MHP FAIL :-(

[henless]

I bought the Sunbeam 732-500 off of Amazon. It does NOT cut off after 2 hours & it DOES turn back on if the electricity goes out. I've used them for 2 years now & love em!!

Be sure and put the pad underneath your rack. You want the chicks to be able to put their backs up against it & make sure the writing on the pad is facing the chicks. I used a cookie rack for mine & all threads with washers/nuts for the legs. This made it super easy to adjust when I needed it to. I used small bungee cords to attache it. I didn't use the press n seal, I just put an old kitchen towel over the top.




Here it is in use. I'm so glad Blooie started her thread. I've never used a heating lamp. With my first chicks I bought a Premier Heating Plate. I love it, but it doesn't have an adjustable heat. I only use it when it's really cold and my other pads are in use.

 

[ChickenHawk12]

I bought the Sunbeam 732-500 off of Amazon. It does NOT cut off after 2 hours & it DOES turn back on if the electricity goes out. I've used them for 2 years now & love em!!

Be sure and put the pad underneath your rack. You want the chicks to be able to put their backs up against it & make sure the writing on the pad is facing the chicks. I used a cookie rack for mine & all threads with washers/nuts for the legs. This made it super easy to adjust when I needed it to. I used small bungee cords to attache it. I didn't use the press n seal, I just put an old kitchen towel over the top.




Here it is in use. I'm so glad Blooie started her thread. I've never used a heating lamp. With my first chicks I bought a Premier Heating Plate. I love it, but it doesn't have an adjustable heat. I only use it when it's really cold and my other pads are in use.

Thank you!!! I am very spatially impaired and this is the FIRST pic I have seen that I could actually make sense of. I have that same heating pad, and if I can figure out how to make legs with what I have, I could make this with my cooling rack. I'll go digging in my husband's toolbox tomorrow.....thanks!

 

[henless]

Your welcome! Once you get it all together, you'll see how easy it is to use one. Just make sure to have your pad set at an angle. That way the chicks can move about under the pad and get warmer/cooler as they need to.

 

[Hbohm74]

@AllynTal @Blooie Thanks for your helpful responses! I'm feeling more confident about constructing my MHP!

 

[ChickenHawk12]

I did it!!!!!

Is it low enough? I feel like maybe i should lower it a tad. They are 11 days old. What do you think @blooie @henless

 

[henless]

I did it!!!!!

Is it low enough? I feel like maybe i should lower it a tad. They are 11 days old. What do you think @blooie @henless

Looks good!

You want the front a little bit higher than the back. That way, when they don't need as much warmth, they can sit at the front and still feel the warmth. In the first pic, see how they are pressing up against the mhp? That is how they do to their mom. They press up against her to get warm.When they don't need much warmth, they will sit at the front like in the 2nd pic. Before you know it, they will be on top using it as a launching pad! lol

 

[ChickenHawk12]

Actually, I just opened the garage door and turned on the light, and they were ALL huddled on TOP of the MHP and towel sleeping. Does that mean it's too hot under there or that it is too low? I have the heating pad on high.....do you think I should turn it to medium?

 

[ChickenHawk12]

Ok, I raised the pad a little bit, closed the door and waited. They were all out and about when I closed the door, and the garage temp was about 55 degrees. I checked a while later, and they were all on top of the pad. I left the light on and waited more. I just went in there, and they were all underneath the pad, so maybe it was just a bit too low. They are all tucked in under there so I shut off the light for the night. Sweet dreams!

 

[henless]

From the pics, it looked like your MHP was about the right height. It's really hard to tell from a pic, but it seems like you've got it figured it out now. Just watch your chicks & see how they do with the MHP.

 

[ChickNanny13]

I LOVE MHP! It took me days to figure out how to do the "skeleton" but as usual I was "over thinking" the simplicity of it. I've raised 2 sets (9 & 10) of Wynadotte chicks for a breeder friend and now she hatching Micro Serama eggs

I got faith in MHP but those Micros are so delicate

I've been using a hardware cloth skeleton but will be switching over to the "adjustable" skeleton henless got pictured, seen it on blooie's thread but had hardware cloth laying about so went that route.

I operate mine on Med, although I'm told I don't really need much heat here (Hawaii temps don't go below 50), have noticed as they get older, they like getting on top but still go under at nights. The last batch I shut the MHP off at nights (but left it in the brooder) when they were about 4wks, night temps were in the 60s. They did fine, breeder picked them up at 6wks, instead of selling she decided to keep that batch! They were calmer & friendly with good weight (I do FF).

FF & MHP two great ideas I've picked up from BYC....Thank you ALL for sharing your ideas!