Any ideas for making a brooder?

[lazy gardener]

Does the heating pad make the chicks calm?

Yes.

Easiest brooder if you have an indoor space: appliance box. You'll still need to cover it with a wire or mesh screen. Outdoor brooder: needs to be weather and predator proof.

 

[Girly White Silkie]

Yes.

Easiest brooder if you have an indoor space: appliance box. You'll still need to cover it with a wire or mesh screen. Outdoor brooder: needs to be weather and predator proof.

Thanks!

 

[Girly White Silkie]

They have a place to sleep where they feel secure. IMO, yes, that makes them calmer.
If you use this type of heat where they also have a normal day/night cycle, they will load their crops at dusk and sleep at night. They'll still take daytime rests under their "mama" but you won't see any of the randomly passed out face-first in the feeder behavior. If you are keeping them in your house, this also means no round the clock peeping.

Do they sleep in the heating plate?

 

[debid]

Do they sleep in the heating plate?

Underneath. The heating plate type has legs and they go under it to warm up during the day and to sleep at night.

 

[Smuvers Farm]

A pic of our first brooder in a cut down clothing box and using a MHP (mama heating pad). The pad is under the cloths, the tunnel is made from hardware wire.

You need to make sure your heating pad has an auto off option, which means it stays on until YOU turn it off. Sunbeam is the only brand we've found so far that has that option.

 

[lazy gardener]

And only select models have the auto off over-ride.

 

[Birdinhand]

I would highly recommend scrapping the lights all together, the mother heating pad lets them sleep and does a much better job all the way around. sunbeam makes one that allows you to turn off the auto off feature for continuous use. here is a thread with lots of details. I've even made one for brooding meat birds, i'm never going back to heat lamps. https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...d-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update.956958/

 

[Birdinhand]

this is the one I've used, depending on how many chicks you are talking, you may decide to go with a smaller one. I used two of these for 36 chicks. you can drape it over hardware cloth or get more fancy and mount it on hardware cloth with bolts to adjust the height as they grow. enveloping the heating pad in Pressn' seal helps making it easy to clean long term. https://www.amazon.com/Sunbeam-0020...VHCMhocL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=detail&th=1

 

[jeepgrrl]

No, just a 100 watt red heat bulb, about a foot above them. That's for my inside brooder.
My two outside brooders also use a 100 watt but its about 6 inches away from them.
I just brooded some quail outside in near freezing temps without a single one freezing to death.[/QUOT

Is a heating plate ok for the chicks?

I used a heating plate for my seven chicks because using a heat lamp was of great concern for me. We are away from home ~10 hrs a day during the work week so I opted for the heating plate for safety.

Do you use a heating plate?

I used one for my seven chicks, but the brooder was kept indoors on the sun porch since I got my chicks in mid-April. They did excellent with the heating plate, it was very easy and intuitive for them to use. We are away from home ~10 hours a day during the work week and I was very worried about using heat lamps in the house while we weren't there. So the heating plate was the perfect solution for my situation. My only complaint is that I didn't buy the pyramid-shaped top to keep the chicks off of it. They liked to sit on it during the day and used it for a launch pad when testing their wings. If you go this route, I strongly suggest getting the top for it or, as I ended up doing, putting a piece of rubbermaid shelf liner (the thick stuff, not the stuff that is mesh-like and holey) on the top of it to make cleaning the heating plate much easier.

 

[jeepgrrl]

Is a heating plate ok for the chicks?

yes