We have always brooded chicks in the old standard way using the cramped and crowded metal box/cage.
We would hatch them out and then transfer them. After a couple of weeks we would transfer them to a bigger pen and when they were a couple of months old they went to the barn.
It wasn't the best way. Chicks were lost. It was a pain for them and a pain for us because of the cramped quarters and problematic access.
This year we changed all that. What better place to brood the chicks than in the barn and let them see and be seen by the other chickens so there would be no adjustment period?
We had the plans and were buying the lumber when we found the clearance rack. These were on sale. Marked down from $70.00 each to $20.00 each
This is a 6 foot by 6 foot plastic fence panel. It is double walled so it is insulated. We bought six.
We used four for the brooder ROOM. Three walls and one pane for a hinged door. We put chicken wire 24 inches high inside the door so we could open the door, go inside and do everything that was needed with no chicks leaving.
The roof of the room is plywood with two infrared heat lamps suspended on adjustable ropes.
There is also a small white light so they can see better
There is a water tray made from gutter against the back wall that is fed by chicken watering nipples.
There is a 6 pound capacity chick feeder
The floor in the back 2 feet is thick dirt.
The front 4 feet is thick hay.
We just happened to have a broody bantam silkie who was setting on two eggs.
We put 48 day old chicks in the brooder and shut the door.
We removed the Silkie's eggs and replaced them with two chicks.
Six hours later we put her inside the brooder with the rest of the chicks.
After the chicks got big enough so they couldn't slip through the chicken wire we would leave the door part way open for socialisation for a couple of hours a day.
We never lost a single chick and these are the most socialised chicks ever. They learned everything from 'mama' and were not afraid of the big chickens when they came out of their house.
The big chickens were actually hiding from them.
That was four months ago and now they roam the pasture like crazy but still make it difficult to walk when you go to the barn.
Brooder picture
Needless to say we are never going back to the old metal box..
We would hatch them out and then transfer them. After a couple of weeks we would transfer them to a bigger pen and when they were a couple of months old they went to the barn.
It wasn't the best way. Chicks were lost. It was a pain for them and a pain for us because of the cramped quarters and problematic access.
This year we changed all that. What better place to brood the chicks than in the barn and let them see and be seen by the other chickens so there would be no adjustment period?
We had the plans and were buying the lumber when we found the clearance rack. These were on sale. Marked down from $70.00 each to $20.00 each
This is a 6 foot by 6 foot plastic fence panel. It is double walled so it is insulated. We bought six.We used four for the brooder ROOM. Three walls and one pane for a hinged door. We put chicken wire 24 inches high inside the door so we could open the door, go inside and do everything that was needed with no chicks leaving.
The roof of the room is plywood with two infrared heat lamps suspended on adjustable ropes.
There is also a small white light so they can see better
There is a water tray made from gutter against the back wall that is fed by chicken watering nipples.
There is a 6 pound capacity chick feeder
The floor in the back 2 feet is thick dirt.
The front 4 feet is thick hay.
We just happened to have a broody bantam silkie who was setting on two eggs.
We put 48 day old chicks in the brooder and shut the door.
We removed the Silkie's eggs and replaced them with two chicks.
Six hours later we put her inside the brooder with the rest of the chicks.
After the chicks got big enough so they couldn't slip through the chicken wire we would leave the door part way open for socialisation for a couple of hours a day.
We never lost a single chick and these are the most socialised chicks ever. They learned everything from 'mama' and were not afraid of the big chickens when they came out of their house.
The big chickens were actually hiding from them.
That was four months ago and now they roam the pasture like crazy but still make it difficult to walk when you go to the barn.
Brooder picture
Needless to say we are never going back to the old metal box..
