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

[Blooie]

Jessie, I see it but I am not experienced enough at hatching to give you an answer, and I have never had guineas..... Have you tried here?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1081034/hands-on-hatching-and-help/7690#post_17630110

There's almost always somebody on there who knows what they are talking about!!

And @Sally Sunshine lso has a good thread, but I can't find the link at the moment.

I'm so sorry I can't help you! Keep us posted!

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Today is day 27 for my guinea eggs and I have 3 that have cracked the shell but none of the shell fell off. Is this normal? I can here peeping every once in awhile, Is this how the hatching process goes? How long before a piece of the egg falls off? One egg it has been an hour. Any help will be appreciated.

Hi Blooie and Jessie!

@Jessie22

They take just a tad longer than LF eggs but not much, it sounds like you need to understand a few things about how they actually hatch, so I will give you a link to help you out and then I will give you the link to the thread many that can help with any issues too!

*IMPORTANT INFO= TIMELINES PIPS ZIPS!!! & MARKING AIR CELLS DAY 18, DRAW DOWN, INTERNAL PIP, EXTERNAL PIP, and ZIPPING post #35770

Everytime you open that bator DURING LOCKDOWN, think of it this way..... Opening your door on a cold day into a nice warm house, it almost takes your breath away, what that does to the egg SHELLS is sucks all that moisture that has accumulated in all those tiny pores. People think because humidity on the gauges goes up right away it has no effect but in turn it does. It takes much longer to begin to fill all those pores again. Keep this in mind when opening that thing in lockdown.













PS. we had to open a new incubation thread as the other was too large for BYC to handle so have a look at our thread and PLEASE see the 2nd POST on the thread too! At any time pop on with questions! I wish you the best, and remember pictures can always help us help you!

Educational Incubation & Hatching, w/ Sally Sunshine, CLICK HERE

also our notes that we have accumulated are NOTES LINKS & Informational POST LINKS - CLICK HERE

 

[dustergrl]

That is normal. Once they pip, at least for chicken eggs, it can take up to 24 hours for them to absorb the yolk and push out.

 

[Blooie]

@Sally Sunshine and @dustergrl Thanks for chiming in. Sally, I couldn't for the life of me remember how to get to the hatching site, since you seem to be on so many of them!!

@ckelley I noticed on another thread this morning that you have lost a chick and have another one or two that are "iffy." The electrolytes are a good start, but some of the comments that others have made here about the setup are good ones. I also think your idea is brilliant as far as using the pad between the plastic bins, but maybe it's better for older chicks than brand new ones, especially any that are not doing as well. Heat is critical, but just as important is their ability to snuggle right up to the soft, cozy pad and soak in as much as they want. Whenever someone has a sick or stressed chicken - adult or chick - the first piece of advice is always to keep them warm. The idea behind Mama Heating Pad is to mimic a broody hen, and while your setup is extremely clever, pressing their sides against plastic just isn't as effective as having that heat right down at their backs.

Yep, it's a pain in the hiney to keep the pad clean. I've used Press 'n Seal and also tried putting the entire assembly within a pillow case without the Press 'n Seal. But either way, I still fight the battle of the poops on top. I can shake most of it off, since it dries so quickly, but I still am extremely glad that the heating pads I use are washable!

My gut feeling is that with chicks who aren't doing well and might be stressed from shipping, I'd be getting them under a pad where they can get maximum, steady warmth.

Good luck, and do keep us posted. I may have to steal your idea for older chicks, though. It's a great way to transition them from the direct pad to more indirect heat before removing the heat altogether and letting the more fragile chicks (like the Silkies) move to a huddle box.

 

[saraem]

Hey all!

My MHP is chugging along nicely and the chicks are almost 3 weeks old. We were out of town for a while and we had one chick go a bit droopy for a few days so we kept them inside longer than expected, but are now ready to move them out. I know a lot of you brood your chicks outside and/or in the coop, so I have some questions about that:

It's around 50 at night here. Someone reassure me they won't be too cold (I know they won't). They weren't going under MHP anymore at all indoors (60-70) and were sleeping on top of it even on low. I'll turn it back to high outside until I see how they're doing.

We've had them outdoors in the tractor setup we made during the day while the big girls free range. The plan is to put the tractor inside the coop with MHP, food, water etc inside. My husband made it with chicken wire which has been ok when they have tons of space but the chicks can certainly stick their heads through if they want to (they haven't, really, after the first day.) Should I line the bottom with hardware cloth seeing as they'll be in tighter quarters with the bigs? I'm nervous about them getting pecked.

