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

[aart]

I find them to be more active under some heat to get them eating and drinking right out of the bator.....
....but maybe my brooder room is colder than some and the light is very easily hung inside my brooder.
Just another option for those who choose to do so.

 

[bruceha2000]

I would think that the proper temperature setting of the MHP pad, seeing as it is supposed to be a surrogate for an actual mother hen, would be the normal body temperature of a broody hen.

And just what IS the normal body temperature under a broody hen?? I had a broody sitting on shavings (no rooster here) and she thawed 2 refreezable ice packs in series. She was HOT HOT HOT underneath when I picked her up off that second thawed pack. WAY hotter than what she would be producing while brooding chicks. Clearly not an effective method to break a broody.

Point being, I believe the hen will regulate the temp she puts out for the chicks underneath as the need arises. Probably 95F the first week, 90F the next week .....

I have no clue how to brood a chick in the house... I grew up on a small farm and our chickens took care of raising their chicks without too much help from us.

I came here 4 years ago looking for advice after being away from raising chickens for most of my adult life and I was so lost reading all the posts about brooding in totes, high wattage heat lamps, ect... Lucky for my chicks I found the old timers thread and realized my instinct to start them in the coop wasn't absolutely nuts.

This MHP sounds like the next best thing to a broody hen and I am looking forward to seeing how this group of chicks grows in what I believe will be a much more natural environment .

Thanks to all of the experienced members for sharing their advice and chicken knowledge. I have learned so much from reading threads like these.

Yep!!!

Omgsh!! Mine are inside right now because I'm waiting for my coop to be finished, which will be within this week. My chicks are just shy of two weeks old. I hope I can get them outside soon enough to escape that "dust"! Ughhhhh!

Congratulations on doing it right! Get chicks, start coop. They won't grow fast, right? RIGHT?!?!??

 

[Beekissed]

Well....we incubate eggs at 100*, so I'd say the average temp of a broody while incubating chicks is 100, but I'm doubting she stays that hot all the way through raising the chicks. And they don't all stay under her all the time past the first few days unless it's really cold outside and they need a warm up. By the second week most chicks can't stand the heat under there and are perching along the edges of the hen or on her back, tucked under a wing, etc.

Since the heating pad doesn't have wings or edges all the way around under which to stay warm, I'd hesitate to shoot for a goal of keeping the pad at 100* all the time as if it were a broody hen...it's NOT a broody hen, but as close as we can get to one right now, so adaptations are a must.

 

[Beekissed]

Hello again!

I used MHP in my brooder the last time we had chicks, but not until they were a bit older. This time we are doing something brand new and incubating, so I have some questions about those first days. I know they're in here somewhere but I don't have time to comb the thread again.

I seem to recall that some used a heat lamp in the first hours so they could keep an eye on chicks' well-being. Anyone want to chime in with opinions on this?

If I don't use a heat lamp when I transfer to brooder, should I place chicks directly under MHP and leave them be? Check them frequently? I've never dealt with newly hatched babies before.

We most likely will remove chicks from the incubator way before they are 24 hours old. I have 6 eggs in a brinsea mini advance and hear it gets mighty crowded. We're keeping them in the house for a couple days for easy observation, then they move to a "nursery" in the coop with the big girls.

As soon as chicks are dry and walking around the 'bator well, I move them right to the outside brooder and under the HP. If there are other chicks there already or I'm transferring several there at the same time, they stay under that HP. I check frequently but I've never seen them venture out as soon as they get under that warmth and darkness. No heat lamp used in my setup and they are reluctant to leave that warmth to go into the chill of the brooder for the first day or so. They'll venture out, peck around a little, drink and then scuttle back to the HP to warm up, much like they do with a mama hen.

