Are these brooder panels too short?

[brewfarm]

Okay- I just tried to proofread this and realized I'm writing a book. I hope I'm not rambling.

I have made some horrible mistakes with the chicks I got in February. I've lost a good chunk of my chicks. They are all Rhode Island Reds and will be 10 weeks old Wednesday. I'm mad about losing chicks because I didn't know better. Part of me wants to walk away. Part of me says, now I know better I'll be smarter next time.

So now it's 2 o'clock in the morning and I can't sleep and I'm planning for next time. I don't have room for a brooder separate from my coop. I built a brooder in my coop, but I hated my design. I used plywood and it was too small and too tall. It was also freakin' wood so I couldn't make changes on the fly. My chicks are now in the coop, with my older hens. But I feel like I integrated them to soon.
I saw these brooder panels-
https://www.premier1supplies.com/p/chick-brooder-panels?cat_id=206

Tractor Supply has something similar. But, these are only 16 inches tall. I'm pretty sure my chicks would be climbing out of that after 2 or 3 weeks. Maybe not that long. I want to keep them in the brooder- or at least separated for at least 10 weeks- maybe longer. I'd like to be able to do see not touch. That almost worked. They were fine for a week or so and then the chicks started acting scared at night and piling and dying and I scrambled to stop them.

So I was thinking these brooder panels could work, but they seem short. Could I stack them to make them taller? Should I just grab some cardboard boxes, at the hardware store, and make my own but taller?

How tall would a barrier have to be to keep them safe and separate for up to 12 weeks? If not these what could I use as a barrier to block off part of the coop?

 

[sweetater22]

brewfarm, for me there are lots of unanswered questions in your post, how many chicks are you brooding, are you providing heat, what size is your coop, how many hens are in your coop. I would suggest you go to the forums for info on brooding new chicks, there is a wealth of info there. Good luck to you.

 

[brewfarm]

Yeah I kinda rambled. I have a ton of questions myself. I've posted a little about my experience and have asked questions before. I thought I had done my research, gotten enough info from people in person. But now I'm going through the chick forums again.

What I was wondering, atm, was how long are these brooder panels good for? It seems like, with my chicks, it would only be a couple of weeks before they'd be hoping over them. They seem to short to be effective.

 

[chickens really]

Hello...I use cardboard walls 0ver chicken wire and then put a Chicken wire top on that my Husband built..As the Chicks feather out I remove the cardboard..

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

I used a baby coral similar to this one. If all the way opened you could use a coop wall as the final wall making the area even bigger. If you’re worried about them jumping out you can cover the top. To stop larger hens from standing on the “roof” slant it so they can’t get good footing. Just make sure any top you use won’t fall in and hurt the little ones in the brooder.

 

[X_and_Z]

I used a very large rabbit/guinea pig cage (easily found used) that has a 7-8" deep plastic pan with wire sides and top. There is a large side door and the top on mine lifts up making it easy to access the whole thing.

Once that was too small I moved them to an ex-pen with lid - with a little effort (mostly covering the bottom few inches with cardboard/wire mesh so little chicks can't escape) the ex-pen could be used for the whole time. If you aren't familiar with ex-pens, here is one:
https://www.amazon.com/MidWest-Fold...F8&qid=1524580922&sr=8-2&keywords=ex-pen&th=1

And a top:
https://www.amazon.com/Exercise-Met...ie=UTF8&qid=1524580922&sr=8-5&keywords=ex-pen

I used a premier heat plate and not a heat lamp in my brooder.

Another option is to use one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/FYPET-Outdoo...rd_wg=b937e&psc=1&refRID=DZVH95JBZ27G9FE1JFQ0

 

[brewfarm]

Thanks for all the info. I think the ex-pen might work for me. I haven't decided on heat lamps. Honestly, the guy I learned from is very old school. He told me lamps were cheap and easy and there wasn't anything better. I hadn't even heard of heat plates until I started to learn on my own.

 

[rosemarythyme]

The height isn't the issue if you cover the top - chicks will fly out of anything that isn't covered. I brooded in a bathtub. A brooder can be as simple as some cardboard boxes taped together, but unless it's several feet tall it needs to be covered.

What you didn't mention was how many chicks you had in how much sq footage, nor why you think they need to be in a brooder for 10 weeks? If it's because of integration you'd be using some sort of pen or fenced off area by that point, not a brooder.

 

[rosemarythyme]

What I was wondering, atm, was how long are these brooder panels good for? It seems like, with my chicks, it would only be a couple of weeks before they'd be hoping over them. They seem to short to be effective.

Honestly I feel that those were made for suckers, to put it bluntly... It's just cardboard. It still needs a lid. A large cardboard box with some wire or mesh taped on for a lid works almost the same and you can make that yourself for next to nothing or free if you scavenge around.

 

[X_and_Z]

Thanks for all the info. I think the ex-pen might work for me. I haven't decided on heat lamps. Honestly, the guy I learned from is very old school. He told me lamps were cheap and easy and there wasn't anything better. I hadn't even heard of heat plates until I started to learn on my own.

Heat lamps are fire hazards - it is up to you to decide on what risk you will accept. If cost is an issue and you want other options, the mamma heating pad (MHP) that you can search for on this site is a cheaper option that works on the same principle and is still much less of a fire hazard than a heat lamp.

I had an ex-pen on hand for my dogs, but you can often find them used or even borrow one (many people get them for their puppies and then stop using them when their puppy grows up).