On top of mama heating cave

[jreardon1918]

I always use Press ‘n’, but never on the heating pad itself. It will leave a sticky residue from the heat, and that’s not good. Here’s a suggestion for you…..hit your local thrift shop or Goodwill and buy a stack of threadbare towels or pillowcases. That way it’s not painful to toss them when they finally are beyond use.

We happened to have an old towel. We just use duck tape to secure it. The heating pad has a removable washable cover. The towel will get thrown out in a few weeks when the MHP gets shut off. Here is a picture after 4 days. Last night was the first outside. 48F. They were up and milling around at first light.

 

[10AcreChick]

Old t-shirts?

Make more pillowcases out of old sheets? (Very easy if you have a sewing machine, especially if it only needs to last through one round of chicks-- they don't care if your seams or hems are crooked!)

My hubby did just give me a big stack of old t-shirts for use in my woodshop! I forgot!

 

[Blooie]

We happened to have an old towel. We just use duck tape to secure it. The heating pad has a removable washable cover. The towel will get thrown out in a few weeks when the MHP gets shut off. Here is a picture after 4 days. Last night was the first outside. 48F. They were up and milling around at first light.

It’s amazing, isn’t it? So much for needing to cook them in an enclosure where the entire space is at 95-100 degrees with no respite! And they called me crackpot, an idiot, even a chick murderer in the beginning! Some still do think I’m crazy and out to kill everyone’s chicks. One lady even accused me of putting chicks in the equivalent of a giant MRI.

My hubby did just give me a big stack of old t-shirts for use in my woodshop! I forgot!

Perfect!!

 

[jreardon1918]

It’s amazing, isn’t it? So much for needing to cook them in an enclosure where the entire space is at 95-100 degrees with no respite! And they called me crackpot, an idiot, even a chick murderer in the beginning! Some still do think I’m crazy and out to kill everyone’s chicks. One lady even accused me of putting chicks in the equivalent of a giant MRI.




Perfect!!

It is amazing. We have a temperature gauge near the brooder. For today the temp has ranged from a low of 48F and a high of 70F. No fuss.

 

[10AcreChick]

It’s amazing, isn’t it? So much for needing to cook them in an enclosure where the entire space is at 95-100 degrees with no respite! And they called me crackpot, an idiot, even a chick murderer in the beginning! Some still do think I’m crazy and out to kill everyone’s chicks. One lady even accused me of putting chicks in the equivalent of a giant MRI.




Perfect!!

Blooie, I was one of the early readers of your thread, and I thought you were a genius! I almost burned my coop down with a heat lamp one time! Plywood floor smoldering, smoke everywhere, it was awful! I will NEVER use a heat lamp again! No more pasty butt, no more weak chicks!

Interesting though, I just ordered 16 chicks from a hatchery, I had to check the box to agree to use a heat lamp and not a heat plate! (Yeah, sure I will!)

 

[Blooie]

Blooie, I was one of the early readers of your thread, and I thought you were a genius! I almost burned my coop down with a heat lamp one time! Plywood floor smoldering, smoke everywhere, it was awful! I will NEVER use a heat lamp again! No more pasty butt, no more weak chicks!

Interesting though, I just ordered 16 chicks from a hatchery, I had to check the box to agree to use a heat lamp and not a heat plate! (Yeah, sure I will!)

This just warms me all over!! I know who you are….remember you well! in fact, I usually remember all of the members of the Broody Brigade, although once in a while I do draw a blank! You certainly did have a scary close call!!

It still astounds me how many people use MHP that I didn’t even know about! While on my almost 2 year hiatus from this site, (I just returned on December 29th) I was still on Facebook’s BYC’s page. A man asked about MHP after I’d suggested it to someone who wanted a heat lamp alternative, and he said that it’s all over the web. So I googled Mama Heating Pad in the Brooder and was shocked at how many sites talk about it. It’s even on Pinterest now! Such a simple, common sense approach to raising chicks! I’m so happy that you’re as pleased with it as I am!