 

[lisasflock76]

I'm getting chicks today. Have my heating pad set up and my husband calls telling me his friends that have chickens said we need a heat lamp. I told him I have a heating pad it'll be fine. I have a thermometer and couldn't get a good reading. Should I have shavings right away or would shelf liner over newspaper be okay for a bit. I heard they eat the shavings.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I'm getting chicks today. Have my heating pad set up and my husband calls telling me his friends that have chickens said we need a heat lamp. I told him I have a heating pad it'll be fine. I have a thermometer and couldn't get a good reading. Should I have shavings right away or would shelf liner over newspaper be okay for a bit. I heard they eat the shavings.

I personally use paper towels over newspaper for the first day or so then they are in shavings. I do give them chick grit at that point since they'll peck at bits.

 

[bruceha2000]

I'm getting chicks today. Have my heating pad set up and my husband calls telling me his friends that have chickens said we need a heat lamp. I told him I have a heating pad it'll be fine. I have a thermometer and couldn't get a good reading. Should I have shavings right away or would shelf liner over newspaper be okay for a bit. I heard they eat the shavings.

Tell your husband that his friends are living in the stone age

Just because it has "always" been done that way doesn't mean it is the BEST way! Have them come over and see how your chicks do NOT act like the chicks they raised under a heat lamp. They will likely be worried because the birds are quiet and SLEEP at night!

Ignore the thermometer, watch the chicks. If they never go in (after you show them the cave!) it is too hot. If they never come out it is too cold. If they come and go it is JUST RIGHT. Lower the temp based on that behavior as they get older.

I used paper towels over newspaper the first time (heat lamp in the bathroom

This was back in the stone age of 2012) for a couple of days then gave them shavings over newspaper. The 2015 chicks went out to a brooder in the coop with a broody hen at 3 days old. Nothing but shavings in there. Never had a problem with the chicks eating shavings either time.

 

[lazy gardener]

And just what IS the normal body temperature under a broody hen?? I had a broody sitting on shavings (no rooster here) and she thawed 2 refreezable ice packs in series. She was HOT HOT HOT underneath when I picked her up off that second thawed pack. WAY hotter than what she would be producing while brooding chicks. Clearly not an effective method to break a broody.

Point being, I believe the hen will regulate the temp she puts out for the chicks underneath as the need arises. Probably 95F the first week, 90F the next week .....

Yep!!!


Congratulations on doing it right! Get chicks, start coop. They won't grow fast, right? RIGHT?!?!??

Bruce, you slay me. I had to look back to see who was speaking when you were talking about broody turning down her nest temp! As for getting chicks, and then starting coop, isn't that the way it's supposed to be done. I always do things backwards.

Tell your husband that his friends are living in the stone age

Just because it has "always" been done that way doesn't mean it is the BEST way! Have them come over and see how your chicks do NOT act like the chicks they raised under a heat lamp. They will likely be worried because the birds are quiet and SLEEP at night!

Ignore the thermometer, watch the chicks. If they never go in (after you show them the cave!) it is too hot. If they never come out it is too cold. If they come and go it is JUST RIGHT. Lower the temp based on that behavior as they get older.

I used paper towels over newspaper the first time (heat lamp in the bathroom

This was back in the stone age of 2012) for a couple of days then gave them shavings over newspaper. The 2015 chicks went out to a brooder in the coop with a broody hen at 3 days old. Nothing but shavings in there. Never had a problem with the chicks eating shavings either time.

To poster who was talking about using shelf liner, IMO, it would be too slippery. MHP raised chicks are calmer, better socially adjusted, feather out faster. Not as prone to aggression. Acclimate to coop/run situations better. Use less electricity.

 

[aart]

To poster who was talking about using shelf liner, IMO, it would be too slippery.

Not if it's that foam netting type stuff.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Bruce, you slay me.  I had to look back to see who was speaking when you were talking about broody turning down her nest temp!  As for getting chicks, and then starting coop, isn't that the way it's supposed to be done.  I always do things backwards.

To poster who was talking about using shelf liner, IMO, it would be too slippery.  MHP raised chicks are calmer, better socially adjusted, feather out faster.  Not as prone to aggression.  Acclimate to coop/run situations better.  Use less electricity.  

Maybe your are thinking of contact paper. The shelf liner stuff is grippy.