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

[Ainee]

Here is my first brooder attempt. I'm a newbie and wondered if this all looks ok. I used a 4ft x 2.5ft dog crate. It's lined on the inside with a clear shower curtain, to keep chicks and shavings in. I used Flywheel's MHP method - heating pad wrapped in hardware cloth. It's pretty sturdy and rigid. I'm getting 6 chicks next week. It's pretty warm in Atlanta, and I hope to get them out to the coop at around 3-4 weeks if possible. They'll be inside while in the brooder. Ambient temp in upper 70s. I'll keep a close eye on how well the cave holds up as they grow and get on top of it. Keep it supported or switch to a rigid oven type rack if it can't last the full 4 weeks. It's definitely strong enough for young chicks. I have a standard waterer (that I'll put marbles in before the chicks arrive

) and 2 nipple drinkers in hopes they'll get the hang of that. Does anyone see any problems with this setup? Still time to fix it if I need to. Thanks for looking!

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[Ainee]

Here is my first brooder attempt. I'm a newbie and wondered if this all looks ok. I used a 4ft x 2.5ft dog crate. It's lined on the inside with a clear shower curtain, to keep chicks and shavings in. I used Flywheel's MHP method - heating pad wrapped in hardware cloth. It's pretty sturdy and rigid. I'm getting 6 chicks next week. It's pretty warm in Atlanta, and I hope to get them out to the coop at around 3-4 weeks if possible. They'll be inside while in the brooder. Ambient temp in upper 70s. I'll keep a close eye on how well the cave holds up as they grow and get on top of it. Keep it supported or switch to a rigid oven type rack if it can't last the full 4 weeks. It's definitely strong enough for young chicks. I have a standard waterer (that I'll put marbles in before the chicks arrive

) and 2 nipple drinkers in hopes they'll get the hang of that. Does anyone see any problems with this setup? Still time to fix it if I need to. Thanks for looking!

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[Ainee]

Not sure why that posted twice.

Also not sure why the other pics didn't post, but here's one more. Thanks again for looking!

 

[Jensownzoo]

Chicks get the hang of nipple drinkers really quickly--just tap it yourself until there is a hanging drop of water to catch their attention. Once one gets it, they'll teach the others.

Unfortunately, the chicks will probably be able to jump-fly to the top of your shower curtain and pop through those bars very quickly (maybe a week or two). A rough estimate is that they can fly as high in feet as they are weeks old...and you'll be amazed a what sorts of cracks they can wiggle their little butts through!

 

[Ainee]

Chicks get the hang of nipple drinkers really quickly--just tap it yourself until there is a hanging drop of water to catch their attention. Once one gets it, they'll teach the others.

Unfortunately, the chicks will probably be able to jump-fly to the top of your shower curtain and pop through those bars very quickly (maybe a week or two). A rough estimate is that they can fly as high in feet as they are weeks old...and you'll be amazed a what sorts of cracks they can wiggle their little butts through!

Oh my gosh... I had no idea they'd fly up there while small enough to get through those bars. Darn. Actually it didn't occur to me that they'd fly up on the curtain at all.

That shower curtain part took a while! Lol This is how we learn... Thank you for the heads-up! I guess I'll line it with cardboard.

 

[Jensownzoo]

Oh my gosh... I had no idea they'd fly up there while small enough to get through those bars. Darn. Actually it didn't occur to me that they'd fly up on the curtain at all.

That shower curtain part took a while! Lol This is how we learn... Thank you for the heads-up! I guess I'll line it with cardboard.

Yeah, they'll kick the bedding up and over it too. They're quite vigorous about looking for tidbits. At least you can learn from other's (my) mistakes!

 

[Ainee]

Yeah, they'll kick the bedding up and over it too. They're quite vigorous about looking for tidbits. At least you can learn from other's (my) mistakes!

You're absolutely right. I appreciate the advice! Thanks

 

[bruceha2000]

Here is my first brooder attempt. I'm a newbie and wondered if this all looks ok. I used a 4ft x 2.5ft dog crate. It's lined on the inside with a clear shower curtain, to keep chicks and shavings in. I used Flywheel's MHP method - heating pad wrapped in hardware cloth. It's pretty sturdy and rigid. I'm getting 6 chicks next week. It's pretty warm in Atlanta, and I hope to get them out to the coop at around 3-4 weeks if possible. They'll be inside while in the brooder. Ambient temp in upper 70s. I'll keep a close eye on how well the cave holds up as they grow and get on top of it. Keep it supported or switch to a rigid oven type rack if it can't last the full 4 weeks. It's definitely strong enough for young chicks. I have a standard waterer (that I'll put marbles in before the chicks arrive

) and 2 nipple drinkers in hopes they'll get the hang of that. Does anyone see any problems with this setup? Still time to fix it if I need to. Thanks for looking!

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Does that mean you don't currently have other chickens? If not, other than wanting to see the chicks any time you want in the house, you can raise them out in the coop. If you look back at earlier posts you will see that Blooie has raised them outside with MHP in temps you will likely never see in Atlanta in the coldest part of winter.

If you do have other chickens and the coop is big enough for the dog crate as well, you can put it in there and make integration a breeze.

 

[Ainee]

Does that mean you don't currently have other chickens? If not, other than wanting to see the chicks any time you want in the house, you can raise them out in the coop. If you look back at earlier posts you will see that Blooie has raised them outside with MHP in temps you will likely never see in Atlanta in the coldest part of winter.

If you do have other chickens and the coop is big enough for the dog crate as well, you can put it in there and make integration a breeze.

Thank you for that advice. I would LOVE to do that, but the coop won't be finished for another week or so. When it is finished, I'll still need to do some additional weatherproofing of the run for young chicks. (Or just weatherproof the crate?) The coop enclosure itself isn't a walk-in, and it seems a little dark and closed up for brooding to me - though large enough at 30 sf. Somehow I'm going to try to get them outside as soon as possible though! Thanks for the nudge in that direction!

 

[FlyWheel]

So long as they have a predator safe sheltered area you can let them outside as soon as they are feathered out and can control their own body temperature. Actually this is the best way as they can build up their feathers/down as needed while the temps drop rather than having to do so all of a sudden.