When did you start letting your chicks mingle with a panic door? I am really nervous about integration. Our barred rock is kind of a bully.

 

[Jensownzoo]

Hey all!

My MHP is chugging along nicely and the chicks are almost 3 weeks old. We were out of town for a while and we had one chick go a bit droopy for a few days so we kept them inside longer than expected, but are now ready to move them out. I know a lot of you brood your chicks outside and/or in the coop, so I have some questions about that:

It's around 50 at night here. Someone reassure me they won't be too cold (I know they won't). They weren't going under MHP anymore at all indoors (60-70) and were sleeping on top of it even on low. I'll turn it back to high outside until I see how they're doing.

We've had them outdoors in the tractor setup we made during the day while the big girls free range. The plan is to put the tractor inside the coop with MHP, food, water etc inside. My husband made it with chicken wire which has been ok when they have tons of space but the chicks can certainly stick their heads through if they want to (they haven't, really, after the first day.) Should I line the bottom with hardware cloth seeing as they'll be in tighter quarters with the bigs? I'm nervous about them getting pecked.

When did you start letting your chicks mingle with a panic door? I am really nervous about integration. Our barred rock is kind of a bully.

At 3 weeks they should be wearing their "feather jackets" so it will keep the important bits warm as long as they aren't in strong winds. I would put a huddle box in their tractor so they can concentrate their body warmth when they need it at night, but otherwise wouldn't worry. The cooler temps will help them complete their feathering that much faster so they will be wearing their "feather snowsuits" in no time.

I wouldn't worry about the hardware cloth if you're keeping the tractor in the coop. A peck through the chicken wire will tend to push the chick backwards and mitigate the force...it is more of a concern when the peck come either from above (since the chick is braced against the ground) or when cornered.

In regards to the panic door, you might want to give them a few days to get used to their new situation in the coop, then maybe block the bigs from the coop during free range time and open the panic door to let the chicks explore the coop and get used to going in/out of the panic door for a few more days. At that point, they're probably as prepared as you can make them.

 

[Blooie]

Yep, I agree. And I don't think I'd turn MHP to high just because they'll be outside. If they were hardly using it on low indoors, they'll get opposite temp shocks at the same time - surroundings cooler than they are used to and MHP warmer than they're used to. It's kind of a double whammy and they'll be confused enough with the permanent change of surroundings. So I'd put them out, put the pad on low for a day or so, then turn it off, leaving either the cave just set up or replacing it with a huddle box, as Jensownzoo mentioned. If they seem cold, you can always turn the pad back on just at night for a couple more days. Your temps don't seem that low to me.....but then we've already been down to the 20's with 5-7 inches of snow! :/. You'll be a better judge of how it's going than I am from here. You've got this!

 

[aart]

Huddle box can be a great thing.
Make them a 'huddle box', put it in the brooder after turning off the heat(you might have to 'persuade' them to use it) then move it out to the coop with them.
Cardboard box with a bottom a little bigger than what they need to cuddle next to each other without piling and tall enough for them to stand in.
Cut an opening on one side a couple inches from bottom and big enough for 2-3 of them to go thru at once.
Fill the bottom with some pine shavings an inch or so deep.
This will give them a cozy place to sleep/rest, block any drafts and help hold their body heat in.

Might use a huddle box and the MHP, give them a choice.
Depending on how big this tractor is.....got a pic of the tractor?

I'd give them a week in the coop before opening tiny(panic) doors.
Make sure your older birds cannot fit thru the tiny doors......
.......that's why I call them 'tiny', had to go 3.5" wide to exclude my slimmer hens.

 

[BullChick]

I am not sure if you have been getting your coffee lately.
Good morning!!

 

[saraem]

Thanks for all the feedback and reassurance. I also realized I forgot some important information...when I said the tractor would be in the coop, I actually meant in the run. Our entire coop/run area is predator-proof and the big girls sleep outside in the run right now (they moved out there at some point when the weather got hot - I'm in GA - and I've let them stay there figuring they'll go back in when it gets cold) as we never close the pop door, so I sometimes think of the entire thing as the "coop".

It would be tough to fit the tractor in the actual enclosed henhouse part without it being under a roost and I would hate to see what would happen if the big girls DID decide to go back in now that the weather's getting colder. The tractor's about 2x2.5' and 2.5' tall and we only have 2 chicks. It's just a wood frame wrapped on all sides except bottom with chicken wire. This is the coop we built, with some minor mods (not my pic):



I will get a pic of our actual coop with the tractor later.