are fish tanks (10 gallons) good brooders?

[jkcove08]

I use the storage tote that is about a foot wide by 3 or 4 feet long and a foot deep. Then take the lid and cut the middle out and duct tape wire mesh over it so that they cant jump out when they start getting thier wing feathers. It also lets you protect them from the heat lamp. I hang the lamp over 1 end and this way they can move away or to the heat as needed. I like the aquarium when I have button quail babies but that is about it. Jenn

 

[Poison Ivy]

I use a rubbermaid tote for mine and I took a utility knife and cut the center out of the lid. Then took hardware cloth and cut it to fit the inside of the lid. I then drilled about 12 hole around it and took some bolts and attached the hardware cloth to it. Makes it really sturdy and keeps my cat from caving in the lid.

 

[leghorns_rule]

I think i have one of those. thanks for the pics

 

[GoodEgg]

I used a 10-gal for a hospital cage.

It was great for keeping them warm, letting us see them, and letting THEM see us. It made them VERY friendly, LOL.

However, we only used it for the first week or so. I had up to 5 at one time in there (some banties, and only within the first 3 days or so). After a few days it only held 2.

It really is small, and won't last long for that reason. But glass makes a great brooder for raising friendly chicks.

I forget who, but someone had a glass store display case as their brooder. Now THAT looked awesome!

trish

 

[henjoy]

I use a 3x4 wire dog crate for a brooder. It is sturdy, well ventilated and has a pullout floor for easy cleaning. My heat lamp can be clipped safely to the wire top. The only thing I have to do to make it chick ready is to put a 6 inch high cardboard barrier around the bottom to keep the little ones from squeezing through the wire when they are tiny. They can never fly out because of the wire top. It has worked great for me for quite a few years and the best thing about it is that I already had it in my garage before I ever got chickens.

 

[leghorns_rule]

Quote:
Now thats something id want seeing as my chicks will be pets

 

[GoodEgg]

It definitely made them friendlier, at least during the time they were in there and for a week or so after I put them back in the big brooder.

I'm thinking if you want them to be pets, the best way would be to have few chickens, get them VERY used to seeing you and interacting when they are babies, and give LOTS of treats as they grow up.

Even the ones that were skittish as chicks come for treats now, though, and now that they are starting to squat, they are easy to pick up most of the time. I think treats is the biggest factor.

Early personality doesn't seem to have an absolute prediction on the friendliness of grown chickens. My barred rocks were always the last ones I caught for transfer, because they ran away, screamed the loudest, and struggled the most when picked up. Now they are pretty friendly, and one of them will follow us around and around our about-an-acre yard without the benefit of treats. She just seems to like the company. She "talks" to us all the time too.

But the glass brooder helped in the beginning. If I'd kept just a few in there, I think it would have made a difference. I kept the little Jap Bantam in there the longest, and he stayed friendly through his whole extended-brooder period. The first night I built the coop, I kept him in the house by himself in their shipping box (cuz he was my favorite), and he never fussed about being alone or tried to escape. He would just stay where I put him.

He's a little roo tho, and now he tries to stay out of my way. He does NOT want to be picked up, LOL, tho I hear some roos are friendly that way.

Good luck to you,
trish

 

[Flufnstuffs~FluffySilkies]

This is a big x-mas tree tote