Switching one week old chicks from a heat lamp to the Mama Heating Pad system.

[TheresaV]

I am SO thankful to all the members who have posted here about how to set up and use this amazing system.

My 16 feedstore chicks started out in an unheated chicken house with a heatlamp. Our first week was quite stressful for all concerned. The heat lamp light bulb burned out one night and we had no replacement bulb. Then the new bulb we got wasn't warm enough. Also, I am bad at chicken math so we had too many chicks for the brooder we started out with and they got overcrowded very fast. I am happy that despite the problems, we all still made it to the end of the week.

Meanwhile I learned about the MHP system and ordered a heating pad right away. On Friday afternoon, the chicks moved into a roomier pen and the heating pad arrived. By around 4 pm the heating pad cave was installed, I got them all inside and removed the heat lamp. After that they never came out of the cave for 12 hours! It was the first time in their lives they had ever been in a warm dark place and they obviously loved it.

I left a regular light on in their room until 9 pm in case they wanted to come out to eat or drink and I kept a close eye on them. I could see some of their little faces peaking out and heard an occasional rustle or chirp, but that was all.

At 4 am I just had to make sure they were all ok. I turned on the light and scooped them out of the cave. They ran and flew around and got food and water then huddled up together on top of the cave. Obviously they were getting cold, so I put them back inside. I kept a close watch on them throughout the day, helping out as needed. By evening, they had all got the hang of this new lifestyle and were going in and out independently, happy and busy with their baby chicken activities.

At 7 pm last night, when I shut the big chickens up in their side of the chicken house, it was lights out for the babies too. They were already tucked inside the cave. I checked them later but all was well. It got down in the 20s during the night, but I was confident they would be fine and they were.

This morning at 5 am when I turned on their light, they instantly all jumped out and made a beeline for the food and water. Since then they have been out quite a bit even though their room is pretty cold. I can tell they are gaining a lot of security and confidence having their warm cozy surrogate mommy hen close by. The most adorable part is when their li'l heads pop out through the straw at the back door of the cave.

Now I can relax and enjoy having these precious little creatures in my life. I spent some time today just watching their antics and working on a little playground at one end of their pen which was quite fun. And finally tonight I can get a good night's sleep.

 

[sourland]

Getting to live an almost normal chick life. Well done.

 

[TheresaV]

Getting to live an almost normal chick life. Well done.

Yep. I am hoping my future chicks will be raised by broody moms. MHP is the next best thing though.

 

[TheresaV]

Video of my chicks on their first day with the MHP. They learned fast how to go in and out.

 

[jreardon1918]

Video of my chicks on their first day with the MHP. They learned fast how to go in and out.

That looks great. We have brooded twice and our experience with the MHP was a much less stressful time. No thermometer, no worrying about temperature. After all, the heating pad is probably a little warmer than an actual Momma Hen.

You might consider having a bit more of an opening. That would allow the chicks a way to escape crowding. YMMV.

 

[TheresaV]

That looks great. We have brooded twice and our experience with the MHP was a much less stressful time. No thermometer, no worrying about temperature. After all, the heating pad is probably a little warmer than an actual Momma Hen.

You might consider having a bit more of an opening. That would allow the chicks a way to escape crowding. YMMV.

There seem to be 2 different routes to go for the framework- one is with a flat frame like yours and the other is with a flexible frame which is what I made. I think both work well. I was careful to leave an opening in the back so there are 2 escape options. They do go in and out both ways.

I like the flexible frame for an unheated area like where my chicks are. When it got down in the 20s a couple of nights, I noticed they all crammed together on the edges where the heating pad comes all the way down. During the day when it's a bit warmer, they stay more in the middle.

As they get bigger I will have to make the center taller.

 

[jreardon1918]

There seem to be 2 different routes to go for the framework- one is with a flat frame like yours and the other is with a flexible frame which is what I made. I think both work well. I was careful to leave an opening in the back so there are 2 escape options. They do go in and out both ways.

I like the flexible frame for an unheated area like where my chicks are. When it got down in the 20s a couple of nights, I noticed they all crammed together on the edges where the heating pad comes all the way down. During the day when it's a bit warmer, they stay more in the middle.

As they get bigger I will have to make the center taller.

Do you have pictures showing the back? And maybe when it gets taller. It does look very comfy. We may not do new chicks until the fall or next spring, so we have time to improve our setup. Last time we hit really nice outdoor weather. So, most nights it stayed 40ish.

 

[TheresaV]

Do you have pictures showing the back? And maybe when it gets taller. It does look very comfy. We may not do new chicks until the fall or next spring, so we have time to improve our setup. Last time we hit really nice outdoor weather. So, most nights it stayed 40ish.

The frame is a piece of heavy fencing. I bent it into an arch then squished the back down. This way there are higher and lower areas so the chicks can choose warmer or cooler areas inside the cave. The heating pad is a couple inches narrower than the frame so the very front is the coolest spot. The heating pad goes all the way down on the sides. The front arch is 6" high and the back is 3". This seems good for 1 week old chicks. I will just squish the sides together when I want to make it taller.

I am very happy with this design. The only drawback so far is keeping the top clean. I put the whole thing inside a pillowcase, folded to fit and taped shut. I covered the top with duct tape, well pressed down but it isn't as easy to clean as I hoped.

A piece of flexible plastic clipped on somehow would be better- then it could be removed and rinsed off with the hose. Still thinking on that. Meanwhile I periodically wipe the top off with paper towels- it's staying fairly clean.

 

[Solanacae]

I used seedling mats for brooding my chicks MHP-style. I had them on hand already, but I really like that they are waterproof and extremely durable. I slipped mine in a burlap sack so the chicks could get some purchase to climb on top and that also made cleaning up minimal and easy when I transitioned them out of the brooder. They are so much happier this way!