rock in a sock! anyone else try it?

[FlipFlopFarmer]

Ive done this before when raising baby parakeets, parrots, etc. I have one of those medium size reptile rocks that plug in and create surface heat for reptiles. I put it in one of my socks and put it under or near the heat light in my brooder. The chicks seem to snuggle up to it when they need to, play king of the hill on it, and I find that here in central louisiana the temp can change quite a bit in a short time period it helps the chicks out. I work 12 hr night shifts and dont have central air/ heat. It was around 78 in the room with the bator and brooder, when i left at 4pm yesterday, and now its around 65. The bator is fine, adjusting accordingly, but no one is here to raise/ lower the light. it was 94 in the hot spot of the brooder when i left and now its 90, but all the babies are happily passed out on the "sock mama"!..... just wondering if anyone else does the same.

 

[artsyrobin]

that is a great idea!! am thinking my disabled guinea chick may like it

 

[OregonChickenGal]

Great idea, next time I get chicks, I'll have to try that.

 

[spook]

Amazing idea! You do realize you can get reptile thermostats that the sensor goes in on the floor of the "tank" and your light gets plugged into that. I have one for my homemade incubator that turns the lights on at 99 and no higher at 100.5. Perhaps its something southerners might want to invest in.
Thanks for the great idea!

 

[Mahonri]

where do you get the reptile rock? Pet store?

And the heat from the " rock " would never be enough to start a fire right?

 

[Tdub4chiks]

ZooMed also has the reptile under tank heaters. I used my bearded dragons dimmable light fixture in my brooder. It's nice being able to adjust the temp without having to lower/raise the fixture.

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

The repti thermostats are amazing. I have one for my snake cage now that the house where I'm living is very sporadic in temp change...I have a heat lamp connected to it, and it goes on or off accordingly to keep the right temp flow. I plan to get another one in spring for when I plan to brood chicks...Also I keep an under the tank heater for my snakes as well, and it would be just as useful for chicks, however I question letting anything come into direct contact with the surface these things and heat rocks are on as they have been known to cause burns. With the stick on pads mounting them on the wall instead of the bottom is a great alternative to making sure one side stays warmer than the other, and it will radiate heat outwards for a little ways in a brooder. However these stick on heat pads only work for glass...

Heat rocks can be great, however I warn you to keep an eye on them as the older ones are known to have short circuiting issues and heat up too much. The main issue with them is heating up too much and direct contact with the surface (guessing why the sock the OP uses) can cause burns...But secondary is the wiring can fault which can cause a fire. They shouldnt get too hot to spark a fire on their own (the actual rock) but the wiring can just like anything else.

A similar thought and design to be used I suggest looking up reptile 'heat tape' and installing it, it can be used on most any surface glass, plastic, wood...and can be connected to a thermostat to regulate the temperature and can be used with a light as an extra boost of heat OR by it self as the main heat source and works quite well... Heat tape is relatively cheap, the thermostats are expensive however ranging from 70$ - 200$ depending on the make and heat output your looking at using.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

wow what a great idea! thanks for sharing

 

[FlipFlopFarmer]

yea, about the "shorting out", I only use the newest of my 3 rocks on my chicks ( paranoid with babies), For anyone else, the reptile section is AMAZING, here at my place, i keep all sorts of kritters, but heat tape, heat cord, heat mats, radiant ceramic heat emitters, thermometers, hydrometers, and temp sensitive delay switches are all wonderful if u modify the enclosure and consider safety first! ALSO if you look on.... I believe its country supply.com for horses, or for horse supplies in general, they make a socket that u plug a box fan, or anything for that matter into and it comes on automatically when the temp reaches 85 degrees, i use them in my horse stalls as well as my coops. In summer, we get to 105 easily. OHHH an also, i put the heat rock in a sock for comfort of the critter, i saw that study about the reccess monkey that was raised in an all wire cage and then one that was given a "rag mama", way back when i was in high school, and the "rag mama" monkey was better socialized. When i raise baby anythings, i try to remeber the "mama factor".