BROODER thread! Post pics of your brooders!

[arwmommy]

Hello everyone!
I had several ideas about what to do for a brooder, then read someone's post about how they might use a dog crate ..... *ding!*..... we had a huge one in our garage I was about to list on craigslist! (FYI, it is 27" x 40" and we have 6 chicks) This was perfect for us, to protect the babies from our house dog and the two kids. I thought it might be useful for others to see how some of us have made a brooder and get some ideas, so I will start it out!


Here it is from the outside..... it is in our living room with the light mounted on the outside. As they have needed less heat I have slowly turned it to the left, lowering the temp each week.

Here is the inside. Thermometer is on the left (not in photo though!). Food and water are on a 4x4 post scrap to get it up a bit so they dont poop in it, or get shavings in it. We still wash out the water every day. It is also in the back so it stays cooler. I screwed in screws to hang the oak branch in there and they love it. The chick flapping is one of the two who are competing for the Queen of the Pecking Order. They fight for who is on the roost, and she is clearly telling the other one to get off! We use the deep litter method, and so need the bit of cardboard in the front to prevent shavings from coming out the front! We also stir it up everyday.

And here is our huge Lab protecting the babies.........actually, he is scared of them and backs away when we get them close to him, but he wants to look at them!

Can't wait to see everyone else's ideas!

 

[jag]

Here's ours - kinda hard to see in this dark picture, but it's made from boxes that we get paper in. It's 64" x 42" with a piece of lexan on the front so we can watch them.

 

[Jagrassinger]

Just finished building our new Coffee table Chick Brooder! Love old redone wooden windows

 

[MissPrissy]

I picked up this older model playpen at a thrift store for $10.

When I have chicks it is set up in my kitchen where it is warm and draft free.

It works great for me.

When the chicks move out to the barn the pen can be washed down and sanitized and then packed away in the storage bag for use at another time.

 

[dangerouschicken]

Ours is very basic. The basement ceiling is low, so the light clamps on very easily to it. It's not shown in the photos, but we cover the plastic tub with two window screens (one on top of the other) to make it heavy enough they can't lift it off.

Awwww! Easter eggers!

 

[DixieByrdRN]

Here is mine before my babies got here (without the brown paper I put around it):

 

[Jsto]

Here's my brooder. We used a trough that's been lying around (it had only ever held ice and soft drinks from a family fun day I volunteered at last year). One day as I was brainstorming over what to use for a brooder, I glanced over and the light bulb magically went off. We made a double sided, screened in top so you can access one side without having to open up the whole thing. We built two seperate screened-in panels, hinged them together, and voila! The perfect lid! We attached the scrap end of wood after sawing to all the sides so the lid cannot be knocked out of whack and fall into the brooder. To get in, we can lift the one side or even slide it back without fear of upsetting the balance and squishing the wee ones.

Right now we have a wooden divider in the middle as the 6 little ones hardly need the whole trough yet, but that is easily removed as they grow. It's been working wonderfully so far--it seems to really hold the heat in as the lamp has to be pulled up pretty far or else it gets way too hot in there.

(Sorry for the mess around it, I had been disinfecting the garage with those nifty little wipes)

 

[featherfooted]

Her is the brooder that I made. Its 4'x4' with a depth of 18" and the top is 3' off the floor so no more bending over. Both sides of the top open and it can be divided to make 2 brood areas. Needless to say it will hold alot of chicks. Its worked out real well.

The lights are on the outside of the wire so there is no chance that they will fall into the brooder. I put shavings down, then newspaper and then a piece of fabric to give the chicks a nice surface to begin with and after a few weeks I just take the cloth and newspaper out and they are on shavings. The fabric can be washed and used again with the next batch.

Georgia

 

[Ariel188]

Here is a link to my IN-HOME brooder from hatch to 3 weeks.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/6233/brooder-thread-post-pics-of-your-brooders/2560#post_13296320

And here is my just finsihed garage brooder for 3 week until they can go outside.

We finally have it done! My triple stacked brooder. The brooder is 6 foot long by 2.5 feet wide by just over 6 feet tall with the 3 inch wheels. The front two wheels have a locking clamp. I have a mirror, 2 water bottle brooder caps with bricks underneath to catch drips, homemade PVP 3 inch pipe feeder with fermented and non fermented Scratch and Peck Organic feed, a bucket with dirt and weeds, a Ecoglow 50 for heat, a roost bar for fun.
The 6 doors close like a cabinet. It is not predator proof because it is in my garage. This brooder cost me $600 to have built (not including paint, wire mesh because I had some, or the items inside.) As you can see in one of the photos, the inside inserts come out, they hold the pine shavings inside but I can remove them for easy cleaning. They are held in place by dowels.
Once I put it all together I feel like it is a little crowded for the 6 chicks 4 weeks old I have in there but there is a lot for them to do instead of a lot of empty space that does not entertain them. Besides in the daytime I will be wheeling it out onto my porch for them to enjoy the day. I can probably take the heater out since they are older and that would give them more room, but they like the shelter it provides.



What do you all think? I will read every post, and answer any questions. Thanks!

 

[halefamily_flock]

I use a plastic tub for a brooder. Starting smaller and increasing in size.
Here are 2-week old chicks in my largest tub...

At around 2.5 weeks, I upgrade them to a double brooder. I put 2 tubs together, with about 8" high hardware cloth wrapped around the outside edges.

With 2 removable pieces on top

During the day, I remove the heat plate from one side, to give them extra space for chick games & chest bumps. A couple of times a day, I let them play for a few minutes without the top and handle them, hand feed them, refill water, etc. At night, I leave a heat plate on each side.