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

[junebuggena]

Great! I was looking at Sunbeam on Amazon. So 2 of their king sized pads should do the trick then? http://www.amazon.com/Sunbeam-732-5...6&sr=8-4&keywords=Heating+pad#customerReviews
This is going to be so much better than the silly heat lamps! I was thinking about adding some feather dusters to the inside of their cave. Good idea of no?

I am also doing it in the coop with the big girls. They are used to chicks so this should be a seamless transition. I am actually excited this time to brood chicks myself.

You're not going to have room in the cave for a feather duster, and it will interfere with the chicks making contact with the pads. This is not an ambient heating method, like heat lamps. It's contact with the heating pad that warms the chicks. The frame for the pads must be adjustable, to allow for the pads to be at about the level of the chicks' backs.

 

[chickenmomma16]

You're not going to have room in the cave for a feather duster, and it will interfere with the chicks making contact with the pads. This is not an ambient heating method, like heat lamps. It's contact with the heating pad that warms the chicks. The frame for the pads must be adjustable, to allow for the pads to be at about the level of the chicks' backs. 

Good to know. Thanks!

 

[dyorto]

I have no idea how they get all the way up there

Wow! Very impressive little chicks

 

[COChix]

@Leahs Mom we have covered runs, the integration with the adult this year as different than last year as we have no free ranging access currently where the chicks are. So integration was done early and easily. At our other spot we have a free ranging flock with two coops and a covered run attached to both coops. When we had littles they got access to the second coop and run and the adult flock had the main coop and free ranged during the day. We did this until the littles were close in size (about week 6-7) and not an easy target for predators before we integrated.

 

[dyorto]

Someday, a covered run will be the next project!

 

[csneill]

Sorry- I couldn't pass up sharing this pic but I set the whole brooder outside for a while today. A few of my 10 week old 'littles' came over to say hi to the babies. The babies stood there frozen for a few minutes & their faces were like OMG- they're HUGE!!

 

[Blooie]

Sorry- I couldn't pass up sharing this pic but I set the whole brooder outside for a while today. A few of my 10 week old 'littles' came over to say hi to the babies. The babies stood there frozen for a few minutes & their faces were like OMG- they're HUGE!!

Yeah, like, um, "Oh, waiter, we'll have what they've been having....."

 

[MesMama]

Hi all! Trying to catch up on how things are going for everyone I continue to be grateful for the MHP concept and for this thread, when I was chatting about chickens with a friend and she's brooding chicks the old fashioned way, she expressed concern about fire. They've just moved in to this place and renovated everything and so she's concerned about fire...so I gently shared about the MHP
Also, my mom lost 3/4 of her flock to a family of fox, total slaughter So she has some chicks coming in a couple weeks and asked for my MHP! I was like heck yeah you can use it!! She's always used the heat lamp in the past.

As far as my littles, we're totally integrated as of this weekend. Night time is iffy, everyone trying to settle in for the night. We built another roost so there's plenty of room, but the littles want to be with the bigs and that doesn't go too well, although last night a handful were on the bigs roost and the bigs had scooted down to the other end-eh whatever works! Then some were on their roost and others in a pile on the floor. Hubby and I were talking that we will NEVER brood chicks inside, that having them out with the bigs is totally the way to go!

Oh and in other news, I had a hen go broody, one that I had to break three times last fall...so I decided to let her have some babies We put her into the chicks brooder box in the coop since they don't need it anymore, she was only sitting on 1 egg?? So I gave her 3 fresh ones and they're due to hatch May 21. The babies will go to my mom when they're old enough

Anyway-great to read about what's happening with everyone! Happy spring

 

[MistyMountain]

@Finelyfound , Hello neighbor

from my side of the mountain! How are those chicks doing after your adjustments? I am still waiting on my 25, with the next potential ship date being 5/24. I bought extra chicks my first time around as well, expecting losses. Somehow that never happened and I ended up with way more than I needed! Hang in there, it will all fall into place. All the info seems intimidating about chickens… I read enough before getting mine, but they really are super easy, and stronger than you think!

I was all excited last night when I locked up the coop. My LF cochin was in the nest box!!! She was a super mom last summer, hatching out 8 chicks and managed to keep 4 of those and herself alive when a dog came through and wiped out 8 of my flock, along with my mean Roo, the Legendary Willie Roo. Anyhow, sad to say, she was the first to come out of the coop this morning

. I'm holding out hope, though. By the end of this month last year, I had 3 broodies!!

 

[bruceha2000]

Sluf will stay in with the new chicks, though. He can show them the ropes and he's still kinda young.

I bet you find that the little dude will put up some attitude if he is locked away from the REAL world he has been allowed to see!

Quote:
And make it LONG not square. 12" from open front to back and 48" wide. That lets the chicks be no more than 6" form an exit. You'll have to be a bit creative to make sure the cave doesn't go flat in the middle.

I have no idea how they get all the way up there

As I understand it they will roost as high as they can get. For a time my (turned into fox food April last year) Partridge Chantecler was squeezing between the top of the broody buster and the hardware cloth "ceiling" of the converted horse stall.

Given, as I know you know, they little buggers can fly up to a 2' roost at 2 weeks, they can get pretty high when pretty young. It does seem like it might be helpful to have a couple of platforms at different heights for them to hop down to rather than flying. I'm guessing they are close to 6' up on their "roost".