Bread crates for floor in broiler pen?

[Jejahess]

I have 75 CX's coming next week and am building a new grow pen for them. In the past I've used our garden shed as the brooder until week 3 or so. Then I move them to small grow pens. 20-25 birds per pen. Now the shed is getting too full of stuff so won't work for the brooder. I'm building a combination brooder/grow pen for this batch. It'll work for up to 100 birds.

When I use the smaller pens I move them each day for fresh grass & manure control. This new pen will be light enough to move but I'm considering other options. One is to just park it in our garden and lay bread crates in upside down to make an elevated floor. From day 1 through week 3 or so I'd put down some of those foam mats from Harbor Freight so their feet don't get irritated by the crates. They'd also only have access to half of the pen. Once they start producing more manure and their feet are bigger I'd just remove the mats and then their droppings would just fall through the holes in the crates. Anyone tried something similar before? I'd be interested in hearing feedback.

 

[ronott1]

It looks like a good way to raise them.
Keep us updated

 

[LapisLazuli]

Where did you order the chicks from? I love that idea!

 

[Jejahess]

I get my broilers from a local hatchery here near me. Longeneckers Hatchery in Elizabethtown PA.

Here are some pics of my setup. I ended up not going with the bread flat floor this time. I had several pieces of galvanized expanded mesh at my shop from a past project that I used instead.

I have the nipple waters lined up along the back wall which is also the downhill side of the pen. I have a length of mesh elevated up off the ground underneath the nipples so there's no mud.

In the middle of the pen I have a 4 foot by 5 foot piece of mesh that is also elevated up off the ground. The heat lamps hang above here and there's room to set two feed troughs.

Since I need a third feed trough now they're getting bigger I put that off to the one side elevated on another piece of mesh. Basically my goal was to have all the normally dirty places elevated so the manure just falls through. At some point I can see having to put pine shavings down on the rest of the area to help absorb but that probably won't be for another week or so.

I use these homemade troughs which are made out of 4-in PVC pipe with 2-in holes drilled in them for my feeders. I think there's about 26 or 27 holes per pipe. It cuts down tremendously on the amount of wasted feed especially with the chicks. The first week or so the chicks are still small enough that they can actually climb inside the feeders but that ends pretty quick.

 

[Molpet]

I get my broilers from a local hatchery here near me. Longeneckers Hatchery in Elizabethtown PA.

Here are some pics of my setup. I ended up not going with the bread flat floor this time. I had several pieces of galvanized expanded mesh at my shop from a past project that I used instead.

I have the nipple waters lined up along the back wall which is also the downhill side of the pen. I have a length of mesh elevated up off the ground underneath the nipples so there's no mud.

In the middle of the pen I have a 4 foot by 5 foot piece of mesh that is also elevated up off the ground. The heat lamps hang above here and there's room to set two feed troughs.

Since I need a third feed trough now they're getting bigger I put that off to the one side elevated on another piece of mesh. Basically my goal was to have all the normally dirty places elevated so the manure just falls through. At some point I can see having to put pine shavings down on the rest of the area to help absorb but that probably won't be for another week or so.

I use these homemade troughs which are made out of 4-in PVC pipe with 2-in holes drilled in them for my feeders. I think there's about 26 or 27 holes per pipe. It cuts down tremendously on the amount of wasted feed especially with the chicks. The first week or so the chicks are still small enough that they can actually climb inside the feeders but that ends pretty quick.

Thanks for the update

 

[aart]

I had several pieces of galvanized expanded mesh at my shop from a past project that I used instead.

That should work good for keeping them off the nipple spills and night poops....
...and hopefully no toe/foot/leg injuries from the sharp edges and pointy vertexes.

But how to clean under it?

 

[Jejahess]

That should work good for keeping them off the nipple spills and night poops....
...and hopefully no toe/foot/leg injuries from the sharp edges and pointy vertexes.

But how to clean under it?

They seem to be doing fine walking on the mesh. It's been a week and no injuries.

The grates are lifted about 3 in off the ground so there is plenty of room for manure to collect underneath but I do have a short rake that I could fit under there if necessary to drag it out. I really wasn't going to worry too much about the stuff that collects underneath the mesh unless the smell got really bad. I figure when they're raised in chicken houses commercially they're in that stuff for 8 weeks straight. Everywhere where they're not on the mesh I'm going to put pine shavings in to help deal with that mess. They should be able to keep that stuff turned over well enough that they're not laying in their own filth

 

[Ridgerunner]

I think it will be a learning process, it always is. Nothing ever works out exactly the way you plan it but you sound like you are ready for that. You have to be flexible.

I use 1/2" hardware cloth as the floor of my brooder and grow-out coop. I have dual purpose, not Cornish X. I find that the poop goes through fine until they are around 12 to 14 weeks old. Then it gets big enough it starts to build up. I'll be interested in how that works with your broilers and that expanded metal.