Greyartists Chicken Brooder

Hi REALLY LIKE YOUR BROODER! Love the colors! Think I gonna get my husband to build me one just like it!

it's really cute, but don't brooders have to be inside?

No, I don't see why they would need to be inside. As long as you have a safe heat source, chick-friendly feeder, waterer and bedding you should be good to go. I'm planning to build one that will be my brooder/quarentien (sp?) chicken tractor. When it's got chicks, it will be parked near the barn so I don't have to run a LONG cord to it. When it's holding new chickens it can be moved around the yard (far side from the coop of course).

wow! looks like a coop

Hi- I know people who brood outside. I would give a few suggestions, however. The first one is to use 2 sources of heat. If one heat lamp bulb were to burn out, you would lose your birds and lamps tend to not last as long when they are used outside. I also would suggest a different source of heat than a heat lamp with shavings and a wooden pen. I have known people who burned down their chicken coop by using a heat lamp to heat it.
Also, you are raising turkeys in a brooder used for chickens. I would be very careful doing that. Chickens carry blackhead and it doesn't bother them, but they can pass it on to turkeys and it is lethal for them. Particle board can't easily be disinfected and over time, this might pose a problem. I have separate facilities for my chickens and turkeys. Better to be safe than sorry.
Otherwise, it looks very similar to the one my friend uses except for the huge openings on the top. We have way too many predators and weather fluctuations and need vents that are adjustable and have 1/4" hardware cloth in them.

I'd love to know what your outside minimal temps have been when brooding chicks, and how does this brooder do holding temps up to 95 degrees in cold weather? Do you start them outside from day one, or do you move them out after a week or two? Looks like you're using 250W? What is the square footage?

I have had luck brooding in an un-insulated room at very low temps. I have experimented with several methods of keeping the chicks warm, but bottom line is, if they can get to a warm spot, they can handle cold temps, even below freezing for short periods of time. I like a box or a tunnel type structure with a heat source inside and access on several sides so that the chicks can get closer to or further away from the heat as needed. The food and water need only be on the outskirts of the warm spot and they should be able to get out of the heat completely, if they want.

Love it