Questions regarding brooding chicks in winter

[lazy gardener]

Scotty, does that pad have an override for the 2 hour auto off setting that seems to be a standard with almost all heating pads now sold?

I make my frame out of standard fencing that is welded with 2" x 4" wire mesh. (other folks have used closet maid shelving, wire cake racks, and even wire dish strainers that they've adapted. Any thing you use needs to be bendable or otherwise adjustable so that you can change the height as the chick grows.) I then make a pillow case to enclose both the heating pad and the wire frame inside the pillow case. (My most recent set up involved taking a piece of old sheet, and cutting it big enough to enclose HP and frame, then used my hot melt glue gun to "sew the overlaying fabric" around the frame/HP with the glue.) I like to place the frame on top of the pad so the chicks can snuggle up to the pad without contacting the wire frame. So, without any further intervention, the pad tends to hang down off the frame. I found short bungee cords (I believe they were 10") and used them on the underside to hold pad up against the frame to keep it from slinging down.

No, they don't damage the cord. But the sunbeam pad i bought had a removeable cord. I found that it was helpful to tape that union with some electrical tape so it couldn't be pulled loose.

 

[Scotty from BI]

The bungee cord idea is brilliant. If I understand correctly the chicks need to be able to push up against the heat source like they would if they were under a broody hen, so having exposed wire underneath could cause problems. I'm thinking the welded wire fence to suspend the heat pad with towel wrapped around the fence and pad held together by bungeesto keep the towel from sagging under the wire. I will have 18 chicks at first assuming no mortallity on delivery. After about 4-6 weeks Iope to be able to go down to 12 or so. So, will the 12-24" pad be enough or should I have two pads side by side? This will be the only heat source until they ween themselves of of artificial heat. I will be brooding them in my coop which is protected from windy drafts and rain but completely exposed to outside temperature.

 

[Scotty from BI]

Here are some pictures of my coop from different angles. I just cleaned out the wood shavings on the deck and the pdz from the tray. I am going to lay down some sheets of insulation below wood chips before they arrive. The brooder will be set up in front of the nest boxes which will be closed during brooder period. But you can see how it prevents drafts but will be the same as outside temps inside. So will the heater pad cave be sufficient or do I need secondary heating?

 

[Ridgerunner]

When the outside temperatures are below freezing I sometimes find frost in the far end of my brooder. It doesn't matter. As long as the chicks have a warm place to go they can handle it. Your temperatures are not going to be that cold.

You do not need to provide additional heat in the coop. With that warm cave to go to they won't need it. You'll be surprised at how much time they spend perched on top of that cave instead of in it.

 

[lazy gardener]

What were you planning to use for insulation under the shavings? You really don't need to do that. Chances are good that they will eat what ever you put down. Several inches of shavings will be just fine. Honest! You are making this too hard! Honest! Just give them the heating pad cave, make it low enough that they can touch it with their backs, and they will be just fine. As they grow, you simply push up the middle of the cave to accommodate their increasing size. I easily brood 15 - 20 chicks for their entire brooding time with a single 12 x 24 pad.

No secondary heat needed. As a matter of fact, if you put extra heat in, that will make it harder for them to acclimate. By the time they are 3 weeks old, they can be coming and going from coop to run, if you have a secure run for them. And by the time they are 3 weeks old, that would be a very good idea. Keep in mind that your flock will need 4 s.f. in coop (open floor space) and 10 s.f. in run per bird in order to avoid behavior problems.

 

[Scotty from BI]

I had second thoughts about the insulation and decided to just use shavings. I am an over-doer. Always have been. Thanks for the advice. Inside coop is 4' x18' (72 sq ft) so should be good for 10 or 11 adults 6.5 - 7.5 sq ft per adult ( my goal ). Outside run is 60' x 6' plenty big enough. Trying to anticipate and prepare for any contingencies so I am not scrambling to find a solution mid crisis.

 

[lazy gardener]

You will do fine. You are way ahead in your game. I fly by the seat of my pants, so was still building the coop while chicks were in the brooder. Luckily, I built a tractor to brood them in, so they were able to be outside while I finished the coop. That tractor has gotten a lot of use over the years.

