Transition from Heat Lamp to MHP

[bobbi-j]

Might be too tall, stick a couple 1x boards under there to 'raise' the floor,
since you can't lower the pad.

Agree that it’s too tall. Once they can touch the pad and feel that heat, they will be fine. I would take the lamp out so they have to use the MHP. I was pretty skeptical at first, too, and checked on my chicks for several nights, but I am a believer now. I will continue to use the MHP to brood chicks.

 

[wyoDreamer]

It is not too tall, the chicks are 2 weeks old. If you lower it, they won't fit under it at all. If you think it is too tall, add more bedding to bring the "floor" up to the MHP. That way they can dig out the shavings if they need to to get under it.
My 2 week old chicks slept on top of the MHP here in WI in April.

 

[wyoDreamer]

You may need to move the towel so it hangs down more on the sides to touch the floor of the brooder to create more of a "cave". I had a scrap of polar fleece that I used to cover the heating pad and arranged it so that it hung down in the front also and cut it into strips.

 

[Maeschak]

Hi all - we have 2 week old chicks that have been under a heat lamp since day 1. I have made a MHP and moved them to our 6’x6’ enclosed coop. Will they move to the MHP without assistance? I put one under and she ran right out! It is on the left side of this photo - you may have to click to enlarge.

Holy cow, I think I'd like to move in to that pad!

I have been using a type of MHP for a few years now and will never go back. I do have one piece of advice that might be obvious to others but caused me real problems: check the temperature of the MHP WITH THE CHICKS IN IT and not while it is empty. The chicks give off their own heat, the MHP will retain some of the chick-generated heat, and the MHP will produce more heat. So if the temp in the MHP is a perfect 85% on the ground when empty (or whatever temp the chicks should be at right now) once the MHP is filled with chicks the temperature will rise and be too hot for them.

 

[aart]

So if the temp in the MHP is a perfect 85% on the ground when empty (or whatever temp the chicks should be at right now)

You can't measure temp of the MHP like that...it's not like a lamp, which heats the floor.

 

[bobbi-j]

It is not too tall, the chicks are 2 weeks old. If you lower it, they won't fit under it at all. If you think it is too tall, add more bedding to bring the "floor" up to the MHP. That way they can dig out the shavings if they need to to get under it.
My 2 week old chicks slept on top of the MHP here in WI in April.

True - it may not have to be as low as 2”, but I do think it could be lower than it is. My chicks spent a lot of time on top of their MHP in April, too. I still say if they’re not acting or sounding distressed, they are OK.

 

[Maeschak]

You can't measure temp of the MHP like that...it's not like a lamp, which heats the floor.

That is what I mean... you can't measure temps like that in an MHP. Guess I wasnt very clear. Sorry about that!

 

[wyoDreamer]

So the big question for the OP is : are her chicks peeping like they are distressed, or are they just pig-piling in the corner to sleep?
We had 30 degrees this morning and the 5-week old cornish-X chicks were running around eating and drinking. A couple were sleeping out in the middle of their stall area, none were near the heating pad. Guess it is time to unplug the heat.

editted to fix age to 5 weeks - not 4-weeks old.

 

[bobbi-j]

So the big question for the OP is : are her chicks peeping like they are distressed, or are they just pig-piling in the corner to sleep?
We had 30 degrees this morning and the 4-week old cornish-X chicks were running around eating and drinking. A couple were sleeping out in the middle of their stall area, none were near the heating pad. Guess it is time to unplug the heat.

Did you find that yours were weaned from the heat earlier than if you had used a heat lamp? (Or have you never used a heat lamp?) That's what I noticed with mine. They didn't require heat as long as they did with the lamp. They weaned themselves off of it a lot sooner.

OP, you do have a pad that won't shut itself off, right? Some will shut off within two hours. I'm sure you checked into that, but I just wanted to be sure.

 

[wyoDreamer]

I never used a heat lamp, went right to the MHP with my first bunch. What I did notice is that mine were feathered more than photos of chicks of the same age raised under a heat lamp. At 5 weeks, my CornishX are completely feathered except for a little on their heads.