Thinking of brooding outdoors.....

[4 Georgia Hens]

Hello folks!
So (as the title implies) I’m thinking about brooding my next batch of chicks outdoors. Does anyone have a heating pad suggestion? I seriously have NO clue which on to get!! If anyone has any tips/advice/experience to share, please do!!
@Blooie
Thanks in advance!
Ps. Her is an idea of the weather we’re having:
Highs: 67 F
Lows: 30 F

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I brood out in a shed with a heat lamp. I suggest you go to the heating pad thread and ask your questions there.

 

[ChickNanny13]

2x oldhenlikesdogs MHP by Blooie in the Raising Chicks forum, safer & the chicks are calmer & quiet at night

 

[bruceha2000]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...d-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update.956958/

You will find answers there
The 3 most important things on the heating pad are:

1. Don't use an old pad that has been folded, shoved in a closet for years. The wires can be questionable, possibly short out and cause a fire.
2. Decide if you want the medium or large/XL pad. Depends on how many chicks you will be getting. I'd go with the XL regardless simply because it can be used for things other than brooding chicks and even if you don't need an XL cave THIS time doesn't mean you won't the next time.
3. You NEED a pad that either does not shut off automatically or has the ability to turn off that feature. An example of the second type is the Sunbeam XpressHeat pad.

 

[Blooie]

Oh, boy! Do I ever!! There's a link I'll give you at the bottom of this post to the Mama Heating Pad thread. The first post is how I initially set mine up, and you know, I've changed almost nothing since that very first post! I like it simple! At the bottom of that first post is a link to page 46. When you click on that and then go about halfway down, you'll find @Beekissed's photos and a description of how she sets hers up, and a lot of people are doing it that way now. We had reports on the thread of a few chicks getting trapped between the pad and the wire, so she showed us how she has avoided that. She was my mentor in this entire effort.

The heating pad I, and most of us use, is the Sunbeam X-Press Heat. You can turn off that pesky "automatic shutoff" so it doesn't turn itself off every couple of hours. Other than that, you can use about any other pad as long as it doesn't have that "auto shut" off. The pad I use is usually available at Walmart or Walgreen's type pharmacies. I would add, don't use an old heating pad that you have tucked away in a closet somewhere! After a long time being rolled or folded, the wires inside can become brittle, crack or break, and short out. The pad will be on continuously for a few weeks, and the last thing we want to do is have bad heating elements cause issues. There's a link at the bottom for the pad on Amazon if you'd rather get it that way.

Be forewarned of two things!! First of all, the cave I use for my chicks is NOT as high as it is in that first post. I was learning as I went along, so illustrations are to some degree exaggerated so that people can see exactly how I made it. The actual cave is flatter than that so that it almost touches the chick's backs when they are in there.

Second thing to note is that is that chicks will NOT behave as you've been led to expect they should. They go to bed with the sun and wake up with the sun. They are quieter. They are stronger and more confident. Don't panic if they seem a little smaller as chicks - they aren't eating 24 hours a day using Mama Heating Pad. They'll mature out just fine.

I know the thread is a big one. It's still pretty active. But darn near everything you need to know is on just those two pages! After that it's just a matter of you fine tuning it to your specific setup and needs. Any videos in the thread posted before around June of 2017 no longer work, and haven't since BYC updated its platform then. So if there is anything you'd like to see on video, such as Mama Heating Pad chicks responding to darkness and then light, or see any videos of my chicks from first time outdoors in the outdoor brooder to videos of their integration with the adults at 4 weeks, let me know and I'll post them for you right here. Most of them aren't long, but they are cute, even if I have to say it myself!

I'm also posting a link to how I raise chicks outdoors. @azygous also has an excellent article on the same strong belief that outdoor raising is best, and I've always freely admitted that several months after I wrote mine, I stole her idea for portal doors in the brooder and have never regretted it! (But I was still first - tee hee!) Here are those links for you. It's just easier to do it this way than to retype all the information out every time a new friend has questions. But at any time, if you see something you aren't sure of or want a few more details about, you can either come right back here and ask or hit the last page of the Mama Heating Pad thread, where myself or any of the now long time users will help.

