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

[aart]

Thanks @Victoria-nola it was a really fun design collaboration.
Concept development is about the only thing I miss about my former job (well, that and the paychecks),
basically I just love to 'figure stuff out' and help others do the same.
We had a lot of good back and forth examining the options, you are a great communicator.
The fact that it went up so fast(at least the frame) was gratifying, probably more so because I didn't have to physically do it myself....haha!

 

[ccrow]

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

Sorry, I guess I wasn't very clear; I have the chicks set up in the coop with the older birds- the MHP cave is in the space under the nest boxes. I haven't been hanging out at the coop/pen but it seems like the adults are mostly ignoring the babies. The problem with my setup while the chicks are small is that the fencing has openings too big to keep little ones in. I really don't want to have to mess around with it, but if that's what I need to do...sigh

I guess I can wrap chicken wire around the outside of the heavier fencing. I also wonder if the littles would be able to figure out going up the ramp to get back into the coop.

 

[Victoria-nola]

Quote:
So does that mean the littles are already in contact with the bigs? I'm confused about that part-- if so, sounds like the bigs are just ignoring them. In any case, our setup is that we have a chicken coop, and then we have a fenced area outside the coop that is just cattle panel so only 50" tall and wide openings, and there's an opening in that fence that lets the chickens out into the rest of our property for free-ranging. I was very freaked out about my littles going out the pop-door of the coop and into the fenced part, so I put chicken wire around the whole thing to keep them inside it. So, two things:

1) They didn't just immediately tear out the pop door. Once I let them roam outside the brooder pen, it took them at least a week to decide to venture out the pop door. With your setup though, it could be earlier, not sure. But once mine did go in and out, they had no trouble at all remembering/knowing how to get back inside.

2) Once they went outside the pop door, they were very careful about where they ventured for about a week, and stayed really close to the coop and went in and out a lot. Then they were ready to start exploring, and they discovered they could fly up above the chicken wire and jump back down the other side. So after the first week or so, the only chickens I was keeping in the yard were the older ones. So I opened that outer door and everyone started free ranging, again, the littles being very careful how they explored but nevertheless doing it.

So, yes, the chicken wire kept them in for another week or a bit more, but it would need to be 36 or 48 inches high to go longer than that. I made the mistake of only using 24".

You can use a nail to twist the chicken wire quickly onto your fencing if you want to do that. If you will have groups of chicks in the future it will be in their interest, but it should be 1" diameter. I figure, they grow so fast, that each week of protection they got was enabling them to survive a bit longer. So to sum up, my chicks went out the pop-door to the yard at about 3 weeks, and over the fence to the free-range at about 4 maybe 4.5 weeks. I lost one to a feral cat we are no longer being troubled by, everyone else grew up.

I reported on the exact ages and so forth here on this thread, but it's been long enough I don't remember exactly.

hope this helps,
--Victoria

 

[bruceha2000]

Heheh! Sure, I'll pardon you as long as we can agree that some of those girls that don't know which side of the hammer is supposed to hit the nail have names like Tom, Rich, and Harry.

heheheheh amirite?

ABSOLUTELY!!

Thanks @Victoria-nola it was a really fun design collaboration.
Concept development is about the only thing I miss about my former job (well, that and the paychecks),
basically I just love to 'figure stuff out' and help others do the same.
We had a lot of good back and forth examining the options, you are a great communicator.
The fact that it went up so fast(at least the frame) was gratifying, probably more so because I didn't have to physically do it myself....haha!

Me too (on both counts)! I love to design stuff, but I do also like to build it

 

[aart]

Quote: I've had tons of stuff built for me(during my work career) and I've built a lot myself.....
.....but just having built a hoop coop tractor this spring and another half built.....it was nice to watch someone else do it this time.

 

[Little Fuzzy]

I saw a heating pad at Tractor supply that can stay on without the auto shut off.

 

[Blooie]

I saw a heating pad at Tractor supply that can stay on without the auto shut off.

Did it come home with you?

Earlier in the year, during "Chick Days" when I picked up a few EEs, the guy asked me if I had a brooder and a heat lamp. I told him I use neither one and his eyebrows shot up. He was sure I'd be taking these little chicks home to die. I explained Mama Heating Pad to him and showed him this thread on my iPhone. He was stunned! I had to reassure him by going through page after page and showing him everyone's photos that it does indeed work. He called in a couple of other employees and showed them, and they asked tons of questions. So who knows? Maybe they will start carrying them in some of the stores now.....

 

[aart]

Quote: I saw a heat pad/plate there this spring.....it was small(like 8x10-12) and very expensive compared to the human heat pads we are using for the 'MHP'.
Similar to the Brinsea and/or Premiere and/or other radiant animal heaters that have been out there for years.

 

[Little Fuzzy]

No I didn't buy it as I raised my chicks with the heat lamp. Now I know this method and next time I get chicks I will used this method.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Did it come home with you?  

Earlier in the year, during "Chick Days" when I picked up a few EEs, the guy asked me if I had a brooder and a heat lamp.  I told him I use neither one and his eyebrows shot up.  He was sure I'd be taking these little chicks home to die.  I explained Mama Heating Pad to him and showed him this thread on my iPhone.  He was stunned!  I had to reassure him by going through page after page and showing him everyone's photos that it does indeed work.  He called in a couple of other employees and showed them, and they asked tons of questions.  So who knows?  Maybe they will start carrying them in some of the stores now.....

They do carry pet/kennel heating pads, and they're crazy expensive compared to regular human heating pads. I didn't look, but I assume perhaps they are more resistant to teeth and claws and moisture.