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

[WVduckchick]

The specifications are still a bit ambiguous, but the Product Q&A on the manufacturers page gives a little more info.

http://www.khmfg.com/small-animals/thermo-peep-heated-pad.html

from that site:
"K&H outdoor pads are designed to warm to an animal's normal body temperature of when he/she lies on the pad. When an animal is not on the pad, the heat will dissipate into the air and the surface temperature will vary according to the ambient air temperature."

 

[Ravynscroft]

Yes, he said it was great for the cats, but not so great for the chicks.

Sounds like K!!!

 

[bruceha2000]

I do like the wash-ability of it, but I also wonder how warm it will get.

Just for grins I taped a heat probe to the underside of my EcoGlow and it's at about 124 degrees right now.

I have to wonder what puny REALLY well insulated (thus lacking in proper amount of ventilation) coop they think they are heating with those chicken pads. Looks like a good way to raise ones electric bill especially since the chickens are wearing down coats.

With regard to using it to brood chicks, the heating pad is more versatile and cheaper.

BTW, the Sunbeam XpressHeat pads are washable. The whole thing other than the power cord.

 

[lazy gardener]

Quote: Agreed, Bruce. Just because one can spend more money on a product that will not do the job as well, doesn't mean that is the best thing to do. I don't expect either of my Sunbeam X-Press pads will wear out in my life time, even if I use them every brooding season. I love the washability of them. At the end of the season, I simply hose them down, give them a bit of soap, and hose them again. I don't even have to put them in my washer. They hang out to dry, and then are boxed up and ready for an other season.

 

[Beekissed]

Same here, LG. I left one on almost continually for 2 1/2 mo. and even had almost fried that thing by trying to use a dimmer switch with it~BIG no,no, BTW~and it STILL runs like a Swiss watch. I use mine for heating my seedling trays now, which leaves them on for a good long time too.

Don't know why anyone would look for an alternative to the HPs when these are washable, work like a dream, are extremely adjustable, so durable and dependable, and are so affordable.

 

[lazy gardener]

I forgot the benefit for seedlings. MHP makes those pepper seedlings jump up out of those pots. Will be growing Jalapenos and Habaneros for the first time. Never grew a hot pepper as I couldn't see the purpose of them. I have a sensitive palate! But, Hubby likes it hot. So, he's gonna get it hot this year. I absolutely LOVE my salsa. Now that I have a good supply of it, it goes in/on everything. My morning eggs, toasted cheese sandwiches (now, I don't even care to look at a tomato in the produce aisle when fresh home canned salsa does the trick!) Today, I baked a potato with stir fried cabbage, onions, cheese and salsa for my lunch. Still drooling over that! Now, back to your regularly scheduled program.

 

[Blooie]

I just like the pliability of the heating pad. If I want it draped over the top, it drapes. If I put it inside the frame and secure with bungee cords, it holds the shape of the frame. For me the idea behind MHP is to keep it simple and inexpensive. I was going to switch from heat lamps to an Eco Brooder. But it was just too expensive, and it didn't give me what I was looking for - a cozy, dark, almost enclosed soft place for them to sleep, warm up, and hide if they were spooked. After I found Patrice Lopatin's video of chicks ducking into their little cave and then found Bee's heating pad brooder, I was sold. After using it with amazing success for 6 batches of chicks, I will never go back to anything else.

Through the life of this thread, it's been interesting to see the modifications and changes that folks have tried. Some of them didn't make much sense and kinda defeated the overall goal of MHP. Some of them over-complicated a very straight forward and simple method. Some were excellent and well worth looking into further and/or changing to, and some were so clever and simple it was a head slap moment - "Doggone it, why didn't I think of that??" Strapping the pad under the frame and portal doors in the outdoor brooder are two that come to mind immediately.

These "commercial" animal heating pads have come up here from time to time before, and the reasons for people deciding against them have pretty much been the same. As for how much electricity MHP uses, I guess I fall into the "I'm not that nit-picky" category. I'm not worried about a little watt here and a little watt there. They cost less to operate than a heat lamp, they are safer than a heat lamp, they offer my chicks a full day/night cycle from day one, they are easy to wash, roll and store. The chicks determine their comfort level and security. And with just a bit of scrap fencing, a few bungee cords, and a heating pad, I can raise chicks that are healthy, calm, confident, and feather out faster without a lot of hand-wringing and overthinking on my part. And I can use the pad for other things when it's not being used for chicks so it's multi-purpose.

Even with all the modifications and individual changes (depending on people's comfort zones and situations), keeping it all as simple and inexpensive as possible is the ultimate goal with MHP.

 

[casportpony]

Since I brood mostly peafowl I need something that can be easily raised easily. Some of you probably don't realize just how tall peachicks get in just a few weeks.

 

[Beekissed]

I can't find anything out there on the market easier than reaching down and pulling up on the middle of my wire frame to the desired height. It's less than half a second's work. The originator of the idea was brooding chicks and turkey poults together in the same brooder setup and those poults were using it just fine, despite growing bigger and more rapidly than the chicks.

 

[GardenNut]

I forgot the benefit for seedlings.  MHP makes those pepper seedlings jump up out of those pots.  Will be growing Jalapenos and Habaneros for the first time.  Never grew a hot pepper as I couldn't see the purpose of them.  I have a sensitive palate!  But, Hubby likes it hot.  So, he's gonna get it hot this year.  I absolutely LOVE my salsa.  Now that I have a good supply of it, it goes in/on everything.  My morning eggs, toasted cheese sandwiches (now, I don't even care to look at a tomato in the produce aisle when fresh home canned salsa does the trick!)  Today, I baked a potato with stir fried cabbage, onions, cheese and salsa for my lunch.  Still drooling over that!    Now, back to your regularly scheduled program.

If hubby likes HOT, maybe try ghost peppers. They're hotter than habaneros! I love spicy food, but I've had to tone things down as I've gotten older.