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BROODER thread! Post pics of your brooders!

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Oh yes, something I forgot about the fridge, the light inside attracts flying insects at night, which the chicks LOVE to gobble up.

You'll find insects fly for a few hours after dark and then go quite.
 
It's a fridge, so it's enormous (though I guess people could use those half sized bar fridges, but that's a lot of work for a small space)

Whenever you re-use trash you get more than you could afford, you use things stronger than you could ever afford, a larger quantity than you could ever afford, already built a lot of the time, so it's too great to not look into.

The fridge fits as many chicks as I have at a time, average fridge, 50, or a one piece big stand up freezer on it's back, probably more than 100 without a sweat.

I keep them outside when they annoy me inside. The current batch I keep in a tall cardboard box with a towel in it, they are dead quiet at sleep time, noisy when I feed and water them, each day I put them into a big crate I got free from some factory, it's bigger than a washing machine and I put a grill I found over it. It houses some other chicks that are now free ranging in the day, so the chicks sometimes spent the day in that just to be outside. I guess I will put them in the freezer later because they are not ticking me off at the moment, it's summer here and the crate is in the shade. There are more in the incubator, but at the moment I am putting them in other places for other reasons.

In winter, they can't be just put into a crate for the day I guess, so that is when the fridge comes into it's own because I put them in there, they can use the little yard to go outside, the yard is made mainly from supermarket shelves and fridge shelves. Occasionally I did put a heater in the fridge, but I would expect in the future when I hatch more than 6 at a time a towel inside the fridge without a heater will probably be enough down to freezing. More than 6 then for sure, I don't expect it will need a heater. The need for a heater is judged by if they chirp rather than sleep quietly.
 
Just found this on Craigslist for $20! I'm thinking it'd be a great brooder/isolation box. Can some of you more experienced brooder people make reasonable suggestions for modifications? It is 4x2.5x3.5. I am seriously considering Blooies Mama Pad... I've been borrowing a Brinsea plate from a friend but she'll be needing it.
400
 
gotro17 said:
Just found this on Craigslist for $20! I'm thinking it'd be a great brooder/isolation box. Can some of you more experienced brooder people make reasonable suggestions for modifications? It is 4x2.5x3.5. I am seriously considering Blooies Mama Pad... I've been borrowing a Brinsea plate from a friend but she'll be needing it.
Click to expand...
It's kinda small for a brooder...unless just a few chicks and/or for first week or so.
Would be great for isolation...or a broody to set and hatch, again only for a week or so after hatch.
 
gotro17 said:
Just found this on Craigslist for $20! I'm thinking it'd be a great brooder/isolation box. Can some of you more experienced brooder people make reasonable suggestions for modifications? It is 4x2.5x3.5. I am seriously considering Blooies Mama Pad... I've been borrowing a Brinsea plate from a friend but she'll be needing it.
Click to expand...
it's awesome, just the thing. At that price it IS worth buying it straight away so long as the pickup or delivery doesn't do more than double the price.

It's a great size for a brooder. perfect.

Add an old blanket or quilt over the top and you'll be able to control the light / heat / ventilation. Chicks are noisy when they are cold / hungry / thirsty. When they are too hot, they are quiet and flop on the floor and gasp. Be careful that the heater is not too big, or switches off automatically on a timer in the daytime if it is warm.

Pop some corrugated iron on top of the whole thing and a few bricks to hold that down.

Cats are a problem, but it is easier by far to just add an extra layer of protection than start from scratch. You can add wire with smaller holes or sheetmetal to the bottom and most of the sides, to a height that exceeds a cats reach to a chick sitting on top of anything in the cage. CHICKS WILL NOT MOVE TO AVOID A CAT.
 

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