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

[Blooie]

This is a problem the manufacturer has acknowledged but not yet corrected. They deserve to be called out on that.

That's sad......and totally unnecessary for chicks to be hurt like that by something that's supposed to be "safer".

 

[Blooie]

@SunHwaKwon Looks great.....I can't even imagine having that many chicks to raise at once!

I should have been buying stock in Sunbeam!

 

[debid]

That's sad......and totally unnecessary for chicks to be hurt like that by something that's supposed to be "safer". 

When I suggested a quality control issue might be to blame (because only SOME of the plates get that hot), this was immediately dismissed because the company's original product (available in Europe) had a controller and this product for the US market can be modified with a lamp dimmer. My thinking is that if I buy a product labeled for use as a chick brooder, I shouldn't need to buy a lamp dimmer to make it work properly!

Anyway, $13 and construction time vs $41 plus shipping and whatever the dimmer costs if I get one that's too hot... I went with $13. And the chicks are toasty, not toasted.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

When I suggested a quality control issue might be to blame (because only SOME of the plates get that hot), this was immediately dismissed because the company's original product (available in Europe) had a controller and this product for the US market can be modified with a lamp dimmer. My thinking is that if I buy a product labeled for use as a chick brooder, I shouldn't need to buy a lamp dimmer to make it work properly!

Anyway, $13 and construction time vs $41 plus shipping and whatever the dimmer costs if I get one that's too hot... I went with $13. And the chicks are toasty, not toasted.

No kidding, right?? Why wouldn't it be ready to use AS IS when I bring it home and take it out of the box?

This reminds me of the comment of a woman on the BYC Facebook group yesterday. Someone suggested the heating pad and she said she had one get cooked to death underneath it and it traumatized her and she'd never use it again. I suspect what really happened is the chick died for another reason like a clogged vent and of course was very dead yet very warm when she found it. But she's convinced it was cooked to death and will warn people of that non-existent risk.

ETA I have only been covering mine with straw and they love to scratch it off and lay on the bare plastic. No issues and the poo just flakes and wipes off.

Yeah, big ol' BS flag on that story - but people believe what they want to believe

@SunHwaKwon Looks great.....I can't even imagine having that many chicks to raise at once!

I should have been buying stock in Sunbeam!

Right?? You seriously missed the boat on the stock....maybe you should link them to all your posts about it and they'll give you some in thanks for all your hard work promoting their products

 

[barred2rock]

For anybody that may only have access to hardware wire or similar, you can reinforce it with the box that the heating pad came in (or any appropriate size box for that matter). Open up the box flat, cut off the flaps, strap the hardware wire (with all sharp edges covered in tape {I used gorilla tape}) to the box and the heat pad to underneath, cover the top with a towel. Makes it stand up to the weight of the birds and easily adjustable.

 

[chickieschicks]

Hi there! I've been considering raising a few backyard chickens with my family for a couple of years and decided to finally do it. My 2 1/2 year old's favorite part of our local farm is visiting the chicken house, so I know she's going to be thrilled. Anyway, I plan to keep the baby chicks in the house until they've feathered but being the over-cautious person I am, I began to worry about the heat lamps and fire hazards, so I google "raising baby chicks with a heating pad instead of lamp" and low and behold I came across this thread! I just realized about an hour ago that it's almost 900 pages long! So please forgive me if this has been asked before but I see that the recommended heating pad is this sunbeam https://www.amazon.com/Sunbeam-2013-912-XpressHeat-Heating-Extra/dp/B005NZ66KU/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1425566319&sr=1-1-fkmr1&keywords=Sunbeam%2Bx-tra%2Blarge%2Bheating%2Bpad&th=1 However, I actually had already ordered this one: https://www.amazon.com/PureRelief-F...TV86/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&th=1

Do you happen to remember if anyone has had success with pads other than the Sunbeam? This one has mostly good reviews but only 700 something as opposed to the thousands of sunbeam reviews. The few 1 star reviews say that the heat isn't as hot as expected but I'm wondering if this will be an issue since my chicks will be indoors. Any advice or opinions on this one would be very helpful! I do know that it has a continuous heat option. You really should be able to charge for your MHP advice! Thanks for being so helpful and willing to share!

 

[The Golden Egg5]

When should I lower the heat setting for the heating pad? Mine are a little over a week old so probably not yet, but at around what age would it be best?

 

[SunHwaKwon]

When should I lower the heat setting for the heating pad? Mine are a little over a week old so probably not yet, but at around what age would it be best?

Mine have been on medium in their outdoor brooder with nights in the teens and are doing fine. I usually turn it down once I notice they are spending more time on top or only partly underneath it.

 

[junebuggena]

When should I lower the heat setting for the heating pad? Mine are a little over a week old so probably not yet, but at around what age would it be best?

Watch the chicks. If they are spending more time on top of the pad or out and about, it's a pretty safe bet that you can safely reduce the heat. If they are still spending most of their time under the pad, only coming out for a quick bite to eat or drink before ducking back under for a warm up, they aren't ready for a reduction in heat.

 

[HenLeia]

Inspired by a poster a few days ago, I decided to modify my MHP In a way that was a bit easier to adjust that just the hardwire. I have a lot of chicks right now (50 + 42 more coming next week) but I use the smaller pads since I like the slide control and not having to worry about turning off auto off or having it not come back on by itself. Plus, I get more square footage for the money. So, yesterday I bought another pad ($13) and three cookie cooling racks (10x16) for $3.50 each.

At home depot I got some small bungies for $2.50. I went to TSC for the leg hardware since you pay by the pound. I got short (2.5"), medium (3.5") and long (5") bolts for each (that is, 6 bolts of each size since I have three pads) as well as 8 nuts and 8 washers for each pad, which came to a little over $6.

I got three different sizes because 1) they were only partially threaded and 2) I raise guineas, bantams, and standards so I need a bit of height flexibility to accommodate the different size babies.

I put the pad on the side without the rack's built in feet because they interfere with it laying flat since the rack is 10" wide but the pad needs to hang over an inch on each side. I used three bungies on each though two would hold it fine.

Here is one of the racks with legs installed and the order of the hardware.

I have about .5 to 1" of height adjustability with each size bolt. Again, fully threaded bolts would be better but this was cheaper. I used 3/8" hardware to save on weight and cost but you can certainly fit 7/16 or probably 1/2"

This is awesome! So simple. I was going to try the one that someone had posted with the chains hanging but this is way more doable.