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

[aart]

Quote: Where are you measuring 95F?

 

[Maeschak]

Where are you measuring 95F?

On the ground in the middle of the MHP. Turned off one heating pad and it is generally about 90 degrees in there now. Hopefully that will do the trick.

 

[aart]

Wow, that's hot...not sure how it can get that hot on low setting unless the room it's in is already hot...or you're using a different pad than most of use here do. Just keep playing with it...and make sure there a cool(70-80F) part of the brooder for them to go to.

 

[Maeschak]

Wow, that's hot...not sure how it can get that hot on low setting unless the room it's in is already hot...or you're using a different pad than most of use here do. Just keep playing with it...and make sure there a cool(70-80F) part of the brooder for them to go to.

Yeah, it is already about 70 couple in that room. And yeah, they can leave the MHP to get to the remaining pen (dog kennel), just thought they couldn't survive first night out in the 70 degree temp and/or they would trample each other to death huddling. They are all tucked in under MHP and quiet now, so hopefully all is well.

Thanks so much-

 

[FlyWheel]

Turned off my Mama and removed the pad from the Hardware Cloth 'frame' The babies (5 weeks now) have about 80-90% if their baby feathers, and it's warm enough even at night that they aren't using it anymore, so i put the HC frame back in so they can roost on it.

Ohh, that's mighty big, I don;t think I like this new editor. :/

 

[Victoria-nola]

Advice Needed: So I put my newborn chicks into my MHP. Temp looked fine at 95 degrees and newborns spent most of day underneath it. Now that it is evening they are out of the MHP and huddled in the corner peeping loud. Temp seems fine so I have no idea what is going on. Any ideas? Chicks first night is tonight.

Sorry I didn't see this earlier. If they were in there all day and then not at night, it's probably because somehow they lost their way. I doubt it's because suddenly it felt too warm on their first day. In any case, if you haven't already, tuck them one by one back inside, holding each one for a few secs until they relax and stay.

 

[Ainee]

My 6 babies arrived on Thursday, and so far the MHP method is working wonderfully! I'm so pleased with it. I used @FlyWheel 's method, with the hardware cloth wrapped around the pad as a frame. Most of the underside of the pad is exposed, so no barrier between it and the chicks. The chicks are doing very well so far! They come out to eat, drink, explore, and just in general be extremely cute.

They have slept under the pad all night, both nights, without a peep. No periods of loud, unhappy peeping yet - knocking on wood!The pad is set on 3 (after doing MUCH temp taking before the babies arrival). They're indoors right now, with indoor temps in upper 70s. I'll move them out, with MHP, in a week or two, as soon as coop is finished, and the covered run area is weather-proofed. I might move the entire dog crate into the covered coop area, but either way they'll have a protected area. SO GLAD to have found this MHP thread, and so grateful to those who thought of it, and then spread the word! @Blooie - I know you weren't the creator, but you've done SO much to spread the information and help and guide those of us who wanted to try it!! Thank you! Thanks to all who help each other on this site! I would've been a basket case without it! Here's my little brood: 2 Speckled Sussex, 2 EEs, 1 Barred Rock and 1 Australorp.

(The angle on the bottom picture makes it look like the towel over the MHP is hanging down almost to the floor. It doesn't actually hang down that far... they move in and out with ease)

 

[Victoria-nola]

My 6 babies arrived on Thursday, and so far the MHP method is working wonderfully! I'm so pleased with it. I used @FlyWheel 's method, with the hardware cloth wrapped around the pad as a frame. Most of the underside of the pad is exposed, so no barrier between it and the chicks. The chicks are doing very well so far! They come out to eat, drink, explore, and just in general be extremely cute.

They have slept under the pad all night, both nights, without a peep. No periods of loud, unhappy peeping yet - knocking on wood!The pad is set on 3 (after doing MUCH temp taking before the babies arrival). They're indoors right now, with indoor temps in upper 70s. I'll move them out, with MHP, in a week or two, as soon as coop is finished, and the covered run area is weather-proofed. I might move the entire dog crate into the covered coop area, but either way they'll have a protected area. SO GLAD to have found this MHP thread, and so grateful to those who thought of it, and then spread the word! @Blooie - I know you weren't the creator, but you've done SO much to spread the information and help and guide those of us who wanted to try it!! Thank you! Thanks to all who help each other on this site! I would've been a basket case without it! Here's my little brood: 2 Speckled Sussex, 2 EEs, 1 Barred Rock and 1 Australorp.

(The angle on the bottom picture makes it look like the towel over the MHP is hanging down almost to the floor. It doesn't actually hang down that far... they move in and out with ease)

I just wouldn't want to go any other way.

I started off first with chicks I hatched this spring, then hatched out guinea fowl and used it with them as well. Everybody loves it.

Glad you are having fun

--V

 

[ccrow]

Hi all-
I've been going through this thread for awhile, and have just set up six chicks in my coop, following(more or less) Blooie's model for the heating pad cave. Unfortunately it doesn't fit super well where it needs to be; I may try Flywheel's hardware cloth version. But the big picture is that the chicks are eating, drinking and pooping, so it's going well!

I also got a thermometer with a remote that is intended for indoor/outdoor readings- the remote is in the cave and the base is mounted on the wall of the coop. Of course the first day I had it set up it was over 90 here, and the remote read 100, but the chicks can easily get away from the heat. Today wasn't anywhere near so hot, thank goodness. I'm in Maine, it's not supposed to be that hot in September!!!
What I need to know is, how soon can chicks raised in the presence of the older birds be mainstreamed into the coop and pen? I am set up to be able to have them separated in the pen, once they are big enough that they can't get out through the fence; I can put them out there in a pen-within-the-pen setup a bit sooner than that. (Every time I get new chicks, I realize I have forgotten again how tiny they are at first!!)
How has it worked out introducing the new ones to the older ones??

 

[Victoria-nola]

Hi all-
I've been going through this thread for awhile, and have just set up six chicks in my coop, following(more or less) Blooie's model for the heating pad cave. Unfortunately it doesn't fit super well where it needs to be; I may try Flywheel's hardware cloth version. But the big picture is that the chicks are eating, drinking and pooping, so it's going well!

I also got a thermometer with a remote that is intended for indoor/outdoor readings- the remote is in the cave and the base is mounted on the wall of the coop. Of course the first day I had it set up it was over 90 here, and the remote read 100, but the chicks can easily get away from the heat. Today wasn't anywhere near so hot, thank goodness. I'm in Maine, it's not supposed to be that hot in September!!!
What I need to know is, how soon can chicks raised in the presence of the older birds be mainstreamed into the coop and pen? I am set up to be able to have them separated in the pen, once they are big enough that they can't get out through the fence; I can put them out there in a pen-within-the-pen setup a bit sooner than that. (Every time I get new chicks, I realize I have forgotten again how tiny they are at first!!)
How has it worked out introducing the new ones to the older ones??

The sooner you can put the pen-within-a-pen together, the better. That way the older chickens have a chance to see and get used to the littles-- this is very important. My littles went out to pen-within-pen on Day 3 after hatching. By the time they were 2 weeks old they were ready and able to start going out into the main coop-- I had cut holes in their little brooder/pen so that they could get in and out but the older ones could not get into their space. Some people will prop the door to the pen/brooder and do it that way. My littles stayed within the coop (going in and out of their brooder) for another week before ever venturing out the pop-door. I haven't had any trouble with integration because of this method-- a peck here and there is nothing. To me, that's the biggest benefit is not having to deal with any violence. Now the littles are 16+ weeks old and doing great.

Hope this helps, if not, I or others can answer more questions.

--V