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

[ButtonNomies]

Another pik ... coz ... well there's nothing cuter than cozy happy chick beans ❤

 

[ButtonNomies]

Sorry for the spam but

 

[azygous]

Quail babies are the cutest. I'd love some but my chickens would probably eat them like treats.

 

[ButtonNomies]

Quail babies are the cutest. I'd love some but my chickens would probably eat them like treats.

Plus they're like lemmings, if there is a way to kill themselves ... guaranteed 100% quail chicks will find it the first 48 hours is a job just keeping them from kamikaze buisness xx

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Well here I am on my favorite thread. It's my go to every spring when I'm adding new chicks! I like to see what people have created!! That said are people switching to Heating plates, away from MHP? It's hard for me to imagine as my MHP has been so faithful for many years! BUT even in this thread back in 2018 Blooie cautioned me about using my old Sunbeam forever. Indeed she is now quite the antique! So I've got 2 other pads from last years attempt to get a new one but I did go back to her eventually when none of them performed like her. (Okay I see me calling a heating pad a "her," but it's working for me.) So question: What plate do you recommend? Why am I so nervous about trying a plate? I've been on Amazon for way too long and feel like noting is just right. Any recommendations for a plate for my outdoor brooder room inside insulated coop..... ? OR do you prefer pad to plate still? My plan is to have BOTH so that I'm not left in a lurch if I try a plate and I don't like it. Nothing seems perfect yet so any help is appreciated!!

 

[K0k0shka]

Well here I am on my favorite thread. It's my go to every spring when I'm adding new chicks! I like to see what people have created!! That said are people switching to Heating plates, away from MHP? It's hard for me to imagine as my MHP has been so faithful for many years! BUT even in this thread back in 2018 Blooie cautioned me about using my old Sunbeam forever. Indeed she is now quite the antique! So I've got 2 other pads from last years attempt to get a new one but I did go back to her eventually when none of them performed like her. (Okay I see me calling a heating pad a "her," but it's working for me.) So question: What plate do you recommend? Why am I so nervous about trying a plate? I've been on Amazon for way too long and feel like noting is just right. Any recommendations for a plate for my outdoor brooder room inside insulated coop..... ? OR do you prefer pad to plate still? My plan is to have BOTH so that I'm not left in a lurch if I try a plate and I don't like it. Nothing seems perfect yet so any help is appreciated!!

That's a good point about them not lasting forever... Especially if they are run for weeks straight with no break, which was not the use they were designed for. I hadn't thought of that, thanks for bringing it up! I would still rather buy a new pad every once in a while, than a heat plate though. Heat plates are expensive!!!! I can't believe how expensive they are, especially the larger ones that fit more than just a couple of chicks. The whole point of the MHP for me was the cost. I don't hatch with a MHP often, only when I need pet chickens that are hand-raised and friendly. I hatch my meat chickens under a broody. So for me the use is infrequent enough that I'd rather just get a new pad to be safe. I've used a couple of brands that have done fine for me, so I'd just look for one of those again to be safe.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

That's a good point about them not lasting forever... Especially if they are run for weeks straight with no break, which was not the use they were designed for. I hadn't thought of that, thanks for bringing it up! I would still rather buy a new pad every once in a while, than a heat plate though. Heat plates are expensive!!!! I can't believe how expensive they are, especially the larger ones that fit more than just a couple of chicks. The whole point of the MHP for me was the cost. I don't hatch with a MHP often, only when I need pet chickens that are hand-raised and friendly. I hatch my meat chickens under a broody. So for me the use is infrequent enough that I'd rather just get a new pad to be safe. I've used a couple of brands that have done fine for me, so I'd just look for one of those again to be safe.

Thanks so much for your thoughts. Blooie made the good point that the wires in the pad get brittle and become fire hazard. Given this fact, I know that I've pushed my good ole Sunbeam well beyond what is considered safe.... As for cost that is what I'm finding is most frustrating. When I find a plate that says it's get's plenty hot (lack of reviews that say it's not hot enough for outdoors, only indoors,) then it's not only expensive, it's huge. I only add 4-5 chicks at a time, even given my creative chicken math skills, I never want my flock to be more than 20 total so this works. So yeah it's been difficult. I don't mind spending around $50, but I really don't want to spend $100, that seems so not necessary. I just want to try something small but mighty. Does it even exist?

 

[K0k0shka]

Thanks so much for your thoughts. Blooie made the good point that the wires in the pad get brittle and become fire hazard. Given this fact, I know that I've pushed my good ole Sunbeam well beyond what is considered safe.... As for cost that is what I'm finding is most frustrating. When I find a plate that says it's get's plenty hot (lack of reviews that say it's not hot enough for outdoors, only indoors,) then it's not only expensive, it's huge. I only add 4-5 chicks at a time, even given my creative chicken math skills, I never want my flock to be more than 20 total so this works. So yeah it's been difficult. I don't mind spending around $50, but I really don't want to spend $100, that seems so not necessary. I just want to try something small but mighty. Does it even exist?

Honestly, I don't see a reason why any of those plates should cost what they do. They aren't that complicated as devices. They are marked up as a fancy specialty item, like so many other things marked up for no practical reason (anything labeled as being for kids, for example, even if the exact same thing intended for normal people is half the price! Stupid things like stepping stools and such! And not to mention clothes....) So part of my resistance to buy them is in rebellion to that

 

[Molpet]

Honestly, I don't see a reason why any of those plates should cost what they do. They aren't that complicated as devices. They are marked up as a fancy specialty item, like so many other things marked up for no practical reason (anything labeled as being for kids, for example, even if the exact same thing intended for normal people is half the price! Stupid things like stepping stools and such! And not to mention clothes....) So part of my resistance to buy them is in rebellion to that

They don't sell as many to sell them cheep. More they sell of things the cheaper they become.

 

[janiedoe]

Well here I am on my favorite thread. It's my go to every spring when I'm adding new chicks! I like to see what people have created!! That said are people switching to Heating plates, away from MHP? It's hard for me to imagine as my MHP has been so faithful for many years! BUT even in this thread back in 2018 Blooie cautioned me about using my old Sunbeam forever. Indeed she is now quite the antique! So I've got 2 other pads from last years attempt to get a new one but I did go back to her eventually when none of them performed like her. (Okay I see me calling a heating pad a "her," but it's working for me.) So question: What plate do you recommend? Why am I so nervous about trying a plate? I've been on Amazon for way too long and feel like noting is just right. Any recommendations for a plate for my outdoor brooder room inside insulated coop..... ? OR do you prefer pad to plate still? My plan is to have BOTH so that I'm not left in a lurch if I try a plate and I don't like it. Nothing seems perfect yet so any help is appreciated!!

I bought one from tractor supply, but went back to my mhp. If I ever buy another, I will spring for a Brinsea. I never buy anything electric from Amazon anymore. I have gotten too many items that didn't work.