Safe heat source and Brooder set up?

[Little Coop on Salt Creek]

Agreed, and last time my hubby had back pain I told him to go get that same old heating pad we'd used, take off the Press n Seal and the washable cover, and stick it in a pillowcase. Voila, back to a human heating pad!

LOL, I LOVE it!

 

[horsekeeper]

I use a heating plate from Premier1 and the chicks love it. The nice thing with the adjustable legs is you can put it on a slant, taller in front and shorter in back. That way it accommodates different size chicks at the same time. You can get a guard for the top that prevents them from climbing on top and pooping.

I brood for the first week or two in a large transparent tub with the middle of the top cut out and hardware cloth zip tied on. Then they move to a puppy pen and if they are no longer spending much time under the plate it is only on at night for about a week more.

After that the heat plate comes out and they get a plastic step stool to hide under and roost on until they transition all the way to the coop.

 

[Little Coop on Salt Creek]

I use a heating plate from Premier1 and the chicks love it. The nice thing with the adjustable legs is you can put it on a slant, taller in front and shorter in back. That way it accommodates different size chicks at the same time. You can get a guard for the top that prevents them from climbing on top and pooping.

Mine has adjustable legs too, but it isn't the Premier1. Maybe mine are just snubbing the cheaper model!

 

[pysankigirl]

I've found the best/easiest thing for me is just putting my chicks in a plastic tub that has a heating pad under one side of it. Puppy piddle pad inside that I change out whenever it is soiled.

once they are feathered out a bit I have a fenced in chick run with cover that I let them play around in on nice days.

 

[Little Coop on Salt Creek]

I've found the best/easiest thing for me is just putting my chicks in a plastic tub that has a heating pad under one side of it. Puppy piddle pad inside that I change out whenever it is soiled.

once they are feathered out a bit I have a fenced in chick run with cover that I let them play around in on nice days.

So you give heat from the bottom and not from the top?

 

[Blooie]

I've found the best/easiest thing for me is just putting my chicks in a plastic tub that has a heating pad under one side of it. Puppy piddle pad inside that I change out whenever it is soiled.

once they are feathered out a bit I have a fenced in chick run with cover that I let them play around in on nice days.

I think one or two other people have posted that they do the heating pad this way. If it works for them and for you, then stick with it. Personally I think it defeats 90% of the reasons Mama Heating Pad is so effective. The snuggling under a soft cozy pad, the dark secure place, and warming them directly at their backs as Mama Broody Hen does just makes more sense to me. It uses all of their natural instincts, resulting in calm, confident chicks and adults. But as I say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

 

[AquaDuck]

I had a lady who recently bought Australorp, Easter Egger and Silkie chicks from us. She was using a heat plate. Raised it to accommodate height growth in the LF but forgot to increase the bedding under part of it to account for the still shorter bantams.. she starting loosing the Silkies before we figured out the heat issue

I like to tilt the plate with the legs attached so that one side is lower to the ground. That way the chicks can choose where they want to be. The smaller ones snuggle in where it's lowest while the bigger stands where it's higher. Give the chicks individual control of their need for heat.

 

[Blooie]

I’m too lazy to do a lot of fussing. My heating pad frame is a scrap of fencing. It’s higher in front than in back. As they grow, when they need it higher I just pull up on the center of the fencing. If I need it flatter, I just smoosh down on the center. They only use it for the first couple of weeks anyway....by three weeks they’ve mostly weaned themselves off heat and are with the adults most of the day, and by 4 weeks they are totally integrated and the entire brooder pen is disassembled and removed. I bring the heating pad in, remove the power cord, toss the pad in the washer, lay it flat to dry, and store it flat. The chicks are acclimated, integrated, and done. So it’s really only used for a short time.

 

[Chickengene]

My chicks made it through the cold of January and February just fine with a cheap Wally world heating pad buried beneath the pine shavings.
Now they are nearly 16 weeks old and up until last night they still tended to sleep in the same corner.
They have finally found the roosting bar last night.
Lol I felt like my kids just graduated kindergarten and we're going to real school now.

 

[Little Coop on Salt Creek]

This is one of the things I love about learning and sharing here.. everyone has their own style and there is so much wiggle room in the “correct way” or the “standard”.