Raising Chickens - Page 2

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chicksandhorses 

Hey thanks for posting this!!! because i have a question about brooders, which do people most recommend to make them out of??? 

I brood mine in this. I put this in the coop add pine shavings. I leave the door open so they can come & go as they want. The yellow thing on top provides them heat. Forgot to mention the yellow thing slides in the brooder won't work on top.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chicksandhorses 

Hey thanks for posting this!!! because i have a question about brooders, which do people most recommend to make them out of??? 

Well, when we first decided to buy baby chicks I was looking around in our barn at scrap lumber to build a brooder with.  When, low and behold I noticed a small bookcase just sitting on the floor.  This bookcase only had one divider shelf.  The bookcase is about 3 foot tall by 5 foot long and 16 in. deep.  With a hammer and pry bar I had the middle shelf out in minutes!  So, now this is my brooder.  I made the top from screen and frame from scrap trim. Once this was completed I used two hinges to attach the screen top.

After completing the 'bookcase' brooder I added vinyl scrap for the floor that was left over from the kitchen flooring. I then made a perch from scrap lumber that was added inside the brooder box. I always use pine shavings in mine which I'm lucky to have a chipper/shredder so I can make my own shavings at times.

That's not paper towels to the left, it's the home for three baby bantams!  I was using a red heat bulb which was attached on top but disconnected now due to daily night and day temps being hotter.

As a treat I feed my babies steel cut oats so I also provide chick grit.

So, look around the house. There is always something you can find! Be creative!  This works for now and one day I will build a nicer brooder for future babies!

Our brooder is made of cardboard boxes that we taped together to make a 4x2.5" brooder that is about 2.5" high.  We cover it with a cheap mesh and hot glued magnets to keep it in place.   I  think an appliance box would work well, but we didnt have one, so made one instead.   We started with a much smaller box, but they out grew it quite fast.  I lined more cardboard with strong trash bags and lined the floor with it so no moisture would soak through to the floors in case of spills, and there will be spills.  Then piled on the pine shavings.  The brooder sat in our living room near the fireplace to keep the girls warm. 

We kept them in the brooder till they were 6 weeks old, a little longer then we wanted, but the coop wasnt done yet.  They are outside now.   But I think our makeshift and very cheap brooder worked quite well. 

Thanks for all these ideas! it'll help me make a quick brooder since the chicks are almost here

and my coop is still being built but it'll be done by the time the chicks are old enough to go outside. At what age can the chicks start to go outside? not live outside but go out for a little while and then come back in? and what age can they live in the coop??? answers will help i am new to chicks and chickens!

When they can stay outside really depends on where you live.  Some put their chicks outside as early as 2 to 3 weeks if it doesnt get really cold at night where they live.  We started ours on outside retreats at week 5 and moved them outside at week 7.  But here in Central Oregon our spring nights are still very cold, its drops into the high 20's and low 30's every night even if its in the 80's during the day.  But I think next time around I plan to have the chicks outside by week 5 and to start their outside retreats at week 3.  Chickens are more cold resistant then people make them out to be, but not when they are really young.  I certainly wouldnt let them outside any earlier then after 2 weeks, unless its really quite warm where you are. 
 

We made our brooder out of a kiddie pool with chicken wire 2 feet high around the sides. It worked great - 4 chicks shared it until they moved to the coop last week at 5 1/2 weeks old. (Our dog graciously allowed the chicks to 'borrow' her pool during the cooler weather when she wasn't using it! ) 

I now have a lonely single hatch (named Uno) who is using the brooder until next week when our next 6 eggs hatch. Then he/she will be migrating out to the coop with the bigger kids. I started introducing them over the weekend and the big kids did great with Uno... hopefully that behavior continues!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chicksandhorses 

Hey thanks for posting this!!! because i have a question about brooders, which do people most recommend to make them out of??? 

For small groups of chicks I use a 40 gallon Breeder tank. In the tank I have a thermometer and humidity dial. This is great for up to 10-12 chicks or so.

I have a little cockerel...He will have to fo soon. I will miss him.