Black_cat's Brooder Thread! Come see my brooder ideas/plans/questions.

[RubelliteRose]

Ours were feathered out at 6 weeks and from what I've read, most breeds are at that age.

 

[black_cat]

Ours were feathered out at 6 weeks and from what I've read, most breeds are at that age.

Hopefully mine will be too. I've read that bantams mature slower, so I'm thinking that it might be more like 8 weeks.

 

[orloffer]

Ooh, that's a good idea...I'm worried about how I would set it up in planned brooder, though.

I just put it on a tall-ish brick.

 

[black_cat]

I might have to figure out moving them to the basement in one of those watermelon box brooder things if they get too big/dusty for my room, but maybe not because cat proofing.

 

[black_cat]

Questions for people who have raised chicks before:
-Thoughts on my cat proofing?
-Should I have the heat plate with one side a bit higher than the other? If so, when should I start doing that?
-How much of the brooder needs to be walled off at first to make sure they don't wander away from the heat at first?
-Would velcroing a thing of chick grit onto one of the bricks be a good idea? How do you offer chick grit?
-Do I need to put any cardboard up the sides to keep shavings in, or do the walls already do that enough?
-How long before your chicks arrive (not ship) do you set up your brooder?
-What do you do if the power goes out? (Not likely but I want to be prepared)

 

[RubelliteRose]

Questions for people who have raised chicks before:
-Thoughts on my cat proofing?

This really depends upon your cat. We were able to keep our cat out of the chick room by placing an old 4 1/2' tall window screen in the doorway. Our cat can jump at least 5' from one surface to another, but won't jump over the screen. The one time she snuck in, the chicks were terrified, but she was also terrified of them too

-Should I have the heat plate with one side a bit higher than the other? If so, when should I start doing that? Sorry, no advice, didn't use one.

-How much of the brooder needs to be walled off at first to make sure they don't wander away from the heat at first?

We used 2 extra large dog crates zip tied together as a brooder and did not wall off a smaller section. They ran in and out of the heat as needed.

-Would velcroing a thing of chick grit onto one of the bricks be a good idea? How do you offer chick grit?

We offered grit in an extra chick feeder set up on a brick. The grit was never dumped over, just filled with shavings that needed to be cleared out.

-Do I need to put any cardboard up the sides to keep shavings in, or do the walls already do that enough?

In your set up, the walls should be enough. We added fiberglass window screen to the lower half of the crate to keep the shavings and chicks in the brooder and cardboard to keep out drafts for the first few weeks.

-How long before your chicks arrive (not ship) do you set up your brooder?

I've heard you should set it up 24 hours in advance. We semi-impulse bought our chicks -had everything, but had not turned on the heat lamp yet - so our lamp was only on a couple of hours before bringing them home and we had no issues with temperature.

-What do you do if the power goes out? (Not likely but I want to be prepared)

We have a generator, but not sure what you would do with out one.

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

Cat proofing: it sounds good. Always be vigilant for “security breaches”, though. Cats are clever.
I like the idea of raising one side of the heat device a little higher to accommodate the chicks‘ preference for how warm they want to be.
Make sure you show the chicks the heat plate, more than once if needed, so they know where “mama” is. I would wall a small area off for a day or two.
I didn’t give my chicks chick grit until they were being given foods other than chick feed. I didn’t give anything but chick feed for four weeks.
Set your brooder up 24 hours before You expect them to arrive. It’s like getting the nursery ready for a new baby.
Power outage: I never had that happen. I would have to think about that one. I don’t have a generator, and I probably should. I do live in a hurricane area.
I think the walls of your brooder will hold your shavings in. You could wrap Saran Wrap around the bottom outside the brooder if it is a problem.
It sounds like you are pretty organized here.

 

[black_cat]

I'm extra worried about my cat because he is an avid hunter. He loves to catch us chipmunks and leave them as gifts on the back deck. He is terrified of big chickens but he would snap up chicks in a heartbeat. I'm hoping that the several levels of security will help, he can jump pretty high but never goes over anything, always to something.

 

[black_cat]

Cat proofing: it sounds good. Always be vigilant for “security breaches”, though. Cats are clever.
I like the idea of raising one side of the heat device a little higher to accommodate the chicks‘ preference for how warm they want to be.
Make sure you show the chicks the heat plate, more than once if needed, so they know where “mama” is. I would wall a small area off for a day or two.
I didn’t give my chicks chick grit until they were being given foods other than chick feed. I didn’t give anything but chick feed for four weeks.
Set your brooder up 24 hours before You expect them to arrive. It’s like getting the nursery ready for a new baby.
Power outage: I never had that happen. I would have to think about that one. I don’t have a generator, and I probably should. I do live in a hurricane area.
I think the walls of your brooder will hold your shavings in. You could wrap Saran Wrap around the bottom outside the brooder if it is a problem.
It sounds like you are pretty organized here.

Cat proofing: it sounds good. Always be vigilant for “security breaches”, though. Cats are clever.
I think that my strongest cat proofing defences are the gate at the bottom of the stairs and the closed door. My closed door is also my weakest one, as I may forget to close it. There will probably be signs saying "CLOSE THE DOOR" on both sides of the door while I have the chicks. The cat shouldn't know that the chicks are there (we'll either distract him or put him outside (don't worry he's an outdoor cat) when we bring the chicks in) but because he loves hunting and still has his claws I want to have several measures of defense.
I like the idea of raising one side of the heat device a little higher to accommodate the chicks‘ preference for how warm they want to be.
I don't want to accidentally make it too high on one side. I'm assuming I just want it to be up a notch or two at first?
Make sure you show the chicks the heat plate, more than once if needed, so they know where “mama” is. I would wall a small area off for a day or two.
I know that when you first get them, you take each out of the box individually, then dip their beaks in water and place them under the heat plate. I'll have the food and water right near the heat, no bricks while they're still on only puppy pads. If they seem to be wandering away I'll just put them back under the heat plate, I guess.
I didn’t give my chicks chick grit until they were being given foods other than chick feed. I didn’t give anything but chick feed for four weeks.
I was going to give them grit because I'm worried that they will end up eating the pine shavings. I've heard that scrambled eggs is an ok treat to give without grit, right? I'll have them on puppy pads for the first few days-week to make sure they know what their food is.
Set your brooder up 24 hours before You expect them to arrive. It’s like getting the nursery ready for a new baby.
Perfect!
Power outage: I never had that happen. I would have to think about that one. I don’t have a generator, and I probably should. I do live in a hurricane area.
We have a generator, but I"m not sure what it covers and what it doesn't. I don't live in a hurricane or high wind area, but I want to be prepared. Our water isn't hooked up to our power, maybe I could take them in the bathroom and turn the hot water on, without the fan? I could take a shower while I'm at it, so I don't waste. Maybe I could fill tupperwares or something with hot water, and put them in the brooder? We have a gas stove so I can get things quite hot.
I think the walls of your brooder will hold your shavings in. You could wrap Saran Wrap around the bottom outside the brooder if it is a problem.
Ok! I hadn't thought about saran wrap. Good idea.
It sounds like you are pretty organized here.
Thank you! As you know, everything must be planned about 114 years before it happens with me

 

[black_cat]

After reading someone else's thread about how their chicks are all dying, I'm nervous........is there a way to know if the chicks are over-stressed from shipping before they start dying? I know that Nutridrench is good to have on hand, what are some other things?