Here are those links for you.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/956958/mama-heating-pad-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/yes-you-certainly-can-brood-chicks-outdoors

The link to the heating pad on Amazon is a long one:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005NZ66KU/?tag=backy-20

 

[bruceha2000]

You've been Blooied @Blooie

 

[Blooie]

I have indeed!! But I figured to cover all the bases in case others want more information as well! You did great, and you did it shorter, as usual!

 

[4 Georgia Hens]

Oh, boy! Do I ever!! There's a link I'll give you at the bottom of this post to the Mama Heating Pad thread. The first post is how I initially set mine up, and you know, I've changed almost nothing since that very first post! I like it simple! At the bottom of that first post is a link to page 46. When you click on that and then go about halfway down, you'll find @Beekissed's photos and a description of how she sets hers up, and a lot of people are doing it that way now. We had reports on the thread of a few chicks getting trapped between the pad and the wire, so she showed us how she has avoided that. She was my mentor in this entire effort.

The heating pad I, and most of us use, is the Sunbeam X-Press Heat. You can turn off that pesky "automatic shutoff" so it doesn't turn itself off every couple of hours. Other than that, you can use about any other pad as long as it doesn't have that "auto shut" off. The pad I use is usually available at Walmart or Walgreen's type pharmacies. I would add, don't use an old heating pad that you have tucked away in a closet somewhere! After a long time being rolled or folded, the wires inside can become brittle, crack or break, and short out. The pad will be on continuously for a few weeks, and the last thing we want to do is have bad heating elements cause issues. There's a link at the bottom for the pad on Amazon if you'd rather get it that way.

Be forewarned of two things!! First of all, the cave I use for my chicks is NOT as high as it is in that first post. I was learning as I went along, so illustrations are to some degree exaggerated so that people can see exactly how I made it. The actual cave is flatter than that so that it almost touches the chick's backs when they are in there.

Second thing to note is that is that chicks will NOT behave as you've been led to expect they should. They go to bed with the sun and wake up with the sun. They are quieter. They are stronger and more confident. Don't panic if they seem a little smaller as chicks - they aren't eating 24 hours a day using Mama Heating Pad. They'll mature out just fine.

I know the thread is a big one. It's still pretty active. But darn near everything you need to know is on just those two pages! After that it's just a matter of you fine tuning it to your specific setup and needs. Any videos in the thread posted before around June of 2017 no longer work, and haven't since BYC updated its platform then. So if there is anything you'd like to see on video, such as Mama Heating Pad chicks responding to darkness and then light, or see any videos of my chicks from first time outdoors in the outdoor brooder to videos of their integration with the adults at 4 weeks, let me know and I'll post them for you right here. Most of them aren't long, but they are cute, even if I have to say it myself!

I'm also posting a link to how I raise chicks outdoors. @azygous also has an excellent article on the same strong belief that outdoor raising is best, and I've always freely admitted that several months after I wrote mine, I stole her idea for portal doors in the brooder and have never regretted it! (But I was still first - tee hee!) Here are those links for you. It's just easier to do it this way than to retype all the information out every time a new friend has questions. But at any time, if you see something you aren't sure of or want a few more details about, you can either come right back here and ask or hit the last page of the Mama Heating Pad thread, where myself or any of the now long time users will help.

Here are those links for you.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/956958/mama-heating-pad-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/yes-you-certainly-can-brood-chicks-outdoors

The link to the heating pad on Amazon is a long one:
http://www.amazon.com/Sunbeam-2013-...kmr1&keywords=Sunbeam+x-tra+large+heating+pad

Thank you! I just posted the heating pad question on the heating pad thread, not knowing that you posted on here! Lol! This is very informative!

 

[Blooie]

I got a kick out of that...if you look at the post directly above yours on MHP thread, I'd just told another lady which one to use.

 

[4 Georgia Hens]

I got a kick out of that...if you look at the post directly above yours on MHP thread, I'd just told another lady which one to use.

Oh! Lol!