Brooder Height(Depth) Advice

[enggass]

About to build my brooder for 6 standard birds. I plan to use it for the duration of 8 weeks+/-.
I was planning 3' x 4' for the length/width. I will partition it for when they are chicks.
My question is what height is sufficient. I was thinking of 18". Will this be enough for when they are in the 4-8 week range?

Thanks,
Steve

 

[dappertophatter]

Noooooooo, 2 feet or more. Those buggers can jump! Sorta build it in a way that one of the walls is lower, and pina beach blanket or somethin' up there so you can block them in the brooder but get in to feed and water them. My brooder is an old bookshelf with the shelves taken out. I laid the bookcase on its side, screwed two of the shelves to the long ends, found a screen to put over the two, and pinned beach blankets to the open sides. Probably more info than you needed

but hope this helps!

 

[Backyard Hencam]

While 18" is high enough for them to walk around, they will be over the top in 3 weeks. Make a hardware cloth screen top and keep them covered. Have fun and good luck!

 

[Olive Hill]

18" is plenty if you put a cover on it (make sure the cover is breathable!) but like someone else said, if you go without a cover you want it no less than 2 feet tall. They learn to jump out very quickly!

 

[enggass]

Oh there will definitely be a cover. Just wondering if the birds will be ok with it...
Steve

 

[noitulover]

they'll enjoy a bit of height to test their wings... i've noticed if you give them a bit of height and a roost, they'll take to the roost better once they're out int he coop...

mine is about 3 feet tall so that by the time they are around 3 or 4 weeks, they can reach the roost that is like 10-12" tall.