BROODER thread! Post pics of your brooders!

[MaggieRae]

Just out of curiousity, are those dog kennel brooders easy to make?
I happen to have an extra dog kennel or two, all of them large, and I was wondering if that would be big enough for 6-8 standards?

 

[Barnyard]

Quote:
Those are the easiest to make. You already have the four walls a roof and a floor!! It will be big enough for a couple of weeks if they are chicks. If they are full grown then No, I wouldn't use it for them.

 

[MaggieRae]

I'll be getting them as day olds, so I'm just curious if that would last until they're fully feathered... Probably not...

But I have two and if I used both... Hm... Who knew chickens would be so much work??

 

[VeggieAnnah]

Quote:
Just happen to see your post...I'm no expert but I had the same type of chicks and they are barred rocks. Just can't tell you the gender though. Hope that helps. (Anybody else, feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken.)

You need to check your city's municipal code to find out about poultry laws to find out if they are allowed within city limits.

And that's what chicks do...make a mess constantly...but they are worth all the trouble

 

[BabyChickNewbie]

Quote:
Just happen to see your post...I'm no expert but I had the same type of chicks and they are barred rocks. Just can't tell you the gender though. Hope that helps. (Anybody else, feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken.)

You need to check your city's municipal code to find out about poultry laws to find out if they are allowed within city limits.

And that's what chicks do...make a mess constantly...but they are worth all the trouble

Thank you!....I will check the codes out today! Yesterday we took the chicks outside and they loved it. We have really enjoyed them. I also like learning all i can about them! thanks again...Shawna

 

[Fudgie]

Quote:
Ingenious on the zip ties to hold up the waterer and feeder. Mine are always knocked winding when I get home from work!

 

[Echo]

This is my first ever batch of chickens (and my first post

) - four white leghorn pullets, two mystery pullets, and a straight run white silkie - who are now ten days old, and yesterday I decided their brooder was getting too small, so I built a new one. It took me about five hours.

This is the old brooder (complete with an audience of curious dogs who just don't understand the whole chicken thing yet) with a floor measuring roughly 1'x3':

And this is the new and improved brooder - with a floor that's 2.5'x5' - in the exact same spot in the living room:

For anyone interested, the materials used were:
1 4'x8' sheet of OSB
1 96" 2x4
3 8' 2x2
~ 30 sq. ft. of chicken wire
2 yards clear vinyl (w/ scrap remaining)
~ 30 1 1/2" wood screws
6 3" wood screws
more staples than I was willing to count
scrap 1x2 for perches (though anything would work)

Cost of materials would probably be around $35 (though everything I used was sitting in the garage long enough for me to forget exactly how much it cost).

The light is a 250W heat lamp and there's a thermometer on the back wall though it's hard to see in the picture (there's also a little sandbox - a shallow gladware container filled with sandy soil from the yard - that they love to scratch in). The front and about half the top is covered by the vinyl (the type you can get in the crafts section of walmart) so I have an unobstructed view of my girls.

 

[hungryhensfarm]

Very nice!

 

[StrawberryHouseMouse]

Looks like it might be a bit messy. With shavings falling out in the front. I would put a board there to stop that.

 

[m2wandc]

Quote:
They look like barred rocks to me....but I'm not a chicken breeder.