BROODER thread! Post pics of your brooders!

[Bens-Hens]

We have had a bit of over kill on the latest hatch, ended up with 27 chicks, so we had to expand on our double story brooder.

I call it the Frankenbrooder. 1800mm x 800mm x 500mm deep, also know as an old cupboard and vegie garden screen.




Going to give it a final clean and then furnish it with some chicks!

 

[MyLittleRedCoop]

I have 2 different brooders I've used.

The first one is what I used when I didn't have a broody hen or the brooder section of my coop finished. It consisted of 3 panel sets ( http://www.amazon.com/Farm-Innovato...id=1384478087&sr=8-1&keywords=chicken+brooder ) that I configured into a 2-layer ring that fit into this kiddie pool ( http://www.amazon.com/Snapset-Instant-Childrens-Swimming-56451EP/dp/B000OV0X34/ref=cm_cr-mr-title ).
I duck taped the layers together to give it necessary height (chicks get pretty rambunctious after about 4 weeks!). I left 2 of the flaps on the top layer open - I didn't zip-tie them together, or duck tape them to the lower row - and used them as "doors". I just used a small piece of duck tape to hold them shut. By 6-8 weeks, I put bird netting over the top of it and secured it using zip ties to keep everyone one. It worked great, and was enough room for 17 chicks, at least until they were about 11 weeks old and needing more space, at which point I transitioned them out to our coop.
This one was roughly 5 ft by 5 ft. and about 3 ft high.





The second brooder I have used is one that we put in our coop. Its roughly 40" x 40" area, with it's own roost (for when the chicks are older) and small enclosed run. It's separated from the rest of the coop by a screen door. There is a small (5"x5") opening cut into the lower part of the door's metal fabric, so that once Mama was ready to go back with the rest of the flock, the chicks still had a safe area to hide in that the bigger ones can't get to. I have a small "patch" from metal fabric that I can use bolts, washers and wing nuts to cover up the hole if I need to. The space doubles as a chicken jail for badly behaving bullies, as well as a recovery pen for anyone who might have a bump or bruise and needs a little time out.

Looking at this post makes me want to hatch another batch of chicks!!

 

[chickieluver26]

I have 2 different brooders I've used. The first one is what I used when I didn't have a broody hen or the brooder section of my coop finished. It consisted of 3 panel sets ( http://www.amazon.com/Farm-Innovators-Baby-Chick-Starter/dp/B009FBQZ7M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384478087&sr=8-1&keywords=chicken+brooder ) that I configured into a 2-layer ring that fit into this kiddie pool ( http://www.amazon.com/Snapset-Instant-Childrens-Swimming-56451EP/dp/B000OV0X34/ref=cm_cr-mr-title ). I duck taped the layers together to give it necessary height (chicks get pretty rambunctious after about 4 weeks!). I left 2 of the flaps on the top layer open - I didn't zip-tie them together, or duck tape them to the lower row - and used them as "doors". I just used a small piece of duck tape to hold them shut. By 6-8 weeks, I put bird netting over the top of it and secured it using zip ties to keep everyone one. It worked great, and was enough room for 17 chicks, at least until they were about 11 weeks old and needing more space, at which point I transitioned them out to our coop. This one was roughly 5 ft by 5 ft. and about 3 ft high. The second brooder I have used is one that we put in our coop. Its roughly 40" x 40" area, with it's own roost (for when the chicks are older) and small enclosed run. It's separated from the rest of the coop by a screen door. There is a small (5"x5") opening cut into the lower part of the door's metal fabric, so that once Mama was ready to go back with the rest of the flock, the chicks still had a safe area to hide in that the bigger ones can't get to. I have a small "patch" from metal fabric that I can use bolts, washers and wing nuts to cover up the hole if I need to. The space doubles as a chicken jail for badly behaving bullies, as well as a recovery pen for anyone who might have a bump or bruise and needs a little time out. Looking at this post makes me want to hatch another batch of chicks!!

Please tell me if you know what is the breed of the white spotted chick is in the third picture it is in the row closest to the camera next to the barred rock I got an assortment of rare and brown egg layers from mpc and that chick looks just like the one chick I can not figure the breed of!!!

 

[MyLittleRedCoop]

Please tell me if you know what is the breed of the white spotted chick is in the third picture it is in the row closest to the camera next to the barred rock I got an assortment of rare and brown egg layers from mpc and that chick looks just like the one chick I can not figure the breed of!!!

Absolutely! That is a Delaware cockerel at about 12-ish weeks. The males of this breed tend to have more coloring on their backs. Is yours a girl or "straight run"?

Here are what my Delaware pullets look like. (1st and 2nd pictures) 1st is about 12 weeks old. 2nd shot is at about 16-18 weeks. They have a tall single comb, lay pinkish brown eggs and are considered a heritage breed. If yours has as much black/grey on its back, I would start suspecting a roo. Also, the pullets won't have any "barred" feathers on their tails, but the males will. They are super curious and friendly. Love mine!

Also, I am including a couple pictures of my light brahmas pullets. (3rd and 4th) These are about 8 weeks old. Just as a comparison. Both breeds lay brown eggs. The brahmas have feathery legs and feet. But as you can see, the pullets have more back on their necks and back.

Does this help?

