making a stackable brooder (battery brooder)... heat source?

[Zeroforhire]

Hello everyone... I have bought a bunch of these cage units for a good price, and am planning on turning them into brooders. I will be adding pvc coated hardware cloth to the floors, but now need to figure out a way to heat them. I would rather not use heat bulbs, and I am not sure plates would accomodate the number of chicks I want to brood. I am only having chicks in there for a few days as we are selling them. We are going to take out the middle divider, and have 60-80 chicks per level. I was thinking about strapping a small 500W electric heater to the side of them, and putting them on a digital thermostat. Does anyone else have a better idea? See links to cages, heater, and thermostat

https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/poultry_layer_cage.html
(mine is the three layer one)

https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics...b34304b692&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_atf_m&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/Pymeter-Temp...1-2-5985efba-8948-4f09-9122-d605505c9d1e&th=1

Anyone else have better ideas of how to keep this many chicks warm, without spending an arm and a leg? They will be in my garage, so no drafts.

 

[NatJ]

As a possible source of ideas, here is a commercially available brooder:
https://hatchingtime.com/products/chick-brooder-1-layer-height-9-inches

That one has a heater (shaped like a long bar), and there is also a small light bulb to attract the chicks to the heat source.

I have seen similar arrangements in other brands of brooders too, but don't have links handy right now. (I am not sure what you might buy or arrange to give that effect in the brooder you are making, just offering the idea as food for thought.)

 

[Zeroforhire]

As a possible source of ideas, here is a commercially available brooder:
https://hatchingtime.com/products/chick-brooder-1-layer-height-9-inches

That one has a heater (shaped like a long bar), and there is also a small light bulb to attract the chicks to the heat source.

I have seen similar arrangements in other brands of brooders too, but don't have links handy right now. (I am not sure what you might buy or arrange to give that effect in the brooder you are making, just offering the idea as food for thought.)

Thanks! I have those in my other battery brooders.. but they are like $130 each, just for that part. I am hoping to save some money. Those do work well though