Brooder mesh floor

[NY Coturnix]

Thanks dude for your response, Is there any other method by which I could use clean the brooder easily?

I raise quail and use a large rubber maid tote from Lowes, 50 gal size. I have two, when it comes time to clean I move everyone to the new on and take the other outside and hose it out. When it comes time to change I repeat and keep swapping until they move out of the brooder. I kind of lucked out and had one that wasn't being used by my wife and then bought the second when they had a sale.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I use 1/2" hardware cloth in my brooder and grow-out coop. They stay really dry, which I consider healthy, and doesn't hurt their feet. With a wire floor they can be used as a broody buster or to isolate an individual chicken if necessary. The poop falls through until the chicks are maybe 12 to 14 weeks old, then it stops falling through and builds up. My brooder is in the coop and I put chicks in it straight from the incubator or post office. I would not use it in the house as the poop does fall through.

You mention 4 week old chicks in one post and 1 week old chicks in another. Not sure where you are located so no idea of nighttime temperatures but 4 week olds might be ready to go outside to the coop if the coop is ready and set up for them. I don't know if you have adults and integration issues.

If you have an attached garage an easy way to make a brooder is to spread a large piece of cardboard on the floor to protect the concrete and use one or several large boxes to make a brooder. An appliance store near you might be a good source for large boxes. If it needs to grow it's pretty easy to enlarge it by taping in another box. You'll still need to use pine shavings, sawdust, or something else as bedding to absorb the moisture in their poop and change it out as needed. I don't know how you get away from that. Even if it falls through wire mesh you still need to manage it.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Is there any other method by which I could use clean the brooder easily?

Probably not now, but something to consider in the future... if you set up to brood outdoors, you can reduce your brooder cleaning close to zero. I have not cleaned my brooder with my last 2 groups of chicks. It sits directly on the run floor. Each day I briefly stir up the litter inside the brooder, and then to "clean" I simply drag it to a new spot in the run once every 10 days or so.