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

[MichelleT]

Our new babies:




Not sure their ages, but from feathers it looks like the Buff Orpington is the youngest with no tail feathers yet (although there are a couple of little starter feathers in there), then our Austrolorp with three TINY feathers. The Barred Rock we believe is the oldest and we got two Americaunas as well. They're not far behind the Barred Rock. We were told they were between 1 and 3 weeks.

They love being on top of the MHP, so I turned it down and put a couple under. One stayed (the BR) and took a nap. The other's too busy (BO) to stay still. They are preferring to nap on top still. When I felt with my hand it's not too hot, barely warm actually, but it's really warm outside today (85 degrees) so they probably don't need it.

The BO is SO friendly. I had heard that they were (our other hens are all RSL so that's all I know) but she is seriously a social chick! Funny story about that girl: when we went to pick them out, the feed store clerk had to move a box to get to the bottom brooders and she ran out from behind the box... she had escaped from her brooder somehow and they couldn't figure out how. My daughter saw her run out and said - I want that one! She's got spunk! So she's the littlest but the most active of the bunch. When we left them to run an errand she sat right at the front of the brooder (behind a screen) and just stared after us... the rest had settled somewhere inside. Cutie!! Her name is Marigold.

 

[WRanch]

Trying to figure out dimensions... I will be making one big MHP cave, but am not sure how tall it should be in the center. It will be 24" X 24" so all 25 chicks can get under the same one. Wondering if I should make 2 separate "caves" or stick with the 1 huge cave for all. Temps are now predicted to be in the mid 70's by day and low 50's at night for this next week then fluctuating temps after that.

Last year I used a commercial brooder a neighbor loaned me, but then I only had 9 chicks at a time. This time I am receiving all of my chicks at the same time so I don't think the commercial brooder (which was great) would be large enough for all 25 plus it has a light that stays on all the time which isn't good for proper sleep cycles. Last year all babies were raised out in the coop as will these. This time they will be on the floor of the coop with shavings for insulation on the bottom.

So any ideas on dimensions as far as height for the MHP cave would be appreciated.

 

[cjpeeps]

You may need a bigger box. The chicks need to be able to exit the pad from the front and the back. And there should be enough room around the sides of the pad for chicks to move around and not get trapped.

I dunno - I think I have the same set up as she does and it's a huge space with a lot of room around the MHP. (Or maybe my MHP is smaller?) Could they not get out from under the towel on top or was it a corner issue?

 

[MichelleT]

Does it matter if they're on top or underneath? I kept showing the new babies how to go under and they just weren't interested... they're in a pile on top and passed out for the night.

 

[junebuggena]

Does it matter if they're on top or underneath? I kept showing the new babies how to go under and they just weren't interested... they're in a pile on top and passed out for the night.

If they are on top, it's probably too warm for them under.

 

[MichelleT]

What I should have asked was: do they NEED to be under if it's warm enough on top?

Maybe I answered my own question this morning. They were still on top of the pad, three huddled together, two on the edge, fluffed up like they were cold. When I put their food down, I put it at the edge of the MHP so they would be mostly under it while they were eating. Three of them got it: they ate went outside the pad to get some water, and then returned to be under the MHP. The other two are, went to get a drink and didn't return... but stood fluffed up and shivering. I placed those two under the pad where they stayed. All are under now. (And I turned it down a notch too.)

I am reminded that sometimes their intuition doesn't kick in if something is easier. Case in point: when we got our first bunch they had to be placed on the roost at night (even though they were probably about two years old). Just last week when we introduced their new coop, I had to do the same. Silly chickens!

 

[azygous]

Michelle - I'm late to your comments, so I don't know how old your babies are. If they're in their first week, they should be wanting to go under the pad. If they're staying on top, there are two reasons for this.

One could be you have the pad upside down. The side with the writing is warmer. If that side faces up, then it's warmer on top.

The second reason is because you have the frame too high, making it hard for the chicks to have full contact with the underside of the pad. It should be only high enough so their backs can touch the pad in a half crouch. If they have to stretch their full height to make contact with the pad, you need to squish down the frame.

You'll end up readjusting the frame every several days as the chicks grow. By age two weeks, they may be using the cave only at night on warm days, and by age three weeks, they may be using it very seldom as long as the nice weather holds out.

 

[MichelleT]

I thought the writing was on top, but when I checked it's not. And definitely it's warmer underneath than on top. The height seems right, they're standing up in their backs are touching, and the ones that are squatting down are a little farther back so their backs are touching too.

The youngest is a week and the older ones are 3 weeks.

Maybe it was too hot under last night but since it gets colder during the night they ended up too cold on top. I'll keep an eye on them today… They are still all huddled underneath. But they're not shivering anymore.

 

[azygous]

Michelle, the heat setting does need to be lowered after the first week. Three-week olds won't be using the heating pad at all during the day, and they may prefer to sleep on top at night. Some three-week olds using MHP wean themselves off heat entirely, so don't let it surprise you some have stopped using it. The one-week old can get by on a medium setting. That's the beauty of MHP - it accommodates a spread of ages.

It appears your chicks may be ready to move into a coop. You can use the MHP as a transition device, and the those chicks that are finished needing MHP may gravitate to a roosting perch over the next couple weeks.

 

[MichelleT]

Gotcha. They're all huddled under still. Coming out on occasion to eat & drink. It's 65 degrees out now.

I say ages 1-3 weeks because we were told that was the age spread of the chicks they had. I used a "feather aging" chart they gave us to estimate age. All have wing feathers (1 week) but the BO only has a few. She also has the little buds of tail feathers, the rest have tail feathers of varying lengths (2 weeks). The Barred Rock has some back feathers as well (3 weeks) and the Americaunas are just starting to get these. I need to weigh them today too. We just got them yesterday.

As far as the coop goes, their "brooder" is an extension piece of the old coop. Three walls, a floor and a roof. The front is screened or glass; I put the glass on last night to keep it warmer in there. We have 4 layers (RSL) and I don't think they're ready for roomies yet... one of them charges the glass/screen wall of the brooder every now and then. The others are off-and-on interested, but not aggressive.

The chicks were let out into the run yesterday to scratch around a bit while the big girls were out 'free-ranging'. ( I use that term loosely, as their free range area is really just an extended yard.) The Anericaunas went right back into the brooder... I guess they felt safer in there. The other three (BO, BR and an Austrolorp) had a blast exploring and scratching and climbing on us. It was 86 degrees yesterday though! I'm not sure when I'll slide the screen/window open a bit to let them come out as they feel comfortable.