BROODER thread! Post pics of your brooders!

[28 chix pix]

This is interesting. I had the same problem. I had 19 chicks and they were getting way too big too fast in the big plastic feeding tub I bought at the feed store. So, I bought another tub and put the youngest and last group of 6 I bought in it. They were lonely, sad and little, so I took 2 other larger ones to put in their with them. They are much older now, 3-4 months older and those two other chickens, the bigger ones not only are very motherly still to the group of six, but are best buds. They sleep in the huge crab apple tree together that is in the middle of chicken yard.

 

[Jolyn]

Quote:
That is so creative and cute!! Good job!

 

[Jarhead]

Here is our ghetto brooder. The large cage is a kennel for a greyhound. My mother adopted an old racer sometime back and she no longer kennels her. We got that huge kennel and zip tied some cardboard around it, since at this point the chicks could fit through the bars. It is plenty big though. The 10 chicks look even smaller in this huge thing. The love it though. Heating is achieved by a 250watt infrared bulb that is on a thermostat, which is working great. There is also a thermometer in there so we can visually double check to make sure the thermostat is working correctly. Bedding is pine shavings covered with paper towels for right now. The chickas are about 48 hours old now. We got them from mypetchicken.com. They are all alert and running around, and very cute. Here is a pic of the big ghetto brooder.

 

[Pullet Pimp]

I started off thinking of a cardboard box but that seemed too flimsy for my house with two dogs, a cat, and two kids. I considered a rubbermaid tote but with 25 birds knew they would need several and outgrow them quickly.

I finally decided to build a temporary wall in my unfinished basement to give them about 60 sq feet. I had extra 2x4's and drywall laying around and only needed to get some chicken wire. I used drywall for the bottom half so the animals couldn't peek in and get too curious and it also helps keep in the pine shavings. I made it wide enough to be able to use a baby gate for doorways and sectioned off a smaller area when they were day olds so they would stay warm. I then could move the baby gate down and expand their habitat. It has worked well and can be removed in about 1/2 hour. So far they have left the drywall alone. I was worried they would peck at it and then start to eat it. IF they did I would have replaced it with more chicken wire and a 2x8 at the bottom.

 

[Wheely]

here is the brooder we built for our 11 chicks total cost....under $40 bucks
one 4x8 sheet cdx plywood $6.50
3.....1x3 fir strips..................$1.39 each
1.....7/8" dowel 48" long.......$2.99
1 .....9" lamp housing ..........$7.99
1......120 watt bulb...............$5.99
1.......1 gal waterer...............$5.79
1........chick feed tray.............$4.59
bottom is one heavy construction trash bag cut to fit under brooder over concrete floor
brooder is 2 feet wide , 6 feet long and 2 feet high
i think plenty of room before i move to outside coop

 

[Mohammed211]

I just started breeding cockatiels and lovebirds, and my cockatiels laid their first egg the other day. I decided to set up my brooder and make sure it could maintain the right temperatures, etc., but I realized that it has an auto-off feature... which would turn off while I am sleeping and the babies would die of cold! I need to find a heating pad that will stay on continuously and I have heard of the Sunbeam brand one with the LCD screen.Are there any others? I need to find a good heating pad before I need to pull babies.
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Mohammed



Ohio Drug Addiction

 

[eggturner]

here is my brooder i like the glass so i can see what is going on.
Its a 29 gallon fish tank with a dimmer switch hooked to my brooder lamp works like a charm and is super easy to clean and disinfect. here is my latest clutch of bantys.

 

[Barnyard]

Well I suppose I should go ahead and post a pic of one of my brooder's that I use in the house. I use a watermelon box and sit it down on a tarp. seems to work pretty good for me...... I have silkies on one side and cochins on the other

and here is some of the babies that live in it (silkie's from Marie and buff bantam cochins from me)

 

[AtHomeDaddy]

Day old chicks looked so small that I assumed I would get several weeks out of this plastic tray!

By the end of day 2 one was jumping the side and running around in the Great Pyrenees dog crate where the brooder was being kept.

But the wire on the crate is too big and the chicks could walk right through the side panels.

To make sure we got safely through the night, I fashioned the higher sidewalls out of paper sacks. We used it for a week, plus a couple of days. Trash-tacular, no?

Yesterday I found one roosting on top of the paper sidewall, so into the new, larger tub they go. Still inside of the dog crate, just to keep kids, birds, cats contained a little better.

 

[joker73]

This is our first Brooder, and thanks to BackYardChickens I was able to do much research and setteled on this type of Brooder. Works great and it was easy and cheap to build.

The clear container make it easy to see and check on the chicks as they grow and play. My kids love them. We will be adding a perch tomorrow as the chicks are 7 days old now. They are getting their feathers as well