Old Brooder

[redneckrabbitry]

i found this old brooder out in one of my outbuildings in that rafters. we are planning to get 100 chicks in the next few weeks and was wondering if anyone knew anything about it i has no mangerfactor name or anything its 6 foot X 4 foot and about 2 and a half high. Here are some pictures

 

[what did I do]

I was going to post a picture of my old brooder but there is an add that is over the submit button that wont go away.
If you look on my page you will see my old brooder. It is different than yours but it did a great job brooding my 100 chicks. If yours holds the temperature it should do just fine.

 

[redneckrabbitry]

i have to rewire it the mice chewed it all up. but thats simple stuff

 

[what did I do]

My old brooder has a thermostat that worked wonders. We had snow one day and 90° temps the next. The chicks were out in the coop. I put the chicks out there a day or two after we got them. In my light brooder I lost 3 due to do high of temps but the old brooder keept them right where they needed to be. It did get a little moist under it but we cleaned every other day and all was well. I liked it better than the heat lights and will use it again. I didn't like that I couldn't see the chicks but that was the only down side.

 

[redneckrabbitry]

thats my wife issue is that she cant see or might not be able to reach and chicks that are dead or sick due to the size

 

[what did I do]

We didn't loose any chicks under ours we were shocked that they all lived once under this brooder. We didn't have any pecking either. They all just sermed to eat and sleep and grow.
For thfirst week or two we had a little wooden fence around the brooder to keep the chicks under the brooder. After about 2 weeks we turned them loose in the coop.

To clean under the brooder we just tilted it up like what you have in the picture and used a hoe to scrape it clean. You do have to keep an eye on the moisture under it. One time it went 3 days without cleaning and the chicks were wet. The chicks looked like they were washed they were so wet. If you put water under it, make sure it is warm water not cold. The cold water expands as it warms and leaks out making a mess of the brooder.

We fed ours under the brooder for the first few weeks too. Man did they eat - 50 of them were meat birds - and they pooped.

Good luck.

 

[what did I do]

My brooder. The add wasn't there this morning

This picture was taken on a hot day. I had the wooden fence lifted up so the chicks could run. At night I lowered the fence to keep them close to the brooder. There is a lid that fits in the hole to close it off. It was a very warm day. I had water outside and inside the coop.

 

[redneckrabbitry]

i rewired the brooder and plugged it and let it run for a few hrs and it works great

 

[redneckrabbitry]

Here it is all set up and running for our delivery of 100 chicks

 

[dbcooper02]

Given any thought to how you are going to keep the chicks contained? Here's a pix of my setup. 24" hardware cloth corral, 16" foil and bubble insulation (mostly to contain the shavings). Note the rounded corners to prevent the chicks piling in a corner. Lots of room so they can seek their own comfort level of heat or not.