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

[Blooie]

When I get a little more time I'll re-post the video of mine under MHP. They were 5 days old so they were used to the whole night-time-is-sleep-time thing by then, but I didn't use any kind of night light for them even from the first day. They were in a brooder that was way too small, but we planned to overnight them in the house to make sure they understood where the heat was, then Ken was going to set up their outdoor brooder so we could move them out the next day. Unfortunately he ended up in the emergency room the chicks' first night with us, and ended up hospitalized for a few days so that got put on hold.

 

[Blooie]

Okay, had a little more time, so I'm posting two videos in this one post. The first is of my chicks, as I explained in the post above. The second is of the next batch of chicks outdoors in the brooder. The first video starts out dark...

 

[kesrchicky16]

I probably just fret too much. They made it just fine. Had a lillte feeding frenzy this morning when the light was turned on to get kids ready for school but they did that last night before bed too.
Even the sleepy one was up fighting for food this morning so I may relax a bit now.

 

[Blooie]

I probably just fret too much. They made it just fine. Had a lillte feeding frenzy this morning when the light was turned on to get kids ready for school but they did that last night before bed too.
Even the sleepy one was up fighting for food this morning so I may relax a bit now.

We all do it...it's a "first kid, second kid" kind of thing when we get chicks. When I started this thread, I had only used MHP once for an injured chick. I started the thread as documentation of what I was trying, what I experienced, and it suddenly became a "how to" thread, which is also just fine with me. One less heat lamp in the chicken world isn't a bad goal.

I'm happy to read that the sleepy little one is rallying. Keep us posted!! You've got this!

 

[Star and eclipsa]

https://www.amazon.com/CosCosX-Hang...F8&qid=1516126246&sr=8-5&keywords=Rabbit+cave
Would this work for two or three chicks with a heating pad over the top on the inside?

 

[Blooie]

It might, but I wouldn't do it personally. It's similar to the very first time I ever used a heating pad for Scout, a little broody-hatched chick that got frostbite on his feet. In my case I draped the heating pad over a piece of wire threaded through a couple of holes in the sides of the totes, like the long pole along the top of a tent. It worked, but cleaning was a nightmare and temperature was hard to maintain. Yours would get too hot, I think. It's up to you, of course.

 

[bruceha2000]

https://www.amazon.com/CosCosX-Hang...F8&qid=1516126246&sr=8-5&keywords=Rabbit+cave
Would this work for two or three chicks with a heating pad over the top on the inside?

Looks more cutesy than functional for this purpose. I don't know how you would attach the heating pad up inside the "roof" such that there was no possible way a chick could get between the pad and the "cave".
Also, one of the tenants of MHP is that you adjust the height as the chicks grow so they can get up against the pad when they need heat. Low at first, higher as time goes by. Doesn't seem possible with that.

We all do it...it's a "first kid, second kid" kind of thing when we get chicks.

As evidenced by my total lack of pictures of my 2017 chicks from the time they went outside at 2 days old until they were a MONTH old!! Set 'em and forget 'em. Sure I gave them food and water, let them out every morning and locked them in every night. But I didn't worry about them at all. They went out in the barn on the 26th of April. Highs were in the high 50s to low 60s, lows in the high 30s. There is no heat in the barn.

 

[NNYchick]

Ok this is what I put together. The heating pad is bungee underneath, on the top is cardboard with the fleece on it. It is 2” in back and 4” in the front. Is the height good for bantams silkies? Oh I measured over and over it’s not lopsided it’s my cutting job on the fleece.

 

[bruceha2000]

I've not had bantams. The 2"/4" thing is the general figure for standard chicks. You MIGHT find you need it a bit lower to start but someone who has had bantams will have a more definitive answer.

 

[NNYchick]

Thank you everyone, for all the help setting this up. So far I have 6 hatched- 5 in the brooder and one still drying in the bator encouraging the other chirping eggs. I put my Thermo pad under one end so that end is warmer and closer to the heating pad. The newest hatched were on that but they seem to be migrating to the other end.