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

[AutumnHens]

Yeah we used it last time and it was great, plenty of room for them and easy to watch and enjoy. I did forget to ask if I could used a reptile heating pad instead of a human heating pad? It would be under the pool vs forming the roof of their den.

 

[junebuggena]

Yeah we used it last time and it was great, plenty of room for them and easy to watch and enjoy. I did forget to ask if I could used a reptile heating pad instead of a human heating pad? It would be under the pool vs forming the roof of their den.

The whole point of the heating pad method is to simulate a mother hen. The chicks coming into direct contact with the pad is how they get warm. It's not an ambient heating method. The point is to allow the chicks to choose exactly how much heat they want and when they want it, without heating up the whole brooder. If you can adjust the amount of heat the reptile pad puts out, I don't see why you can't use it as a substitute. If you put it under the pool, it's not likely to produce enough warmth through the plastic and the bedding to keep the chicks warm.

 

[AllynTal]

...and I have one of those backup power boxes that Bruce mentions that beeps very annoyingly the entire time the power is out....

Are you sure it doesn't have a power button? Every UPS I've had, both at home and for work, has a power button -- sometimes disguised, sometimes recessed so it isn't accidently pressed, but on the UPS somewhere.

 

[Ahavati]

Before we ordered chickens, I had been looking around for ideas as I didn't like the idea of the heat lamp. These are our first chickens and I have always felt so strongly that they should be for the most part treated ar though they would in a natural setting. I always thought that the mama hen never regulated temps. So why would I regulate and drop temps every week? I had seen mama hens with chicks and they were out and about running around, even in cold weather. So I came across this thread and it resonated so much with what I believed. I was so excited to try it. We did it with our first batch (now 4 weeks and on no heat) and now have it up for our 6 day old babies. It's worked beautifully. We have a heat pad (hard thing from TSC) under the shavings and a heating pad on top of the arch. They are in and out, on top, all around and are thriving. I am so thrilled I found this.

I'm now working on getting the out in the coop with the MHP out in the coop. We have to finish a couple things out there. But I'm glad that I can raise them out there now and not in my living room.

I get a little worried for a second then come across some comments on here that confirm we're doing ok with treating them as they would wild.

Here is our current batch of 6 day olds!

 

[Blooie]

So glad so many new members are finding us, and dues are being paid in the form of all of the photos!! Welcome to the Broody Brigade, @Ahavati .! And welcome to others I may have missed as well!

My feeling is that you really don't need heat under the pad as well as on top of it. The idea isn't to heat the space, It's to let the chicks regulate the heat themselves by using the pad at their backs,like Mama Hen does. We're trying to warm them, not bake them. But if it's working for you, then I don't see any reason to change it. My only concern would be that they'd overheat, move away from the "cave" and then be hesitant to go back in, which might lead to them huddling in a corner somewhere, chilled and even dangerously uncomfortable. Of course, I assume that it's warmer where you are than up here in Northwestern Wyoming, so that might not be as risky an issue as it here.

I guess that reply applies to @AutumnHens as well. As @junebuggena said (and why didn't that @ thingy work?) the idea is to heat them from above. Personally I don't care for swimming pools as a brooder but many folks have used them very successfully. The pesky little buggers don't stay little for long and the sides of the pool are low enough to allow for escapees. For that reason I opt for a wire pen, and I also prefer it because they aren't restricted to just seeing what's overhead....they can see through the wires and get to know their entire environment. The people taking care of them aren't some tall monsters approaching from above. They can see you the minute you enter the area where their brooder is and it takes them almost zero time to see if you have a treat or two in your hands! That encourages curiosity and decreases fear. But again, if it's working for you, then keep right on doing on it!! You're there, I'm here, and you know what's best for you and your situation!

Reptile pads come up here from time to time. I don't know that we've ever had a clear consensus on their use, but if I'm wrong I know that someone will point that out and steer us to the page where it was discussed. (Sometimes this thread just flies by and it's hard to remember from one page to the next.) Once we start relying on heating from the bottom with other than a heating pad, then the setup isn't really a Mama Heating Pad but just a heat source.

As for power outages, @henless found a pad that not only stays on, but will turn itself back on to the last set temperature in the event of an outage. Here's a link to that pad:

http://www.sunbeam.com/pain-relief/...ology-blue/000771-810-000.html#sz=12&start=18

 

[Ahavati]

@Blooie Yes I have thought about it being too much heat. With our first batch, I had my husband go get it because with just the heating pad, the temp was only 85. They did not seem to mind but I began to worry. Later I thought, with sleeping close and body heat, it probaby got to 95. I weaned my older chicks off of it. We were gone over thanksgiving with a friend checking on them. When we got back, I noticed they didn't even sleep near the warmth at all. After a few days I just took the heat off. They were/are fully feathered anyway. It's still pretty warm down here in TX although we have a bit of a cold front now, but only in the 40s. They are in our living room though so they're quite warm. I'll probably be taking the warming plate out of the new chicks as I didn't want them to get too hot. They like to sit on the top and get warmth there. So far they sit right at the front of it and sometimes right outside the front (which the heating plate extends out). So that leads me to believe they might be a little warm in there!! Thank you for the suggestion!

 

[tomphot]

This was my swimming pool setup. We had it raised on some plywood I had put on some saw horses so we wouldn't need to bend over on top of the chicks. The cardboard surround had an extra removable panel for easy entry. My thermometer has 2 zones so I was able to put a sensor up against the back of the cave to check on the temp. As it was June in Atlanta, keeping them warm enough wasn't an problem for my 8 chicks.

 

[AutumnHens]

We use a slightly bigger pool than the one pictured above but I can run it with wire instead of cardboard, I have a few extra rolls of hardware cloth around so that's easy. I was still going to build the cave with the towel and everything just the heater is designed to sit under the tank and heat through the substrate for a reptile. We have used it with good effect on tanks with the bark chips for snakes but if you think it would be better above I can do that too. I'll just put the reptile pad above the chicks, just wrap it in a towel and the press and seal as mentioned with a human one. I just figured if it was under it would keep the electrical cord away from where they can reach it. My husband is concerned they'll peck at it and fry themselves but since ya'll have been doing this for years I'm betting it's safe.

Thank you all for your help!!

 

[Blooie]

You raise a legitimate concern and one I've heard before. None of us have ever experienced the chicks pecking at the electrical cord, or if they have they can't do any damage to it. But if it makes hubby feel a little better, you can always slip the length that is within their reach into a small diameter piece of PVC pipe. I don't dismiss anyone's worries - I ain't got this down perfectly yet myself so I'm always learning, and those little boogers can find ways to get into trouble that we haven't even thought of yet!

As I said, if you've found a way to make a wading pool work for you, then by all means, stick with it! You know what they say - if it ain't broke, don't fix it! Well, except for heat lamps....we sure fixed them on this thread!!

 

[AutumnHens]

Wire around the pool is easy to do, it already had holes punched in the rim to zip tie the cardboard to it so I can do the same with the wire. Not an extra cost and if it makes for happier chicks I'm all for it. It's going to sit in a garage that doesn't get used except as a pass through to the workshop area so no real drafts. Plus they'll have their warm cave if a breeze does come through with the visitors. I can get a piece of hose to put over the chord, I hadn't even thought of that. Should make the hubby happy, and like with the chicks I'm all for that.