 

[Scotty from BI]

I really like the heating pad solution but a couple of thoughts have occured to me and i would love to hear your thoughts.

One advantage of the heat lamp is that you can easily monitor their condition and activity. You have no idea what's happening in that cave without lifting it which will make them nervous about going in it after awhile after repeatedly picking it up to check on them. Also chickens poop alot at night. With 18 chicks huddled together for over 13 hours there has to be a lot of poop in there. How did you solve or mitigate these problem?

 

[Birdinhand]

I brooded early this spring and had no issues. I used to keep the chicks inside, but they do better outside from day 1. there are multiple threads on the Mother Heating Pad (MHP) idea, which is vastly superior to using heat lamps. it's relatively low wattage, less fire risk, less light stress/better sleeping pattern and easily adjusted if mount the tops support on threaded "bolts" and use nuts to adjust up and down. I live in Shoreline, north of Seattle. the thing I'd watch out for are the cold snaps. the temperature here can dip low, it just doesn't do it that often and one year to the next can be very different. chicks become more cold tolerant more quickly than a lot of folks give them credit for.

 

[lazy gardener]

I really like the heating pad solution but a couple of thoughts have occured to me and i would love to hear your thoughts.

One advantage of the heat lamp is that you can easily monitor their condition and activity. You have no idea what's happening in that cave without lifting it which will make them nervous about going in it after awhile after repeatedly picking it up to check on them. Also chickens poop alot at night. With 18 chicks huddled together for over 13 hours there has to be a lot of poop in there. How did you solve or mitigate these problem?

you can easily monitor their condition and activity: if you use a heat lamp, you can look into the brooder and see all of the chicks any time you want to. Is that really what's in the best interests of the chicks? Or in your best interests? Having a light shining down on them 24/7 is stressful. It prevents natural sleep/wake cycles. Folks comment all the time about how cute their chicks are b/c they will stop and fall asleep randomly, sometimes with their beaks in the feed dish or in the water moat. Or they will stand in place and drift off to sleep until their head falls down and they do a face plant in the shavings. This is the result of sleep deprivation. They fall asleep randomly, and catch quick cat naps that last until someone who is not napping runs over their back. Nope. Not natural at all.

MHP raised chicks go into the cave to sleep. They all go to bed at the same time, and get up at the same time. They sing a contented little trilling song when they are snuggled under MHP getting ready to sleep. You will never hear that with heat lamp chicks.

You have no idea what's happening in that cave without lifting it which will make them nervous about going in it after awhile after repeatedly picking it up to check on them. Lifting the pad is really not difficult. You just need to use your hand to scoot them all away from the lifted edge before setting it back down again. MHP chicks are much less fearful of the human intervention IMO. You can also use a flashlight and a mirror to peek in to see what is going on. After you get comfortable with the MHP, you will only be checking under there 1 - 2x/d.

Also chickens poop alot at night. With 18 chicks huddled together for over 13 hours there has to be a lot of poop in there. Yep, they poop a lot. If they were to actually sleep the night under a heat lamp, you'd find the same amount of poop under the heat lamp. Poop happens. You simply deal with it in what ever method you have chosen, and move on. I do DL, even in my brooder. When there's some moisture or poo lying on top of the shavings, I top those shavings off with some more. Sometimes if moisture builds up under the MHP location, I simply move the MHP.

Studies have shown that chicks that are exposed to used litter from prior broods of chicks have better feed conversion rates and higher survival rates b/c their guts get colonized with beneficial bacteria more quickly. You can take advantage of this information by providing a plug of soil from your (untreated) yard or even some used litter from your chicken coop or run (if you already have chickens). Best to do this within the first 2 weeks of hatch while their antibodies (received from their mothers) are at their highest. (I would never use litter from some one else's flock to colonize the guts of my chicks.) BTW, invite wild turkeys into your yard. They carry a less virulent strain of Mareck's disease which will impart natural immunity to your chicks.

I hope my answers to you have been reassuring, and not off-putting. I am sometimes blunt in my responses, but all are meant to be helpful.