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

[aart]

Check out this thread. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1139786/heater-question#post_17698834 I wonder if this is a new product. It's rigid and has screws for mounting and it's specifically for warming chicks. Blooie, MHP may have inspired a new THING!

Saw those at TSC last year......was put off by small size, but stiffness and washability were attractive.

Heating pads for chicks are nothing new....MHP came about as a DIY option to the Brinsea type chick heaters.

 

[Blooie]

Hmmm That's interesting. I went to the link in the thread and it actually looks like a pretty good product! I also took the time to read the reviews - seems most folks are using it under the chicks or screwed into the walls of the coop. I still think I prefer the flexibility of MHP - the chicks are getting the warmth at their backs, and them being able to scoot and snuggle underneath where it's soft and dark is still more natural, but I have to say that this does open up a new avenue for anyone who prefers to buy something specifically designed for warming chicks. Sometimes it's hard to wrap your head around the safety and efficiency of using a household product for something as different as a heat source for chicks. To my way of thinking, the MHP still has advantages....the heat at the chicks' back, the dark, safe-feeling spot if they get spooked, and the ability for them to choose their own comfort zone either inside or on top...but I can certainly see this as a viable alternative. The price is good, too, and being able to keep it cleaner easier is a bonus. When I started looking for an alternative to heat lamps, I was very interested in the Brinseas, but they were so out of my budget, and I just didn't like the openness of them....I wanted chicks to be able to crawl under something cozy and dark.

I didn't notice any kind of "listing date" and wish I'd paid more attention to the review dates...seems they all started around 2015 if I remember right, so whether that's when the product became available I couldn't say. But if it was indeed inspired by MHP, then Patrice Lopatin and @Beekissed are the true revolutionaries. Whatever the background, if people are starting to recognize that there is a safer alternative to heat lamps <shudder> then I'm all for it!

 

[aart]

9x12 for $30 is more bucks per 'chick area' than the 12 x 24 heating pads we are using.
Size is a limiting factor and also affects price of a heating element of course.

Sweeter Heaters have been around for years I believe, even before the Brinsea and Premiere plates.
Can't google a link right now, glitch internet lately, but google Sweeter Heater.

 

[azygous]

I'm a frugal twerp. I'll hang onto my dual purpose soft heating pad that services both my chicks and my cold feet.

But this product certainly has potential. My imagination has only just begun to chew on this.

 

[aart]

I'm a frugal twerp. I'll hang onto my dual purpose soft heating pad that services both my chicks and my cold feet.

But this product certainly has potential. My imagination has only just begun to chew on this.

Frugal here too.......why I never bought a Sweeter Heater Brinsea, or a Premiere.

.....and love my MHP, but found size limits with 16 chicks under 12x24 this spring...was juuuust big enough for long enough and my temps and timing.

 

[Jensownzoo]

Check out this thread. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1139786/heater-question#post_17698834 I wonder if this is a new product. It's rigid and has screws for mounting and it's specifically for warming chicks. Blooie, MHP may have inspired a new THING!

K&H makes hard plastic outdoor kennel pads for dogs/cats too. I used a large one in a wood frame (that I built) in my grow out pen this spring for my second batch of chicks and it worked great as an MHP. I've got chicks in the brooder now, so will fire it up again once I'm ready to move them out.

 

[Blooie]

Nobody needs me any more!!

 

[aart]

Nobody needs me any more!!

Oh Stop That.

 

[Blooie]

Just seeing if anyone was awake!

Edited to add: It ain't about me anyway, it's about the chicks!

 

[saraem]

This integration stuff is stressful. I've already had a couple bleeding wounds (nothing serious, but enough to draw blood). We are only letting them interact when free ranging so there's lots of space, and with supervision. Every time the big girls get near the chicks, though, they go after them. I have had to put my foot between a hen and chick many times to avoid worse pecking.

When not free ranging they are all in the coop separated by chicken wire, so they've had time to observe each other. The chicks don't seem to get that they need to steer clear of the bigs, and the bigs basically seem to want to kill the littles. Any advice?

We have only 2 bigs (6 months) and 2 chicks. One of the bigs is a bit of a bully but I've seen the other one go after the babies, too.