 

[chickieluver26]

Absolutely! That is a Delaware cockerel at about 12-ish weeks. The males of this breed tend to have more coloring on their backs. Is yours a girl or "straight run"? Here are what my Delaware pullets look like. (1st and 2nd pictures) 1st is about 12 weeks old. 2nd shot is at about 16-18 weeks. They have a tall single comb, lay pinkish brown eggs and are considered a heritage breed. If yours has as much black/grey on its back, I would start suspecting a roo. Also, the pullets won't have any "barred" feathers on their tails, but the males will. They are super curious and friendly. Love mine! Also, I am including a couple pictures of my light brahmas pullets. (3rd and 4th) These are about 8 weeks old. Just as a comparison. Both breeds lay brown eggs. The brahmas have feathery legs and feet. But as you can see, the pullets have more back on their necks and back. Does this help?

Yes it does help a lot thank you Mine was supposed to be a girl but our friend sexed her/him and couldn't really tell here are some pictures if it helps if it turns out to be a roo are they aggressive and do they crow a lot?

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[MyLittleRedCoop]

Yes it does help a lot thank you Mine was supposed to be a girl but our friend sexed her/him and couldn't really tell here are some pictures if it helps if it turns out to be a roo are they aggressive and do they crow a lot?

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Ohhh... Yeah, that sure looks like a roo to me, especially with the barred tail and the markings on the back.
I got 3 of these as part of a straight run. 2 ended up to be pullets and one was a roo. There is a ton of good info on identifying pullets from cockerels here on BYC.
Yeah, he crowed quite a bit, though not as much as our speckled Sussex or the Dominiques. I find that my roos all crow in the am, then again when I let them out of the coop, and after that... Maybe a couple times every couple hours...? Like 2-4 times in a row, but then quiet for a while.
They are very curious about everything. If the run door doesn't latch, it'll be a Delaware that gets out and meets me like a dog when I come outside. When I painted the nest boxes and clean-out door on my coop, the Delawares were the first to get paint on them, pecking at the wall, jumping up to try to get my paint brush. They are always the first ones over to see what you have.
I didn't find him to be particularly aggressive. He pecked a lot out of curiosity, like, if he discovered a freckle on my arm, or toenail with polish, or earring, but I don't recall him being aggressive to the hens ever. We ended up with a lot of roos in that batch, and so I just made a point of picking him (them) up and carrying him around every once in a while, or if he got disrespectful. He was a quick learner, and after getting carried around for 10 minutes or so, he was generally very respectful. I didnt feel like he was sizing me up or planning an attack when my back was turned. He wasn't prone to chasing my kids or hubby, either.
Your guy looks like he's going to have some beautiful feathering and markings!

 

[chickieluver26]

Ohhh... Yeah, that sure looks like a roo to me, especially with the barred tail and the markings on the back.
I got 3 of these as part of a straight run. 2 ended up to be pullets and one was a roo. There is a ton of good info on identifying pullets from cockerels here on BYC.
Yeah, he crowed quite a bit, though not as much as our speckled Sussex or the Dominiques. I find that my roos all crow in the am, then again when I let them out of the coop, and after that... Maybe a couple times every couple hours...? Like 2-4 times in a row, but then quiet for a while.
They are very curious about everything. If the run door doesn't latch, it'll be a Delaware that gets out and meets me like a dog when I come outside. When I painted the nest boxes and clean-out door on my coop, the Delawares were the first to get paint on them, pecking at the wall, jumping up to try to get my paint brush. They are always the first ones over to see what you have.
I didn't find him to be particularly aggressive. He pecked a lot out of curiosity, like, if he discovered a freckle on my arm, or toenail with polish, or earring, but I don't recall him being aggressive to the hens ever. We ended up with a lot of roos in that batch, and so I just made a point of picking him (them) up and carrying him around every once in a while, or if he got disrespectful. He was a quick learner, and after getting carried around for 10 minutes or so, he was generally very respectful. I didnt feel like he was sizing me up or planning an attack when my back was turned. He wasn't prone to chasing my kids or hubby, either.
Your guy looks like he's going to have some beautiful feathering and markings!

Thank you so much I can't wait to see how he turns out!!!!

 

[handyman42]

Don't have a pic but my brooder for next year is gonna be an old metal bath tub I found in the woods by my house. I'll work good til they're around 3-4 weeks old then they'll get moved into "The Cube" brooder I've designed.

 

[jimmywalt]

Are these baby chicks, or full grown? How many are in there? Looks like a lot. Is this their coop?

 

[MyLittleRedCoop]

Are these baby chicks, or full grown? How many are in there? Looks like a lot. Is this their coop?

Hi! The chicks shown here were about 12 weeks old. There were 18 of them.
This isn't the full coop. This is a small area I sectioned off to use as a brooder area, within the coop. Here is a link to my full coop if you'd like to see how it's set up. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/da-coop
The chicks you see here were raised the first 12 weeks in the large yellow brooder I pictured, in my basement. Then I moved them out to the coop. The brooder area is currently about 40" x 40", and has a separate enclosed run that is roughly 40" x 60". But when I moved them out, due to the number of them, I moved the wall to give them more room. Once they were grown, and blended with the flock, I moved the wall back, as my long-term intent is to let a broody hen raise a clutch of eggs in there and not have large orders of day-old chicks shipped. They were up on the big kid roost within a couple weeks, which has much more room.