BROODER thread! Post pics of your brooders!

[jaku]

I just put my brooder together- nothing special, so not really worth posting a picture. I've been curious though, why so many people build such elaborate brooders. Don't get me wrong, everyone's pictures show some GREAT ones.

My thought though, was that unless you've got a steady stream of chicks on a quite regular basis, you have a nice brooder, but in addition to the time and money spent, you also have a big bulky thing to store til next time. I took a washing machine box, put a half bag of chips in it, put in a feeder/waterer, and got my light set at the right height for temp- done.

Time invested- 15 minutes. Brooder cost- $0.

I'm getting two batches of chicks this summer. After the second batch is in the coop, I'll burn my brooder and get a new one next year. Am I missing something? Is there another reason to spend time/money on a brooder?

 

[SoccerMomof7]

My husband spent $20 and a few hours time and love but now we have a nice safe and secure brooder. I do want mroe chicks in the future and now I don't have to worry about a cat getting in and hurting them, even one of my kids or day care kids getting into the chickens and hurting them. Even my 3 week old chicks love their cage, I think it makes them feel safe with the lid on.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Here's ours (first pic, hope this works!):

(This was day one; now our chickies are rapidly outgrowing the space and starting to fly, so the top goes on this weekend.

As to why we built one, instead of just scavenging from what we've got, here's a couple of reasons:
1. This one holds 32 babies right now, and is modular so we can easily add on additional 4' panels as the babies need more room.
2. This will work well as a place for sick chickens or a place to hold new birds in quarantine.
3. I've always believed that things that look nice as well as are functional are cleaned more often, taken better care of, and are just all-around nicer to live with.
3. Total cost, less than $20.

E

ETA: Of course, if we could have found a nice watermelon crate, we probably wouldn't have built this!

 

[legacyln]

I built this tractor/brooder from scrap lumber and a roll of poultry netting. It sits inside a shed and we run an extension cord out there for the heat lamp. It has no bottom and the plywood lid is removable so when they're small I can put the heat lamp lower/closer, once they're bigger I cover the opening w/the plywood and hang the heat lamp over the other side. Then when they're big enough they can go to the coop and I can use this as a tractor in the yard for any chicken that needs to be seperated for a short time or quarantining a few new birds.

 

[Acre of Blessings]

Here is a few pics of our brooder. The measurements are 2 1/2 x 5 1/2 feet. They work well for us. We have 3 of these with 12 chicks in each one.

http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm289/thechickcrew/?action=view&current=Family008-1.jpg

http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm289/thechickcrew/?action=view&current=Family008-1.jpg

http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm289/thechickcrew/?action=view&current=Family008-1.jpg

 

[Penske]

Hi all!

We have 13 chicks that are 13 days old today!

For two weeks, they have lived in a brooder in my classroom in our home. It was a dog cage covered in chicken wire (see pics). This worked well JUST for two weeks.

Today, we moved them to the coop (insulated, etc). We are using the roost area. I removed the droppings board and stood it up as a wall on the brooder on one side. The free end is covered with a piece of plywood the slides into place. The top is covered with a piece of HW cloth simply laid on top. This is about 19 sq.ft. (They are happy to have more room for the flying and rambunctious play!!!) (see pics) We have a lilght-free chick warmer on one end, which keeps it about 75 deg. On the other end is a 250W red infared bulb that keeps that area at about 85-92 degrees. So far so good...they are sound asleep!

Here is the brooder in the coop:

Hope this helps someone!
Lisa

 

[CuddlesXL]

I'll have to get the camera out and show my brooder off.
I had my chicks in the kitchen in a wooden box with a lid on it.I installed a lamp holder and a 40 watt light bulb that keeps it a regulated 99.5 degrees. I had to get them out of the house because of the smell and they out grew the box.
I have a 91 Dodge Dakota that quit running, it has an aluminum truck cap.I hung heat lamps inside to keep them warm at night.They stay dry and warm and the best thing is nothing can get in to hurt them.

 

[jdr250]

This is my brooder, it's made out of an old guniea pig cage that my hubby built a couple of years ago. It's 3x2. It works great because it's strong enough to keep all the other animals out. Half of the top opens so it's easy to get in and out of. Plus the higher wooden sides keep alot of the wood chips in.
This is a front view

Top View

Corner view

 

[Reinbeau]

Quote:
Oooh, Lisa, it helps me quite a bit - what a great idea! We're going to have a dropping pit here, too, I'll make it into the brooding area for a bit and then we can finish it up. Thanx so much for posting it!

 

[FarmGirl01]

Here's the one that I have been using for years. Very easy to clean and see to what the chicks are doing. I love it.
Getting ready to put my turkeys in. Of coarse they havn't hatched yet.