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

[perchie.girl]

putting a night light in the coop may help. just one of those cheepo landscape lights with photocells.

deb

 

[lpyrbby]

My last batch started roosting in their pen around 6 weeks of age I'd say, and then for the next two weeks, started bugging the hell out of me to let them roost with the big birds. Finally gave in and it didn't take them long at all. They were locked out of their brooder pen at 8 weeks and there were only a few stragglers that needed help. They figured it out quickly Give it time, they'll get it soon!

 

[Fuzzy Butt Spa]

What is and how do you make a mama heating pad

 

[aart]

What is and how do you make a mama heating pad

Welcome to BYC @Fuzzy Butt Spa !!
There's thousand pages in this thread, half of them describe the what and how...
......read at least the first post and a lot of the others and you'll know.

 

[UrbanFlock916]

Thanks for all the contributions to this great thread. It was really helpful to read through trials and tribulations to understand how best to make a MHP. I thought I'd share what I've been using for the past week with our three new chicks.

I used a peg board to build the structure and dowels to hold the heating pad. The dowels are sufficiently spaced so the chicks can touch their backs directy to the heat source. Dowels are also great because I can easily adjust the height of the pad as the birds grow. I placed a piece of peg board on top of the heating pad and cover it with a towel, since I’d read that the chicks will like hanging out up there during the day. The towel is usually draped over the heating pad so to keep the heat trapped. We monitor the heat with a wireless thermometer. On high, the heating pad keeps the MHP between 90-95 degree F. The dowels are sanded on the edges to be round and I used zip ties to connect the pegboard pieces. Overall, it was a fairly inexpensive but sturdy and effective tool. Thanks for all the help from the many posts in this thread!

 

[MichelleT]

"They're growing up so fast!" (my 15 year old daughter as the chicks went up the ramp into the coop at bedtime for the first time tonight )

Those crazy chicks LOVE the coop... they're in there for about 1/2 of the day off-and-on... even though it's hot and stuffy. They love to roost on the very top roosts and watch the big girls lay eggs. The past couple of days they've taken to hunkering down in the nesting boxes, just like the big girls! And now the big girls are all out of sorts because the chicks sometimes have taken over the nesting boxes when they (big girls) are ready to lay.

 

[ShidelsRestBB]

Hi everyone. Been a very long time. This is our 2nd year with Partridge Chanteclers. I love this breed. We used a 2x king heating pad setup this year. Our brooder is 4ft x 8ft long. Attaching photos.

Had some Plymouth Rock x babies in this bunch. They're the blonde ones. The purebred are colour sexed. Only roos have a solid black tail. The PR crosses were all pullets. We only had 3 roos. I like those numbers...

 

[Melodychick]

This is so cool! I admit I haven't read the whole thread-yet, but I believe I got the gist of it. Can't wait to give it a try!!!

 

[NorthTexasWink]

Just a quick pic of my new layer pullets with my seedling mat brooder cave. Just got them in the mail this morning. The red lighting is just Christmas lights way up high on the frame of the converted plant growing tent the brooder is set into. I feel they help cut down on pecking, but can't prove it. No heating lamps or light bulbs for me!

The seedling mat is waterproof and thermostatically controlled. I also use other remote digital thermometers and a regular old school thermometer to keep track of the temps. This is a very large mat, about 4.5 ft x 3 ft. It easily keeps temps about 15-25 degrees F above ambient temps (can push it higher), which works for MY situation. It's on a wire base made from shelving I had around, half is on a sheet pan/cookie tray. I make different heights along the length so the chicks can pick their comfortable temps.

 

[darttater]

I've been following this thread for a while and have finally made my first MHP. This is also my first time raising chickens as well so next few months will be interesting. The first batch of chicks arrived today and they have been taken to the MHP excellently. It's really fun watching them running in and out of the MHP. They are in a hoop house outside and protected by electric netting so there's a lot of space for them at the moment. Thank you Blooie for this awesome idea!
Update: I went to check on the chicks after dark earlier and half of them were outside of the MHP all huddled together. So I took them and put them inside the MHP and turn the pad down to medium. Maybe it was too hot in there. Waited around awhile after and it's all quiet so hopefully they're ok.