Using a heating pad as a heat source

[ABgardner]

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?

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

Turn off light. Put chicks in cave. If not warm enough they will let you know with distressed chirping

Gary

 

[N F C]

Cute chicks! What kind are they?

Chicks are good about letting you know when they are too hot or too cold. If too hot, they'll move as far away as possible from the heat source. If too cold, they'll all huddle as close to the heat source as they can get and peep a lot. When they are comfortable, they'll move all around in the brooder...sometimes close to heat and sometimes father away.

Good luck with your new littles!

 

[ABgardner]

Going clockwise from the top of the clear photo is a black australorp, buff orpington, plymouth barred rock, and an easter egger (amauracauna sp?).

 

[Birdinhand]

remove the heat lamp. follow the directions at the beginning of this thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...d-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update.956958/

if they won't go under then it may be too warm or too close to the ground.

 

[Smuvers Farm]

remove the heat lamp. follow the directions at the beginning of this thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...d-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update.956958/

if they won't go under then it may be too warm or too close to the ground.

MHP FTW!!!

 

[lazy gardener]

Ditch the light. Having both is over kill, and just might kill them! They most likely are not using MHP b/c of the light. They need a bit of training to use MHP. Simply stuff them under it. If you place the back of your hand inside the cave and against the heating pad, it should feel comfortably warm, not hot at all. The pad should be low enough that the chicks can touch it with their backs. You have a lot of lee way b/c it appears there are only 3. So, if the pad is too high in the middle, they'll still get good contact from the sides. It may be warm enough that they simply aren't cold enough to need the pad. Ditch the light!!!!!

 

[ABgardner]

All is well. Stuffed the chicks under my heating pad and blocked them in there with a piece of cardboard for a second until they realized it was nice and warm under there. They stayed under it all night without so much as a peep.
I didn't mind having the heat lamp on while I was home because they could be out and about around the brooder feeling the warmth and still be seen by us. But it's nice to not worry about that lamp now that I now they can get all the heat they need from the heating pad.
I didn't use any wire like it was suggested in the main mother hen heating pad post, but rather just strapped the pad to piece of plywood and made a lean-to type structure so if they want a lot of heat, they can go further back and when they want less they can stay by the opening.
As they grow bigger I'll put some legs in the back and find a way to raise the front.

 

[azygous]

Your experience with the chicks rejecting the heating pad initially is common. I remember when I first tried this system. I was very skeptical the pad was putting out enough heat. Since then, I've come to understand better the concept of how the pad works to heat chicks - it heats by direct contact, not radiation as heat lamps do.

Just keep in mind two points as your chicks grow and develop. One is that they will continue to want to warm up under the pad, but the warmups will be quicker so you won't see them under the cave as often.

The other point is they will require less heat as they grow in feathers so you will be adjusting the pad's height as well as the temperature setting, beginning with the setting on the highest setting the first week, the medium setting the second week, and the low setting the third week, by which time, don't be surprised to see the chicks not using the heating pad at all during the day. By age four to five weeks, unless it's close to freezing at night, your chicks may be finished with the heating pad all together.

 

[lazy gardener]

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.