Anyone using a haybox brooder?

[rockethoe]

seems like a great Idea. I first came across the idea in modern poultry husbandry. Essentially it is as follows- two chambers, joined by a short corridor. the first chamber is insulated, often with hay - the metabolic heat of the chicks heats this chamber. the second chamber is open to the air. the chicks can access either chamber from the other using the corridor. in such a way, it is possible to have a brooder with no external heating source.

I am wondering what are the maximum and minimum ambient temperatures in which this could work.

 

[aart]

Never heard of this....got pics?
Very young chicks, for at least the first week, need some good heat(~80-85°F) to keep them healthy and active enough to eat well.
I would worry that the hay chamber has little to no ventilation.

 

[rockethoe]

Never heard of this....got pics?
Very young chicks, for at least the first week, need some good heat(~80-85°F) to keep them healthy and active enough to eat well.
I would worry that the hay chamber has little to no ventilation.

here's one : https://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/PPGraphics/HayBrooder.JPEG ill see if I can find that book and snap a photo of that.

 

[rockethoe]

here you go, from Modern Poultry Keeping (1948), sorry you will have to hold your laptop sideways!

 

[DLA]

here you go, from Modern Poultry Keeping (1948), sorry you will have to hold your laptop sideways!

View attachment 3638974View attachment 3638975

Interesting, I remember my grandpa using something like this a long time ago, it didn't look exactly like this but similar. I guess it worked ok cause he had a lot of chickens for years and years. They were white leghorns and they aren't know to be overly broody so he used it for the extra chicks that couldn't fit under the few broody hens. He only used it when he did his big replacement hatch in spring and there were always losses, probably more than most people would find acceptable today with the more modern methods.