How did this brooder shrink?!?

VeggieGoneEggie

Songster
Mar 25, 2017
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Land of Enchantment
Sigh. My babes are going to outgrow their brooder, aren't they?
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Curse you, chicken math. This is your fault. 3 somehow became 5 chicks. I am NOT to blame here.

Okay - what's the easiest / cheapest way to give them more space at this point? They're 1 week old now.
 
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We use a kiddie pool surrounded with chicken wire, we have 5 chicks as well.
 
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No need to spend a cent on a nice bigger brooder. Go to any appliance store and ask for a couple of empty cardboard boxes. Before I began brooding outdoors in my run, I would get two big boxes and tape them together and cut a pass-through in the common wall for a two bedroom condo. I set them on two tables and cut access doors into the sides, leaving one side attached to serve as a hinge to open and close it. (See the article linked below on outdoor brooding for pictures of these brooders.)

Or you can just go ahead and move your chicks into their coop. It's not scripture that you must raise chicks in a box. In fact, the more room they have to run around and fly and jump up onto things, the happier they'll be. Don't misunderstand that chicks need to be kept in a uniformly heated space. All they require is one spot under which to warm themselves. They can handle the rest of their living quarters being quite a bit cooler.
 
Thanks everyone!! I couldn't find something big enough that fit my needs (importantly, protection from the dogs) so I just bit the bullet and went to Home Depot for building supplies.

Here's the end result! 4'x2' - not quite two square feet per chick, but more than double the space they had. They seem to enjoy it! Here's a couple pics, including one where one of my Easter Eggers, Amelia, is doing her best rooster impression... don't you dare, Amelia!

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Great job! you should be proud of yourself ! what a nice brooder for the birds! you got the dimensions just right! good for you.
Karen
 

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