Mama heating pad temp?

[micstrachan]

Hello,
I have a broody, and want to get her a couple chicks to sneak under her tonight. I’ll set up a cage inside to make sure she continues sitting and keep the chicks separate and out of earshot until late tonight. So I need a temporary brooder. I have a heating pad over a cooling rack set at an angle so chicks can regulate their own temp. Pad is set at 150°F, but air temp is still only ~79°F at the low part. (I will have a puppy pad, too. Can’t find mine, so need to get more.)

 

[azygous]

You want to focus on the contact temp with the heating pad. That's how the chicks will utilize the heat from it, by direct contact. Air temp is immaterial.

Be careful the heating pad surface isn't so hot that it will burn under extended contact with it. Test it with the inside of your arm. Leve you arm there for one full minute. If it's too darned hot to be comfortable, it's also too hot for delicate chicks that have only a little fuzzy down to protect their very sensitive skin.