Victoria. You don't need 2 pads. Yes, I'd get the pad up and running, in the box or what ever you are using in the house before you take them out of the incubator. But, the beauty of this is, when it's time to move them outside, you just unplug MHP, toss the chicks in a box. Take box of chicken, and MHP outside to your coop/brooder, plug MHP in, dump chicken out of box. If you feel the need, stuff the chicken under MHP, and you're done moving them.
The age at which they stop using MHP depends largely, IMO upon the size of your brood. With 17 chicks, they are now too big to fit under the pad. IMO, this is why they stopped using it so quickly. If there were less than 10, I think they'd be still using it, b/c they'd still fit. But, when I stick my hand in the middle of the mat of chicks, it feels nice and warm.
some people have had chicks get stuck between the wire and the padI have my first little peepers of the season! On Thursday I picked up the 5 EE pullets I pre-ordered, only to learn that they are actually Ameraucana or Auracana. I'm tickled, since I was told they will lay blue eggs. I have one EE hen from an assortment I got from MPC last August and the prospect of different hues to add to my egg basket is thrilling. I was so delighted that I talked the staff into letting me add two more chicks to my purchase. (I'll post pics of them in another topic.)
Before we left to fetch them, I fired up MHP in the brooder in the coop shed.
It's still dipping into the upper 30s at night here in northern Maine. When I released them into the brooder, the little darlings huddled in a corner away from MHP. I had to pick them up and stuff them into the back of the cave. Once in, they stayed! I checked on them several times during the late afternoon, adjusting the temp upwards. At the highest setting, they were still huddled together and even with a few layers of fleece on top of the heating pad to help hold the heat in, my temperature reader was only registering in the upper 70s. I have another heating pad, so I wrapped that in the PressNSeal and slipped it under the cave. Twenty minutes later, the inside of the cave was up to 90, and the chicks were comfortably settled in and quiet. I sat and watched them for a bit and they did come out a time or two but went right back inside. They weren't squeezed together, which I took as a sign that it was warm enough.
Yesterday it was sunny and in the low 60s. The peeps were active, in and out of their cave, but they weren't eating much. I observed a bit of drinking from the dispenser with the electrolytes and probiotics but hardly what I expected. I called Aroostook Milling Company in PI, where I got them, and learned that they hatched on Wednesday. Had I known that, I wouldn't have worried about their low intake.
Today they have been eating and drinking a lot, and I'm reassured that they're doing well. They are active and vocal. I got a report today that they can be heard all the way out at the mailbox.
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for the instructions for putting together MHP! It is a perfect way to warm up the little darlings. Now I can't wait to get my 2 Cackle Hatchery Surprise Packs in two weeks.
I have my first little peepers of the season! On Thursday I picked up the 5 EE pullets I pre-ordered, only to learn that they are actually Ameraucana or Auracana. I'm tickled, since I was told they will lay blue eggs. I have one EE hen from an assortment I got from MPC last August and the prospect of different hues to add to my egg basket is thrilling. I was so delighted that I talked the staff into letting me add two more chicks to my purchase. (I'll post pics of them in another topic.)
Before we left to fetch them, I fired up MHP in the brooder in the coop shed.
It's still dipping into the upper 30s at night here in northern Maine. When I released them into the brooder, the little darlings huddled in a corner away from MHP. I had to pick them up and stuff them into the back of the cave. Once in, they stayed! I checked on them several times during the late afternoon, adjusting the temp upwards. At the highest setting, they were still huddled together and even with a few layers of fleece on top of the heating pad to help hold the heat in, my temperature reader was only registering in the upper 70s. I have another heating pad, so I wrapped that in the PressNSeal and slipped it under the cave. Twenty minutes later, the inside of the cave was up to 90, and the chicks were comfortably settled in and quiet. I sat and watched them for a bit and they did come out a time or two but went right back inside. They weren't squeezed together, which I took as a sign that it was warm enough.
Yesterday it was sunny and in the low 60s. The peeps were active, in and out of their cave, but they weren't eating much. I observed a bit of drinking from the dispenser with the electrolytes and probiotics but hardly what I expected. I called Aroostook Milling Company in PI, where I got them, and learned that they hatched on Wednesday. Had I known that, I wouldn't have worried about their low intake.
Today they have been eating and drinking a lot, and I'm reassured that they're doing well. They are active and vocal. I got a report today that they can be heard all the way out at the mailbox.
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for the instructions for putting together MHP! It is a perfect way to warm up the little darlings. Now I can't wait to get my 2 Cackle Hatchery Surprise Packs in two weeks.
I have been shocked by the fearlessness of this group. At first I was concerned when they kept escaping their brooder set up after a week. After nothing happened when they escaped, I decided to just give them full access. Got tired of fighting them and they seemed determined to be the three musketeers running around the adult flock. They use their brooder space as a comfort zone...but pretty much integrated within two days once given access to the run with the adults. I have seen them eat right with the adult and out of the same feeders with no issues. I know when I remove the partions they will be lost for a night or two but have no doubt they will sort it out quickly.
