# question about heating pads and babies



## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

i have 2 2wk old chicks and will have to handfeed them .
my question is with heating pads that do not turn off automatically that are placed under half of a fish tank what temperature would i put it on? low,med,high heat for overnight or all the time.which is best?
also i saw this setup here on a posting but not sure who it was?
correct me if im wrong please....
place heating pad down under half of fish tank other half shavings.
the reason why it said only half the tank is if chicks get too hot they could move to unheated side?

has anyone used this method above for housing 2 week old chicks?
for 3-4 weeks olds i just place them in a tote bucket with aspen shavings no heat needed at that age also.

any ideas or suggestions would be helpful ty


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## raddogz (Dec 28, 2011)

I usually have it on low with a hand towel over half of the little fish tank - i can't recall if it was either a 5 or 10 g tank.


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## 4birdsNC (Dec 4, 2010)

I use a heating pad designed for reptiles it has no temp control, but I only put it under 1/3 of the cage and leave it on at all times. It is designed to maintain 72-78 degrees. The babies will move back and forth across the brooder when they get hot or cold.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

There's a list of recommended brooder temperatures at http://www.cockatiel.org/articles/handfeeding.html


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## smegmas36 (Jan 18, 2011)

I have the reptile heat pad under a 10gal fish tank. No adjustments for heat just a plug. It hits about 80F but can go as high as 85F during the summer months. 

I have about 2" of wood chips and then clean rags over that and a layer of crumpled paper towel on top. Crumpled so the babies have some traction and don't get splayed legs and paper towel as it's easy to just remove and throw out when covered in poop.

In the corner I have a small margarine container with water and a plush toy for the babies to cuddle to. Water has a cover that I punched holes in to allow humidity in the tank. Get's it to about 45 humidity and only 25 humidity without. I would suggest it specially in the winter months when your furnace is drawing out all the humidity in your household.

I tried an old waterbed heater once but that didn't pan out. Thermostat did not pick up the temp under the blankets and temp went up as high as 105F. I would have had cockatiel bbq with that setup. Still think it would work but I need to find a better thermostat and figure a way of wiring it with the heat pad.


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

do you really need the paper towels ?
wouldnt the evenly layered shavings be good enough to prevent splayed legs ?as someone mentioned how important it would be to used?.sorry that statement confuses me.
from what i read here in some posts on hand feeding 3-4 wk old chicks they go into a tote with shavings no mention of paper towels why now?

and ty for heating pad temp, ill try low heat .so that would be best temp for heating pad correct?only half the tanks length with a thin sheet/blanket on top of opening except one corner for airflow and add in a covered water container (margarine container with holes poked in lid)inside for humidity levels for airflow.hope im understanding everyone advice ty all


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## smegmas36 (Jan 18, 2011)

Actually the wood shavings helps distribute the heat more evenly and does hold the heat longer. I use paper towels as it's much easier to clean than having to wash cloths/towels or replacing wood shavings.

Just my preference cause I'm lazy. I just pull it out and trash it and replace with another. Little birdies even just one makes a pretty good mess and with paper towels I can replace as many times as I want during the day.

Also note that because I cannot control my heat pad output, I just layer cloths in the tank as I need them. I add more to lower the temp and less when I want it hotter. Seems to work, I drop about 2 degrees for every layer.


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## smegmas36 (Jan 18, 2011)

Here's pics of my brooder. Notice the wood shavings on the bottom, then cloth and 1 sheet of paper towel. Currently at 80F and 45 humidity. I can also control the temp by pulling the blanket off the lid more or less. That will adjust it a degree or so, depends how much I open it up.

The little one in there is "Lucky". This is the bird I am fostering for my neighbour who had 5 eggs and 4 died. This is the 5th and last chick and they asked me to try and save it. Thus the name Lucky and so far he/she is doing great. Snuggles to the stuffed platapus that's in there with him.

That sheet I have on the side of the tank is my feeding schedule. My brain is so unorganized so this reminds me when and how much to feed Lucky. Also list his birth date and name...yes I'm that bad at memmorizing. Acutally with one bird this is overkill but it's good practice in case our pets decides to have babies, later rather than sooner I hope.


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

excellent pic thanks for sharing
now how many layers of rags(no loose strings)do you use in total?
then 1-2 paper towel sheets on the top
next problem is i dont have a reptile heating pad 
just one that( humans would use)with settings of low,med,high and does not auto shut off. you must control its temp by adjusting it yourself.
so i am understanding earlier low setting is best.
ty


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## smegmas36 (Jan 18, 2011)

A thermometer will be your best friend as well to your birdies. Since you do not have a thermostat you will need to monitor your temp.

Here's what I did when I built my brooder. Reptile heat pads do not have temp control, it only heats up to a certain level. Heat pad under the tank, not inside. Layer of wood chips and one layer of cloth for now. Put your themometer in anywhere above where the heat mat is under. Cover and let sit for while. Come back and check the temp. Reptile heat pad do not heat up very high, probably equivalent to your low settings on your pad. The heat pad will warm the wood chips and the cloth will insulate it.

With my setup, I had 90 degrees on my first check. Note for me it was several hours before I checked on it again...went to work. I figured this was ideal for 2 week old babies. So I put a layer of paper towel (does nothing for heat) or anything else other than collect the baby poop. Covered the top of the tank and left open a corner to allow fresh air and heat to escape. This brought the temp to 85 degrees stable.

At 21 days old, I added another layer of cloth which brought the temp to 81 degrees. This was during the summer month and when I noticed the babies going to the cooler side of the tank I opened up the top some more letting more air in the tank and cooling it off.

You should be getting the idea now that it's a trial and error thing trying to maintain a constant heat. That's why low setting is best as you don't want to add heat you just want to manage it. Give yourself allot of time to play with this before your birdies are ready to use it. By then you should have a good idea what to do to manage the heat inside. Without a thermostat all you really can do is just get as close to the ideal temp as possible. 

Good luck, your first week is critical as the birdies still can't regulate their own body temp. After a week or when there's lots of pin feathers just keep it warm. 75 to 85 degrees. The babies are mobile by then and they move to an area they are comfortable. Just make sure they have a comfort area away from the heat pad. I'm sure you'll do fine, the fact your're asking allot of questions tells us you care enough to learn.


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

ty all the babies are doing fine heres an updated pic


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## jellybean (Mar 20, 2011)

omg what lovely babies. Is that little bibs they have on lol


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

Omg how adorable


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

jellybean said:


> omg what lovely babies. Is that little bibs they have on lol


yes i made them little bibs to keep them clean...it works


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