Can someone show me how to make a brooder for 30 chicks? *PICS please

[kyeschicks]

i'm getting around 30-35 chicks and i've never had that many chicks i only had like 20 but it was a small brooder and now that i'm getting 30-35 i need a bigger brooder i'm trying to make one outside because i don't have space for a brooder inside and specially for 30-35 chicks. Can someone show me how to make a brooder for 30 chicks? outside the house?

 

[ChickenTender63]

Just build a plywood box that you can sit on sawhorses or something to keep it off the ground a bit. Then fabricate a frame and cover it with hardware cloth for the top.

But really, we need other info in order to really help you more. Are you in a cold climate? Are these going to be outside outside, or will they be outside in the garage, in the barn, in a shed, etc.

I don't think I would be brave enough to have them completely outside this time of year, at that young of age. I think you may run into heat issues with them. Even using a heat lamp, you are going to have trouble keeping them warm at night unless you build a completely sealed box for them, and I am not really comfortable with that. It starts to get to be a fire hazard and stuff then.

Let us know where your at, and more details, and we will see what we can come up with for ya.

 

[patandchickens]

I agree, *outside* outside doesn't seem wise unless you live in like Hawaii or something. A fully enclosed, draft-free outbuilding would be workable though as long as you can heavily predator-proof your brooder.

You might consider something like what's described in
http://www.plamondon.com/brooder.shtml
I've used a 2x4' version, exactly according to his directions, in a building that was about 45-50 degrees; it's supposed to work fine in colder temps too as long as you have enough lamp wattage and few enough chicks for the size brooder. There is more info on it in Plamondon's book Raising Baby Chicks.

GOod luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[kc.h]

For my brooder I posted on freecycle and craigslist that I was looking for a large non-working refrigerator or freezer in okay shape. The next day I had someone offer me a large commercial fridge that I took the compressor and fan off, cleaned it and it made a great brooder since it was insulated. I also found that I could stick three of the four doors back on to help hold in the heat as I raised them in the winter. I did however keep them in our shed from day one as opposed to out of doors. The fridge I got was 4.5' x 5.5' and it served my 26 colored rangers very well until they were ready to get out.
Best wishes,
Kaci
ETA: I wired my heat lamps to electric baseboard thermostats to make sure I did not cook my chickens before their time. Though as the chickens got older they did enjoy playing with the thermostats and I would find it at anywhere from 50 to 90 degrees. I may have to invest in the boxes used to prevent children from adjusting the heat to stop any future chicks from doing the same, though all the chickens survived so apparently no damage was done.

 

[plapczynski]

This is what we used indoors. You could close it in more. The base is a 4x8' sheet of plywood, 2x4's for the frame and chicken wire all around. We had about 32 chicks in there.

FYI - I used screws so it would be easier to disassemble.