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

[BigSkyBird]

We got our baby chicks at the post office this morning! MHP is working great. We put the peeps in a small (6 square foot) dog crate brooder initially, so we could easily reach anywhere in the brooder, to help them learn where to go. They are in the house for now, where the ambient temperature is warmer and where we can keep a close eye on them. We plan to move them to a larger (10 square foot) dog crate in the garage in a few days, once we are certain they are all thriving, and then into the coop (84 square feet, plus a run that is twice that big) as soon as it's done (hopefully in 1-2 more weeks).

More dues! (I shared a photo this morning of an Easter Egger snoozing under MHP)

The area on top of MHP really increases "floor" space in this small brooder.


I love how cute these little guys are! (though they do already look bigger than they did this morning...)

Blooie, I'm sorry about the little Silkies you lost. We got 3 Silkies to be my daughter's special pets, in addition to also-sweet but more utilitarian Australorps and Easter Eggers. I was worried about how long it would take our peeps to arrive by USPS. It took 2 days. After a brief snooze under MHP, the Australorps and Easter Eggers were energetically exploring. It took considerably longer for the 2 larger Silkies to emerge, yet they were full of zest by the time the 3rd and smallest Silkie was ready to look around, and then she still didn't have much pep. Snuggled on a small heat pack on my daughter's lap, she ate yogurt off my daughter's finger and this seemed to perk her up a bit. After another snooze under MHP, she came out and seemed more normal, but she still needed some guidance to find food (she's got the water down!) and to find her way back to MHP when she was done; the others all had this down hours ago. I guess what I take from this is that maybe smaller birds just have less reserve for a prolonged fast during shipping. We noticed a significant difference with our smaller chicks after just 2 days of shipping. With it taking 4 days for your little ones to arrive, I don't think there's anything more you could have done to save the smallest (to echo the sentiment expressed by your wise granddaughter).

Thanks again for this thread, Blooie. Before getting chicks, it totally made sense that it would be better for them to rest in a warm, dark, snuggly place than under a heat lamp. Now that I've seen MHP in action, I'm even more sold on it.

 

[Blooie]

Thanks, @BigSkyBird - I sure needed to hear that today. <sigh> As I said before, my confidence has been badly shaken by this entire experience, although my confidence in MHP has no changedt! In fact, I wonder if I'd have any left if not for the calm, relaxing area MHP gives them to recover without getting further stressed. The remaining chicks are robust, healthy, and doing great.

Your dues are sure paid!! @dpenning we'll sure need to see pics of those quail chicks, too.

 

[dpenning]

Thanks, @BigSkyBird - I sure needed to hear that today. As I said before, my confidence has been badly shaken by this entire experience, although my confidence in MHP has no changedt! In fact, I wonder if I'd have any left if not for the calm, relaxing area MHP gives them to recover without getting further stressed. The remaining chicks are robust, healthy, and doing great. Your dues are sure paid!! @dpenning we'll sure need to see pics of those quail chicks, too.

Absolutely! They don't ship till the 24th as my incubator is occupied till then but I'll absolutely pay my dues!

 

[Merrymouse]

Ok, I need reassurance people

Im thinking of putting my chicks out today for good. Here is my issue, my oldest is about 5 weeks light brahma lots of feathers and big, but my youngest is only 2 weeks and this is the chick that was almost dead, I had to separate and feed every 3 hours with syringe. I intergrated her back into the flock yesterday and she did great. I would say she seems 100 percent normal now. Eating, drinking, running, trying to fly,, she couldnt even stand without falling over 2 weeks ago. The day temps here have been warm this week 60's and 70's. It looks like that will continue but some days only 50's. at night it drops down to about 40F. I think the chicks have to go out. 1. They stink. 2. They need more room. 3. I took them all out to the run yesterday for 3 hours while I finished up the coop and they LOVED it. I had the MHP out there so they could warm up and I errected a couple hidey huts for them. It was so fun to watch them explore and watch their instincts kick in. Anyway, do you think my little 2 week chick will be ok. She is so much smaller than the others but I don't want to separate her again as they are now not beating her up and have accepted her. Also should I put the MHP back to 6 for outside? Maybe Ill post the video from yesterday so you can see the size difference. Hang on.....

Thanks, Im so nervous. I'd hate for something to happen to her because she is a trooper and pulled through when all bets were that she wouldn't survive. Thanks for the help!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

@Merrymouse, move them out! They'll be fine, even your little one that had the rough start, and you'll all be happier for it. As to the temp on mhp, follow their lead. ....stay with it cooler and increase only if it seems necessary by their behavior. I think you'll see they are fine well below a 6.

 

[aart]

@Merrymouse , move them out! They'll be fine, even your little one that had the rough start, and you'll all be happier for it. As to the temp on mhp, follow their lead. ....stay with it cooler and increase only if it seems necessary by their behavior. I think you'll see they are fine well below a 6.

Ditto Dat^^^

Maybe drop MHP down...the bigs can stay on top and the littlers can go below?
Just make sure the front and back is open for egress so no one gets trapped.

 

[tlzimmerman]

Just finished my week using a heat pad on 24 chicks we hatched. Made a cave out of hardware cloth wire and an old towel doubled over. Gotta say, its worked great. Temps have been down to below 30 a couple nights, and I just have a wire top on the brooder. Chicks are happy and healthy. I also think, for whatever reason, they seem calmer when I change water/feed etc.

Used this heat pad, very happy so far.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FGDDI0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Birdinhand]

we've had our chicks outside since day one five weeks ago. it's all a matter of providing shelter and a way to get warm when they need it. I think chicks do best outside, more space to keep bad microbe levels down, more fresh air, more things to keep them occupied so they don't turn on each other.

 

[chicken curious]

Despite having a MHP still set up inside the coop house, these silly 5 week old chicks are napping in their dust bowl in the run! They went right back to sleep after I took this and the "surface" in the bowl was undulating with their breathing...so cool!

They're rarely inside it (the MHP) which is great b/c I pick up newly hatched chicks next week.

The new chicks may stay inside for a few days until I'm sure they are all eating and drinking and they know not to eat the litter. I think these chicks might loose the pad for those few days...do you think they need anything else?

It's currently 78 degrees and the lows are consistently in the 60s overnight. I could make a huddle box to make sure they're totally out of the wind, but if they huddle in the back corner of the coop deep litter where the MHP typically is they should be pretty protected.

Thoughts?


edited to be a little more clear

 

[aart]

Despite having a MHP still set up inside the coop house, these silly 5 week old chicks are napping in their dust bowl in the run! They went right back to sleep after I took this and the "surface" in the bowl was undulating with their breathing...so cool!



They're rarely inside it which is great b/c I pick up newly hatched chicks next week.

The new chicks may stay inside for a few days until I'm sure they are all eating and drinking and they know not to eat the litter. I think these chicks might loose the pad for those few days...do you think they need anything else?

It's currently 78 degrees and the lows are consistently in the 60s overnight. I could make a huddle box to make sure they're totally out of the wind, but if they huddle in the back corner of the coop deep litter where the MHP typically is they should be pretty protected.

Thoughts?

That pic is AWESOME!!

Yes, to huddle box.