Any pitfalls with using 55gal aquarium for Brooder?

[spowell]

I'm not here to reinvent the wheel..... Has anyone had any problems with using a 55 gallon aquarium for a brooder? Is one heat lamp enough?

 

[AlienChick]

I, personally, always steer clear of using an aquarium as a brooder since they tend to become ovens very quickly.

 

[Patricia Jane]

I used a 55 gal plexiglass fish tank and seemed to work great for me. I used hardware cloth to cover the top and placed bricks on top with the heat lamp. I just used a 100 watt light bulb. I added more bricks to raise the lamp for less heat.

 

[ChickasaurusRex]

Not enough ventilation in my opinion... but people have raised their chicks successfully in tanks. So if you want to go for it.
If you have something like a guinea pig cage, that would be better.

 

[10 point]

Quote:
I use a guinea pig cage and it works great.

 

[nurse_turtle]

I use a 55 gallon glass aquarium with screen top as a brooder. I use a 100 watt bulb pointing to one corner and pine shaving as flooring. After the first week, I place a thick limb or stick in there for them to roost on. To keep them in there for 4 weeks is the ultimate maximum. I do replace and clean the bedding about every 5-6 days and more often when they're older. When they are newly hatched, I do place a towel over the top with an uncovered area for circulation at the cool end.

 

[Stacykins]

I initially used a 55 gallon and it was HORRIBLE! as a brooder. Great for reptiles, crummy for chicks. These are just a few of my cons.

1) Poor ventilation, even with a screen top
2) HARD TO CLEAN! Chicks poop, and they poop a lot! They are Olympic poopers. For even a few chicks, even with daily newspaper or shavings cleaning, the poop is just too much. Plus, with the issues cited in #1, it compounds the poop issue
3) HEAVY. If you want to do a good cleaning, you haul it outside to hose it out. Moving one is awkward and definitely a two person job
4) Harder to maintain temperature gradient
5) Quickly outgrown

 

[spowell]

Thanks everybody

I will keep looking for something else to use as a permanent brooder. I just happened to have it already and it was empty. The world's largest yard sale is this weekend in Wilmington, NC maybe I will luck up and find something there.

 

[AlienChick]

And don't forget you can always make your own cheap brooder out of cardboard boxes or PVC piping and cheap deer netting:

 

[IRChicken]

Have you thought about trying an Ohio Brooder?
http://www.plamondon.com/brooder.shtml

A video of an Ohio Brooder in action, check @ 6:25: