Newbie here getting my day olds in a week!

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JudithsChickens said:
Oh that I can totally do. Awesome. I wasn't sure that gerryrigging something like that would be okay. I'll set it up soon to be sure the heating pad temp isn't too crazy and that it holds. Awesome.
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Also, they're so cute! I'm so excited to get to raise them up into hens. Thanks for the pics. Those helped a lot.
 
Doc7 said:
Absolutely not that would be very dangerous.

The mama heating pad is AWESOME..

The chicks get warm from a mama heat pad ( MHP) by touching their backs to it. It won’t feel but a few degrees above ambient below the pad but that’s not how it’s supposed to work.

You throw out your thermometer and all these rules and all this worrying with an MHP. You raise it an inch or two a week to keep it the height of the chicks but you’ll be done in 4-5 weeks anyway as they feather out so quickly.

I am to the point now where I think anyone using a heat lamp just hasn’t learned about the MHP because there’s no way I would do anything different.

Chicks outside at Day 1, with an MHP in their coop. No messy dust in the house and you will be shocked almost to the point of disgust in 5 weeks when you compare photos of your chicks to photos of chicks someone has inside under a heat lamp (your chicks will look stronger, more feathers , etc)
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Awesome. I really appreciate the info and am definitely going to go the heating pad route after hearing from so many of you and reading up on the impact of the light on the chicks. Lamps only as backup in case the heating pad dies or something goes wrong. And maybe to keep myself warm when working in the garage in the cold and my hands go numb. Thanks for the info and your passion!
 
JudithsChickens said:
During the summer I was planning to keep it under an awning we have in my backyard so it'll be in the shade. Would adding in a fan or something maybe help for the nights where it's real hot?
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That's a good idea. I'm not sure about a fan. It could work. If the coop has a run, they may prefer to sleep in it if you put up roosts.
 
1) No, it shouldn't bother them. I would caution use of plastic though, depending on weather. My old prefab had removable plastic panels for winter weather protection, but I always made sure to remove them well before the weather got hotter.

2) Rather than using a thermometer I used chick behavior to determine if they were warm enough. Chicks all clustered under heat lamp = too cold. Chicks standing as far as possible from lamp = too hot. Ideally you should set it up so that there's both warmer and cooler areas in the brooder, and the chicks should be dispersed through the brooder.

Since others mentioned heating pads/plates, you don't need to monitor ambient temperature with those. If using a homemade heat pad set up the most important part is to make sure the pad is in good working condition and does not have an auto shut off, and that it's positioned so the chicks can press themselves against it for warmth.

brood4.jpg
 
Update for everyone who might come back here!

Chicks are here safe and sound. All eight made it fine. I wound up getting one of those vertical hot plates for brooding after my heating pad cave didn't go over well with them. It was a cheap heating pad that didn't seem to be warm enough when wrapped to stop it from getting dirty, and they didn't want to go into the cave area. It also took up wayyy more space than I was anticipating given the size of the crate I got for their first few weeks. They love the hot plate and push up against it and its super cute. At night I am leaning it over to be more like a cave and they sleep in adorable little puddles near

My dogs are being super good with the chicks. My larger dog has taken to protecting the box and watches them. I've been able to hold them right up to her and she hasn't done anything aggressive toward them. I was also able to stack four on her head as my current record. She lets them nuzzle into her fur on her belly and fall asleep. Smaller dog I'm more worried about. Either way the dogs are only near the chicks with constant supervision.

I also added a small chick obstacle course of sorts with some cardboard and unused foam painting brushes that I ripped the foam off of so that they're mini roosts for them to practice on.

OMG they are so cute. Only one so far has even come close to having poop butt. And they're so cute.

Thank you all so much for the advice!
 
JudithsChickens said:
Update for everyone who might come back here!

Chicks are here safe and sound. All eight made it fine. I wound up getting one of those vertical hot plates for brooding after my heating pad cave didn't go over well with them. It was a cheap heating pad that didn't seem to be warm enough when wrapped to stop it from getting dirty, and they didn't want to go into the cave area. It also took up wayyy more space than I was anticipating given the size of the crate I got for their first few weeks. They love the hot plate and push up against it and its super cute. At night I am leaning it over to be more like a cave and they sleep in adorable little puddles near

My dogs are being super good with the chicks. My larger dog has taken to protecting the box and watches them. I've been able to hold them right up to her and she hasn't done anything aggressive toward them. I was also able to stack four on her head as my current record. She lets them nuzzle into her fur on her belly and fall asleep. Smaller dog I'm more worried about. Either way the dogs are only near the chicks with constant supervision.

I also added a small chick obstacle course of sorts with some cardboard and unused foam painting brushes that I ripped the foam off of so that they're mini roosts for them to practice on.

OMG they are so cute. Only one so far has even come close to having poop butt. And they're so cute.

Thank you all so much for the advice!
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It sounds like things are going well...glad to hear it! :thumbsup
 
JudithsChickens said:
Update for everyone who might come back here!

Chicks are here safe and sound. All eight made it fine. I wound up getting one of those vertical hot plates for brooding after my heating pad cave didn't go over well with them. It was a cheap heating pad that didn't seem to be warm enough when wrapped to stop it from getting dirty, and they didn't want to go into the cave area. It also took up wayyy more space than I was anticipating given the size of the crate I got for their first few weeks. They love the hot plate and push up against it and its super cute. At night I am leaning it over to be more like a cave and they sleep in adorable little puddles near

My dogs are being super good with the chicks. My larger dog has taken to protecting the box and watches them. I've been able to hold them right up to her and she hasn't done anything aggressive toward them. I was also able to stack four on her head as my current record. She lets them nuzzle into her fur on her belly and fall asleep. Smaller dog I'm more worried about. Either way the dogs are only near the chicks with constant supervision.

I also added a small chick obstacle course of sorts with some cardboard and unused foam painting brushes that I ripped the foam off of so that they're mini roosts for them to practice on.

OMG they are so cute. Only one so far has even come close to having poop butt. And they're so cute.

Thank you all so much for the advice!
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Glad to hear they made it and are doing so well.
Pictures of 4 chicks on your dogs head would be priceless!
 
WELCOME! I personally .like using a normal ol light bulb....if... they are inside. If outside, yes, heat lamp. I just watch them. if they are huddled right under that bulb..they are chilly. If they are laying just outside the bulb, they are comfy. If they are laying as far away as possible from the lamp, they are too warm. Makes sense right? Same goes if they are out in a garage or shed. The heat lamp will be needed in this cold out there...hey neighbor..I know the cold where you are. I'm in Utah. :frow
 

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