BROODER thread! Post pics of your brooders!

[MoonShadows]

Hahaha, that's right Pippey, it's all for the kids! Well that's how it starts anyway.

Hop your family enjoy your new pets!

Well, the kids in this house are 56 and 57 years young. At least we feel like kids when we are playing with the chicks.

 

[Sharon Bee]

Here is a pic of my new brooder. It is located in the garage which is heated at only about 13C. Note the heat lamp hanging over one end.

 

[CarolynF]

This is a great thread and sure goes to show there are a million ways to skin the cat when it comes to brooders! Thanks everyone for sharing!!

Until the day I brought home 3 chicks I'd planned on just adding 2 pullets to my flock, so obviously I didn't need a BROODER! Oh well, the best laid plans.....

I started with a translucent rubbermaid tub I confiscated from my sewing room. Added newspapers and a chicken wire "lid".

It sat on top of the dryer and a 90watt red bulb hung from the clothes rod above. Not bad for a last second build.

I had a quart jar style waterer to which I added marbles to avoid accidental drownings. I didn't have a chick feeder so made my own by cutting a couple small holes at the base of a pint size sour cream tub. Then I set that in a plastic lid (below). You can barely see one of the holes next to the letter 'M' in the photo below. I quickly learned it needed to be deeper, so I used a tart pan, you can see it in the dog kennel below.



Later I learned about adding water to their chic starter so they wouldn't throw it out and onto the floor. They LOVE it and it saves a lot of wasted crumbles. Just add enough water to make something like thick oatmeal.


When they got a bit bigger I moved them to a dog kennel:



The dog kennel has a slide out tray, but I lined it with cardboard to contain the sand I used instead of litter. I use sand in my coop and pen and wanted to use it in the brooder, too. The cardboard sides should have been taller because they are GREAT at scratching in the sand and kicking it out. I used vinyl table cloths on the floor which helped, but it was always messy. To scoop the poop (like I do outdoors in the coop) I used a round wire mesh utensil that's usually used for deep frying. A reptile litter scoop works too, I saw it on another BYC post. But I tend to use what I have on hand.

The white pail is a nipple waterer I made. It took them about 15 seconds to figure it out -- smart little buggers! As they grew taller I was able to lift the pail higher by using a larger piece of wood on top of the kennel. Now they use it in their outdoor pen. I love nipple waterers!

Have fun with your chicks!!!

 

[sgtmom52]

Here is a pic of my new brooder. It is located in the garage which is heated at only about 13C. Note the heat lamp hanging over one end.

Nice ~ but you will find the babies jumping out of that within a week!

 

[Sharon Bee]

I a

Here is a pic of my new brooder. It is located in the garage which is heated at only about 13C. Note the heat lamp hanging over one end.

I also plan to put chicken wire around the pool I forgot to say.

 

[Sharon Bee]

What is a nipple waterer? Sorry, I'm new at this.

 

[sgtmom52]

What is a nipple waterer? Sorry, I'm new at this.

 

[FirstLadiesClub]

Heres a few pics of our set up! We just got our babies yesterday and they have already won us over! We used just some old wood we had lying around and some leftover screen from when we re did our screen doors last year.
Anyone have any comments on if this setup will need to be expanded, we didnt think about the height of the set up until it was too late but we're now wondering if we will need to transport the ladies to a bigger set up before bringing them outside.

Here are the girls Eleanor, Jacqueline, Barbara, and little Nancy in the back...



This is our whole set up the lid at the other end opens up for us to clean out and have some play time with the chicks..




The view from the lid...



Our baby Reagan checking out the girls, seconds later she started barking probably scaring the living daylights out of the chicks so she's going to stay away for awhile until she learns to behave...



Caught Nancy on camera before she scooted away, shes the only one who doesn't come running when we open the lid, but she slowly follows so with time she'll hopefully be as friendly as her sisters...



Any comments, questions, advice, or concerns are greatly greatly appreciated!!

 

[sane cat lady]

Hello everyone!
I had several ideas about what to do for a brooder, then read someone's post about how they might use a dog crate ..... *ding!*..... we had a huge one in our garage I was about to list on craigslist! (FYI, it is 27" x 40" and we have 6 chicks) This was perfect for us, to protect the babies from our house dog and the two kids. I thought it might be useful for others to see how some of us have made a brooder and get some ideas, so I will start it out!


Here it is from the outside..... it is in our living room with the light mounted on the outside. As they have needed less heat I have slowly turned it to the left, lowering the temp each week.

Here is the inside. Thermometer is on the left (not in photo though!). Food and water are on a 4x4 post scrap to get it up a bit so they dont poop in it, or get shavings in it. We still wash out the water every day. It is also in the back so it stays cooler. I screwed in screws to hang the oak branch in there and they love it. The chick flapping is one of the two who are competing for the Queen of the Pecking Order. They fight for who is on the roost, and she is clearly telling the other one to get off! We use the deep litter method, and so need the bit of cardboard in the front to prevent shavings from coming out the front! We also stir it up everyday.

And here is our huge Lab protecting the babies.........actually, he is scared of them and backs away when we get them close to him, but he wants to look at them!

Can't wait to see everyone else's ideas!

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I AM DOING !!!!! the lady at the feed store was rude to me when i told her i was thinking of using a large dog crate

 

[debid]

What's wrong with a dog crate? If you only have a few chicks and they're in the house, why not?