. They have been outside with the adult flock since they were 5 days old. Their brooder separating them from the adults will be taken down in the next few days. Funny the babies could roost with the adults now as they have access but still segregate themselves at night. They are fully feathered and I removed their heat pad cave today as they couldn't fit under it anymore. They were a little lost at bedtime, so gave them a huddle box for comfort. They are progressing nicely, I am hoping the darker greyish one is a roo.

By far the fastest maturing and progressing chicks we have raised so far, I credit that to MHP!

 

[aart]

I've got 9-10 days before I have chicks hatching in the incubator and this is my very first time hatching chicks. My current chickens were raised in the house and I am very happy to find this other method because I am so worried about bringing the Bigs and Littles together as a joined flock-- love it that they will already know each other. I plan to do MHP method in our coop. I have read a bunch but would like to ask a question that I still feel unsure about. I'm hatching the chicks at my house. I have heard a lot about day-old chicks going straight outside to the MHP-brooder but am still unclear if I would basically be taking the chicks from the incubator (once they've dried) and moving them to the outdoor brooder.

If so, would I then wait until all the chicks are hatched before moving them out to the brooder? It's discussed that once chicks are hatched and dried to move them out, but unless I set up an interim brooder, that would maybe mean a few at a time being moved instead of all at once?

Don't know what to expect and nervous.

Oh, also, could someone please post a link to the "baker's rack" that people are mentioning? Thank you.

Thanks for any help!

There are many ways to get from incubator to coop....this it the way I do it.
It's best not to remove chicks from bator until all have hatched because when opening bator to remove chicks the humidity can drop precipitously and if there are pips it can dry out the membranes and cause difficulty with hatching. I do it anyway, removing several dry chicks at a time and putting them in brooder in groups, I try to avoid moving singles. I also use a heat lamp for the first couple days(only during the day) to closely observe chicks to make sure they are eating, drinking, and moving around OK...I 'shove' them under the MHP at night until they figure it out on their own. I waited a week to move them out to the coop, it was still pretty cold here and I wanted to drop the room temp over a few days to 'harden' them off a bit. Hopefully you'll get other folks to share their experiences and you can decide what will work best for your situation and comfort level. Here's my version of an MHP made with a bakers rack : https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate

 

[aart]

So our babies are now 5 weeks old and fully integrated with the adults, they still put themselves away in their brooder, inside the coop. They have been outside with the adult flock since they were 5 days old. Their brooder separating them from the adults will be taken down in the next few days. Funny the babies could roost with the adults now as they have access but still segregate themselves at night. They are fully feathered and I removed their heat pad cave today as they couldn't fit under it anymore. They were a little lost at bedtime, so gave them a huddle box for comfort. They are progressing nicely, I am hoping the darker greyish one is a roo.

By far the fastest maturing and progressing chicks we have raised so far, I credit that to MHP!

Curious to read this......mine are about the same age and still in coop partition with escape doors.
They are not mingling with the adults as much as I'd hoped, they don't go out into the main run much....only one pop door and not many 'places of refuge' out there(I really should remedy that but just haven't). Am contemplating removing the partition wall and seeing what happens.

 

[Victoria-nola]

There are many ways to get from incubator to coop....this it the way I do it.
It's best not to remove chicks from bator until all have hatched because when opening bator to remove chicks the humidity can drop precipitously and if there are pips it can dry out the membranes and cause difficulty with hatching. I do it anyway, removing several dry chicks at a time and putting them in brooder in groups, I try to avoid moving singles. I also use a heat lamp for the first couple days(only during the day) to closely observe chicks to make sure they are eating, drinking, and moving around OK...I 'shove' them under the MHP at night until they figure it out on their own. I waited a week to move them out to the coop, it was still pretty cold here and I wanted to drop the room temp over a few days to 'harden' them off a bit. Hopefully you'll get other folks to share their experiences and you can decide what will work best for your situation and comfort level. Here's my version of an MHP made with a bakers rack : https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate

Thank you Aart, I appreciate your thoughts and the link. I admire the precision of your baker's rack design and great to see how you've parlayed your expertise, and it's great food for thought, but I'm afraid the whole idea of the hard plate, whether the expensive ones or DYI, is a bit too sterile for me and I already did know that from investigations prior to finding MHP. I want my chicks to have a place to snuggle into softness. Everyone has their own way!

I am curious what the bedding material is in your incubator. Sand?

I too hope I'll get some thoughts from other MHP users. Current nighttime temps here (Southwest Mississippi) are in the 60s, daytimes in the 70s, so I don't think worries about hardening off the chicks is too much a concern because it will be easy to keep them at proper temps. Again, your sharing has helped answer my question by understanding the concerns people have and how they address them.

Thank you!