Using a heating pad as a heat source

[ABgardner]

I see one possible problem with your design: there are gaps where the pad sags down below the plywood. A determined chick could burrow into one of those gaps and get trapped. this is why many of us enclose pad and frame together in a pillow case type of wrapping. Some chicks have been lost b/c they burrow between pad and frame, or otherwise get stuck, and if not found, they will die. Also, by using a solid plywood to strap the pad to, the thermostat may cut out quicker, b/c the pad is trapping more heat. That may not be an issue from the under side of the pad. But something to be aware of. However, others have used a solid surface to mount the pad without problem.

And finally, your placement of the pad. It looks like it does not allow them to get on top of it. But, many of us have found that chicks, especially as they get a bit older LOVE to hang out and warm themselves on top of MHP. This is one of the primary reasons for using a wire frame. The wire frame allows the pad to breathe, allows the chicks to warm themselves by being on top of or under the pad.

Second finally: If you find your chicks rejecting the MHP and pig piling in a corner of the brooder, it most likely means that the pad is TOO WARM. so... if you see that, it might mean you need to turn it down a bit. Observation will make you an expert at reading and responding to your chicks.

I appreciate your response but fortunately, I did not experience any of those issues.
The chicks are now too big to fit into any small gap and I found the plywood to work well because it retains the heat better than wire mesh would. I have been stapling old towels on top of the board because they do like to hang out on top quite a bit.
The heating pad I bought was quite cheap, around $12 on Amazon. Despite the cheap price I feel it has worked perfectly. There are only 3 settings to choose from, but I've left it on high for going on 4 weeks now and it has performed flawlessly. The angle of the shelter is such that there is room for all of the chicks to have as much or as little contact with the heating pad as they desire. At this point, i wouldn't change a thing about the setup.
Now, if only I could get the actual coup finished...

 

[dougiequick]

Hello all, so my chick s arrived yesterday and I am happy to say they all arrived healthy! I ordered from mypetchicken.com and I think I saw somewhere that they shipped from the Meyer hatchery so kuddos to both!
I have a heating pad setup as a mother hen type heat source in the brooder but the chicks have not attempted to go under it so I also have had a red heat lamp on as well.
My first question is how do I get the chicks to go under the heating pad and secondly, if I turn off the light and get them to go under the heating pad, how do I know if it is providing enough heat? View attachment 1152154 View attachment 1152155

We did not at all like the heat lamp because the chicks would be in light 24/7 so What we did for baby chicks was to make a heated cave tunnel shape by bending scrap fence fabric (sort of like really heavy guage chicken wire but rectangular weave) folded to make it two layers. then a regular old human heating pad was fastened between the layers holding it in shape. We plugged the heating pad into a thermostatically controlled 120v plug in module. As final saftey I added temperature sensor like you use on patio etc that transmits temp to a monitor in house...these also have alarm set points if it gets too cold or two hot and that you really need! If something goes wrong those little birds could freeze or fry! I had to make several middle of the night trips to adjust things. but the first couple weeks they were in a box in a back room of the house Cost very little since already had the heating pad and the temp monitor I think the thermostically controlled outlet was less than $20 or so and can use it all for other purposes also. you could get away without it but DO monitor the temperature! Obviously start on lowest heat pad setting When the chicks got older I tented an old cat cage and put an electric heater outside the bars with the temp sensor inside I also put a timer on a light inside the cage so it stayed nice and dark until morning when the light came on The only thing I might do different is to add a camera and/or baby monitor I mean if something goes wrong these little guys will raise hell and youd hear it on a baby monitor!

 

[Birdinhand]

Dougiquick check out this old thread, has all the details for using a heating pad AKA Mother heating Pad. The best heat lamp alternative IMHO: https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...d-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update.956958/