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

[Blooie]

And now I have other chicken peeps on my FB warning me it's a mistake to put them outside and that I'm probably going to lose them all if I do

I'm still going to put them out but sheesh. I feel so conflicted sometimes.

You do what you think is right, and what you are comfortable doing! If you or the chicks (or both) aren't ready yet, don't push it!

 

[lpyrbby]

You do what you think is right, and what you are comfortable doing! If you or the chicks (or both) aren't ready yet, don't push it!

Thank you! There's only one who I'm not comfortable putting outside right now. We'll see how she looks in the morning. The others I'm pretty confident are ready, especially for a space that's nearly 4 times the size of what they're currently in.

Honestly, I know she means well. It's just hard to do something that someone else with more experience is trying to warn you about.

 

[ShrekDawg]

She said she's tried it and it ended badly for her. Not sure if she supplied a heat source or not. I feel extra bad digging in my heels since half the chicks came from her. 

I think they'll fit. I have the flakes kinda fluffed under there now. It's elevated on a couple of bricks as well, and not as low as it looks in the "build" photos. Honestly, all the photos make everything in that pen look smaller than it is in real life   There's also room in the back that can't be seen well for an escape route, just in case. I do think I'm going to have to rethink the cage as a whole. If they start trying to rest on top of it, it's not going to hold a good majority of them at one time. I'm going to try to get them out as early as is reasonable tomorrow so I can watch them and try to head off any problems before they become a thing. And also hope like h3ll that they thrive so the breeder doesn't freak out on me. She's got a couple more breeds that I want so I'd like to stay on good terms. 

Ohhh, that makes sense then.

And glad it's not as short as it looks hah but yeah, I was thinking they might try to rest on top. Maybe try to add some support underneath?

And you said the house is really warm, right?

So maybe you could somewhat do a compromise? Like maybe try either turning down the heat in the house or at least their room or just bring them outside during the daytime for a few days or a week to get them used to colder temperatures.

They should be fine just being stuck out there, especially with 13 of them and a heating pad, but at the same time, they may have a point that it might not be best to go from 70s to 30s, i forgot it was so warm. Or maybe that was someone else?

Anyway, you're probably anxious to get them outside ASAP but if you are really nervous about it, especially with the possibly sick chick, then take it slow and give it some more time, and let them out to play in the colder temps

I think they're not ready for no heat source but with a heat source it should be fine but feel free to take it slow and see how they do

 

[lpyrbby]

Ohhh, that makes sense then.

And glad it's not as short as it looks hah but yeah, I was thinking they might try to rest on top. Maybe try to add some support underneath?

And you said the house is really warm, right?

So maybe you could somewhat do a compromise? Like maybe try either turning down the heat in the house or at least their room or just bring them outside during the daytime for a few days or a week to get them used to colder temperatures.

They should be fine just being stuck out there, especially with 13 of them and a heating pad, but at the same time, they may have a point that it might not be best to go from 70s to 30s, i forgot it was so warm. Or maybe that was someone else?

Anyway, you're probably anxious to get them outside ASAP but if you are really nervous about it, especially with the possibly sick chick, then take it slow and give it some more time, and let them out to play in the colder temps

I think they're not ready for no heat source but with a heat source it should be fine but feel free to take it slow and see how they do

I'm nervous, but not *that* nervous that I don't want to do it

For perspective, I know that moving chickens at night is best because you can pick them up off their roost and do what you need to do. I still have major anxiety doing it, not because I'm afraid of the birds themselves, but I'm afraid of hurting them, "damaging the relationship," or accidentally dropping one and not being able to catch it. Every time I have to move chickens, I come out of the coop shaking. It's stupid and I'm trying to work on it, but it's just one of those things that my psyche has a messed up response to. I'm working through it

My nervousness about moving the chicks outside is significantly less than picking up the big birds off their roost

Our house is around 72 degrees normally. So I'll take them out tomorrow when it's at least in the 40s, closer to the 50s, and spend some time observing to see what happens and make sure they know where the heat is. If they're coming and going and getting under the MHP, I'll leave them out. If they refuse, we'll try again later. My main struggle with getting them acclimated to the outdoors like normal people would do is that by the time I get home from work , I don't have enough daylight left to do anything. And husband is still timid about being pecked so his interactions are limited and not reliable lol. (But he'll build a mean coop!) If my one chick still isn't doing well tomorrow, she won't be going outside to play with the others. I won't keep the others from getting the jump start though.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I'm nervous, but not *that* nervous that I don't want to do it   For perspective, I know that moving chickens at night is best because you can pick them up off their roost and do what you need to do. I still have major anxiety doing it, not because I'm afraid of the birds themselves, but I'm afraid of hurting them, "damaging the relationship," or accidentally dropping one and not being able to catch it. Every time I have to move chickens, I come out of the coop shaking. It's stupid and I'm trying to work on it, but it's just one of those things that my psyche has a messed up response to. I'm working through it   My nervousness about moving the chicks outside is significantly less than picking up the big birds off their roost  

Our house is around 72 degrees normally. So I'll take them out tomorrow when it's at least in the 40s, closer to the 50s, and spend some time observing to see what happens and make sure they know where the heat is. If they're coming and going and getting under the MHP, I'll leave them out. If they refuse, we'll try again later. My main struggle with getting them acclimated to the outdoors like normal people would do is that by the time I get home from work , I don't have enough daylight left to do anything. And husband is still timid about being pecked so his interactions are limited and not reliable lol. (But he'll build a mean coop!) If my one chick still isn't doing well tomorrow, she won't be going outside to play with the others. I won't keep the others from getting the jump start though. 

