Brooders are a 48" and a 54" dog crate. Alternating right now as it's easy for changing bedding (towels), but will join the crates when they graduate to "real" bedding in a few days. The next step will be ex pens, because I have SO MUCH dog equipment lol. I wonder if the bantams will ever be big enough to not need the cardboard...
Loving the Premier 1 heat plate, and it's easy to clean with warm water. I have the temperature control but so far I've left it on full power. It's got a decent slope to fit bantams and Brahmas. I cut small squares of shelf liner to put under the waterers so they don't slide down the slope. I use the heat lamp when I'm moving them or cleaning the plate (did that this morning for the first time, hasn't been too bad yet).
They seem to like the starter dry and fermented, but when they get beyond the stage of "do whatever you want and waste as you wish as long as you don't up and die on me" I'll push them more toward the fermented feed. I'm feeding New Country Organics but there are 37 chicklets so I'm hoping they'll waste less if I ferment, and also that way they can't sift out the powder. I don't love the price of the NCO but I really like the farmer who sells it, and he's constantly sold out of eggs so I'm hoping eventually they'll buy some of their own feed. They were RAVENOUS the first day so I added more to my fermenting batches but they've slowed down a bit since then so I hope I don't have to throw too much away.
Of course it's not like I went into this with a business mindset. That's not a brooder full of leghorns, RIR's, and Easter eggers. There are 6 Easter eggers, along with:
3 light Brahma
3 Appenzeller Spitzhauben
2 Buckeye
2 golden laced Wyandotte
4 BJG
3 bantam Mille Fleur D'uccle
And 14 I can't quite identify making up the rest of the order, which as 9 OEGB and 3 bantam EE.
LF came from The Chick Hatchery via Cackle. I ordered 3 dark Brahmas too but I guess they weren't available so they sent substitute birds and refunded the price difference. Those *should* all be pullets except the Spitzhauben were SR. All bantams were SR, from Valley Farms Hatchery. I have individual pictures of each bird as well as wing feather photos but I won't bombard you with everything I have. I did lose a Buckeye the first night (also refunded), a light Brahma, a GLW, and 2 that I think we're OEGB. Last one may have been because the garage door didn't latch properly last night and it may have caught a draft despite the cardboard and heat plate. All bummers to lose. Cackle didn't send extras, but did include a heat pack and it looked like they'd had some GroGel.
Loving the Premier 1 heat plate, and it's easy to clean with warm water. I have the temperature control but so far I've left it on full power. It's got a decent slope to fit bantams and Brahmas. I cut small squares of shelf liner to put under the waterers so they don't slide down the slope. I use the heat lamp when I'm moving them or cleaning the plate (did that this morning for the first time, hasn't been too bad yet).
They seem to like the starter dry and fermented, but when they get beyond the stage of "do whatever you want and waste as you wish as long as you don't up and die on me" I'll push them more toward the fermented feed. I'm feeding New Country Organics but there are 37 chicklets so I'm hoping they'll waste less if I ferment, and also that way they can't sift out the powder. I don't love the price of the NCO but I really like the farmer who sells it, and he's constantly sold out of eggs so I'm hoping eventually they'll buy some of their own feed. They were RAVENOUS the first day so I added more to my fermenting batches but they've slowed down a bit since then so I hope I don't have to throw too much away.
Of course it's not like I went into this with a business mindset. That's not a brooder full of leghorns, RIR's, and Easter eggers. There are 6 Easter eggers, along with:
3 light Brahma
3 Appenzeller Spitzhauben
2 Buckeye
2 golden laced Wyandotte
4 BJG
3 bantam Mille Fleur D'uccle
And 14 I can't quite identify making up the rest of the order, which as 9 OEGB and 3 bantam EE.
LF came from The Chick Hatchery via Cackle. I ordered 3 dark Brahmas too but I guess they weren't available so they sent substitute birds and refunded the price difference. Those *should* all be pullets except the Spitzhauben were SR. All bantams were SR, from Valley Farms Hatchery. I have individual pictures of each bird as well as wing feather photos but I won't bombard you with everything I have. I did lose a Buckeye the first night (also refunded), a light Brahma, a GLW, and 2 that I think we're OEGB. Last one may have been because the garage door didn't latch properly last night and it may have caught a draft despite the cardboard and heat plate. All bummers to lose. Cackle didn't send extras, but did include a heat pack and it looked like they'd had some GroGel.
