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

[tigger19687]

but........... that is my excuse Every day LOL

That and I am blaming Winter on the fact that I don't feel like doing anything.

I want Spring... and BA chicks lol

 

[feathermaid]

I’m so happy I found this thread and I love love LOVE your Mama Heating Pad idea! And I’m really excited to try this with my second batch of 3 new chicks about a month from now!
I tried a similar method with my first babies a couple years ago because I just couldn’t bear to have the light glaring on them all night (not natural) which seems like it would cause mental problems or… something. I also looked into those chick-brooder-heating-plate things… too expensive. But I did try to copy that idea and rigged a box covered in a heating pad for nighttime but still used the heat lamp during the day. At bedtime I left on a dim light across the room for about 30 minutes (to simulate a sunset) and checked that they were all “tucked in” before turning out all the lights for the night. Am I ridiculous?

The cardboard box seems a little crude in retrospect, but they seemed happy and quiet. I kept upgrading the box size as they grew and only put it in the brooder at night and removed it in the morning. That went on for about 5 weeks… in the living room… until I just had to move brooder outside for a while before they went to the coop. Chicks are terribly dusty!

This time around, building a mama HP with full-time access outside and adjustable capabilities sounds like a dream! I plan to keep the chicks inside the house for the first week, but after that I’m confused as to what part of my (new soon-to-be-built) small coop I should confine the chicks: inside the coop area, or in the run under the coop? Both areas will be predator-proof but I'm considering the following factors to decide the best location for a versatile brooder/quarantine/jail.

Inside coop:
•possible 3’x3’ enclosed space with poop board and roosts over the top.
•Older hens are outside most of the day and they won’t see each other much.
•If I open portal doors to the rest of the coop, they could fall out the pop door to the ground. Would they find their way back up the ladder?
•If I set them safely on the ground (with hiding spots) they won’t have access to heat.
-OR-
Outside under coop:
•3’x6’, a larger space.
•Contact with dirt and bugs (good or bad?)
•More exposure to the weather.
•More interaction and feeding time with older hens during the day, but completely separated at night.

Then once they’re integrated after 4 weeks or so, what about the whole chick starter/layer feed access getting mixed up?

Sorry for all the questions –maybe I just missed the answers somewhere in the previous thousand pages. Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated. Under the coop would be the easiest but if there’s a better reason to keep them inside I will design around it.

 

[tigger19687]

No expert here but if you have no other chickens I would put them Inside the coop to keep them safe.
If you have chickens already I would keep chicks inside and hens Under just because they would be more hardy of the weather ?

 

[bruceha2000]

If you have chickens already I would keep chicks inside and hens Under just because they would be more hardy of the weather ?

The existing hens are already used to roosting in the coop, it wouldn't be a good idea to throw them out.

The new chicks NEED to be able to get to their MHP whenever they start to get cold and they will sleep in it at night. If you make their brooder be the space under the coop, you will need to add "sides" to protect them from wind and weather.

How high up is the coop? If you put the brooder space inside the coop, you might need to keep them in there except for supervised trips out to the run. Supervised both to protect them from the current hens and to make sure they learn to go up the ramp. They can fly up 2 feet at about 2 weeks of age but of course you wouldn't want them coming out of a coop 4' high and maybe falling to the ground before they understand the ramp.

 

[feathermaid]

The existing hens are already used to roosting in the coop, it wouldn't be a good idea to throw them out.

The new chicks NEED to be able to get to their MHP whenever they start to get cold and they will sleep in it at night. If you make their brooder be the space under the coop, you will need to add "sides" to protect them from wind and weather.

How high up is the coop? If you put the brooder space inside the coop, you might need to keep them in there except for supervised trips out to the run. Supervised both to protect them from the current hens and to make sure they learn to go up the ramp. They can fly up 2 feet at about 2 weeks of age but of course you wouldn't want them coming out of a coop 4' high and maybe falling to the ground before they understand the ramp.

The coop will only be 2 feet off the ground but I was still thinking it might be a bit far if they were out wandering around and got cold.
Oh you are right about adding sides! I think it had occurred to me wrap the lower run somehow. Now that you mention it, it should be easy enough to add removable walls over the hardware cloth to keep out wind and rain, would 3 sides be enough? I still want them to see and visit the big hens through the dividing fence. The only thing I worry about is the ground getting wet... just from the entire surrounding area being wet when it rains. The adjoining larger covered run area will be full of new fresh deep litter this spring. Do you think wood shavings or pellets in the chick's run area would be enough protection against the bare ground or should I cover the ground with plywood or a tarp and put shavings on top of that?

 

[bruceha2000]

You don't want them to get wet in their brooder area so if you can't ensure they would be dry outside, I would put them inside. 3 sides covered outside works only if the wind never comes from the 4th side

My 2017s raised themselves for 3 weeks before Zorra decided she wanted to mother them. She had raised the 2015s from their 3rd day. On their own they found their way to the alpacas' end of the barn alley (because the adult hens chased them but are afraid of the boys) and out their always open door. That would be a trip of about 30 feet north, then 10 feet east to get to the door. From there they wandered around outside the north end of the barn and found their own way back. I think they didn't get to the door until they were about 2 weeks old. Zorra actually braved the guys end of the alley when she was mothering, hasn't gone that way since she stopped after 2 months.

All that to say that after a relatively short period of time, chicks can find their way around.

 

[trudyg]

Going back in is my concern, too. Thought I'd raise them in the coop with the bigs, separated by wire and, during the day, close the pop door so they'd stay in and the bigs stay out. There's a ramp for the 2' drop thru that door. But, my coop is 2' up off the ground and the bigs hang out under it--I'm afraid the littles would go underneath and then I wouldn't be able to get them out. At how big do you think they'd come out on their own and manage to go back into the coop (I don't want to crawl on the ground under the coop in the dark!). I just thought I'd wait until I see them climbing the ramp up to the roost and then figure they are able to come back in, but would they?

 

[bruceha2000]

Are the nest boxes in the coop? If so, you shouldn't block the older girls out. The chicks can live in a 3'x3' for some time. If you make a portal for them, they will eventually get brave and come out on their own. They likely won't head out down the ramp to the run for some time, scary big spaces!

One thing I found with my brooder having 1/2" hardware cloth sides is the little bird brains could see from inside the coop to where they wanted to be inside the brooder (usually the food and water station) but pass right by the portal and go bananas trying to find a way through the "wall" close to their objective. Not sure how to avoid that. Their immediate access to the barn alley was through a glass door, they could find that opening from the outside easily enough. Of course that door is probably 8"-10" wide

 

[trudyg]

I have a 10 x 12 coop with a window and 5' opening double doors. When open, the opening is covered by a 6' high dog kennel gate (walk thru door for 1/2), which is then covered with 1/2" wire for predator proofing. No gaps larger than 1/2". the brooder is the 4'x12' section under the poop board, with a divider panel to make a smaller 4x4 space for when they first arrive. I use wire shelving panels 16" wide by 7' and 4' lengths (11') to cover the 12' length, having a single 12" wide panel as an access for me (total of 12'). This is a stacked so that it's a total of 32" high, with each length of shelving attached so I can easily remove it. The plan is to use my shorter divider panels during the day to section off the nest box so the bigs can get in/out but the littles can't yet have the entire coop minus that 4x4 section. They'll be able to see the bigs all the time as well as see outside. I'm just concerned about them sacking out under the coop and me having to find and fish them out at dusk.

 

[tigger19687]

I would start a New Thread with pics of the coop, in and out, so that we can find a safe place for the chicks.