LOL mine were in the house 3 weeks, was supposed to just be 1 night, and then were in the garage till 7 weeks (and from 5-7 weeks, they were outside during the day but I didn't trust the coop and had to carry them back inside every night) so I know the feeling of wanting them OUT! LOL not to mention the fact we hadn't set up the run yet so it was just a coop kit with limited access into it so I had to crawl around/come up with some really creative ways to get them out from under the coop or stop them from escaping to the other side several times. Not fun haha yours looks to be built much better.

And I totally know the feeling, I'm bad at holding them so mine often flap away from me.

Hmm, that does make it a little harder but sounds like you have a good plan. Do you have a garage or anywhere colder that you could put them?

 

[lpyrbby]

LOL mine were in the house 3 weeks, was supposed to just be 1 night, and then were in the garage till 7 weeks (and from 5-7 weeks, they were outside during the day but I didn't trust the coop and had to carry them back inside every night) so I know the feeling of wanting them OUT! LOL not to mention the fact we hadn't set up the run yet so it was just a coop kit with limited access into it so I had to crawl around/come up with some really creative ways to get them out from under the coop or stop them from escaping to the other side several times. Not fun haha yours looks to be built much better.

And I totally know the feeling, I'm bad at holding them so mine often flap away from me.

Hmm, that does make it a little harder but sounds like you have a good plan. Do you have a garage or anywhere colder that you could put them?

We do have the pool house (sounds way more hoity toity than it is LOL) that doesn't have heat right now, but honestly, we use that as more of a holding cell for crap that we haven't gone through to get rid of yet (or put on walls, or put in closets and cabinets, etc). Also, the act of getting that pen from the chicken yard into that house, and then back out again pains me greater than just moving the chicks outdoors. I was just thinking about it though, I have a Chewy (website) box from the last bag of dog food I opened. I think I can make use of that box to add an additional barrier from drafts. I'll have some time in the morning to fiddle with that and get it in the coop, under the flakes before I put the chicks out. If that doesn't work, I think we might have some plywood scraps we can put in there as an extra measure.

 

[ShrekDawg]

We do have the pool house (sounds way more hoity toity than it is LOL) that doesn't have heat right now, but honestly, we use that as more of a holding cell for crap that we haven't gone through to get rid of yet (or put on walls, or put in closets and cabinets, etc). Also, the act of getting that pen from the chicken yard into that house, and then back out again pains me greater than just moving the chicks outdoors. I was just thinking about it though, I have a Chewy (website) box from the last bag of dog food I opened. I think I can make use of that box to add an additional barrier from drafts. I'll have some time in the morning to fiddle with that and get it in the coop, under the flakes before I put the chicks out. If that doesn't work, I think we might have some plywood scraps we can put in there as an extra measure. 

That sounds like a great plan! And I think an extra windblock would be a good idea.

P.S. I love Chewy!

 

[lpyrbby]

That sounds like a great plan! And I think an extra windblock would be a good idea.

P.S. I love Chewy!

Thanks for talking me through it. Sometimes that's all one needs to let go of some of the other outside noise to figure things out.

And Chewy ROCKS

 

[aart]

Well, didn't get the babies out in the pen today because we got a late start on pretty much everything. But, I'm ready for them tomorrow, I think!

Quick question - Does it need to be set on low? (I have low/med/high) They're 4 weeks old now and mostly feathered. Still have some on their head and back to go. 50s during the day, 30s at night.

Anywho, some photos. Sharing in case there's something else I need to do.

The gap between the bungie and the pad might be a head catcher...keep an eye on it.
Like the slit feedbag 'door', windblocker ;-)

Quote: Ditto Dat^^^^

Take em out during the day and see how they behave.....look at:
-can they get in and out.
-are there gaps or dead ends they could get stuck in, like between pad assembly and cardboard box.
Can you actually get in there and move stuff to get at them if they are stuck?
A few day trips might tell the tale for full time 'out of the house'.

 

[lpyrbby]

The gap between the bungie and the pad might be a head catcher...keep an eye on it.
Like the slit feedbag 'door', windblocker ;-)

Ditto Dat^^^^

Take em out during the day and see how they behave.....look at:
-can they get in and out.
-are there gaps or dead ends they could get stuck in, like between pad assembly and cardboard box.
Can you actually get in there and move stuff to get at them if they are stuck?
A few day trips might tell the tale for full time 'out of the house'.

Yep, I was worried about the ties when I put them on, so that's one thing I'll for sure be looking out for. And I CAN get in there, I'm just gonna scare the bejeezus out of the rest of the chicks when I crawl in lol. With the new coop we're building, things should go a LOT smoother with any new broods, as I'm aiming for an area where I can actually stand up and sit down with them like a normal human and have better draft control. We should be able to get the plywood up on the back and side walls today and then husband will have the rest of the week to frame out the front and build a second short door for the chickens to access their run from the carport. I still haven't fully decided how I want to do the inside divider panels, but I do have some ideas to work with. After that, it's adding the hardware cloth to the open areas of the carport, making a decision on the panels, building the new roost (to accommodate more birds), and running water into the coop.