BROODER thread! Post pics of your brooders!

[osheacourt]

 

[IDchicks]

Love all the Brooder pics ... I'm a newbie and this is my first Brooder ... keeping it simple and went with big old cardboard box (my chicken $ have gone into the coop/run area!) .... 4 little chicks, I think they are around 2 wks old... Speckled Sussex, Golden Sex-Link, Ameraucana, Rhode Island Red - any advice on my brooder set up or thoughts on when I might need a bigger one ... or when to move to garage (yes, they are in our bedroom right now), would be appreciated. They love the little cardboard hideout I have in the corner - duck taped to the sides of the brooder.... they haven't tried to roost on the perch yet.

 

[Grain Gypsy]

I would have never thought of using sand as a bedding. Good thinkin'! Our chicks make do and "dust bathe" in their pine shavings. LOL!

 

[slordaz]

It works well but, it does attract cats for some reason so be careful if there are cats in your area, they think it's cat litter and would not be good for them to see birds that can't get away from them

 

[ehunter]

Moved my sweetie-pies into a much bigger space at 1.5 weeks. Hubby put this together - 24 square feet with hardware cloth lid. It's in our workshop with a baseboard heater for cold days/nights, and Eco-glow. Chickies love running and flapping... I cannot get over how quickly they change. Put a nice big branch in there and they love hopping and resting on it. They're now 2.5 weeks old. These girls are the best!

 

[yolksonus]

What a great setup! They grow so fast! Your chickies are adorable- what kind?

 

[ehunter]

What a great setup! They grow so fast! Your chickies are adorable- what kind?

They're Isa Browns. Really friendly and funny!

 

[WYNot]

This year's first brooder. One of the kids' dresser that got turned on its side and a lid added. It is maybe 2-1/2'x4. We took the drawers out. Then reinforced the bottom and laid down a piece of linoleum. They were in that maybe three weeks before it started getting a bit crowded. Couldn't keep the water clean for more than about 15 minutes before someone was throwing chips and poo into it. :/

This weekend, the kids and I built a larger one in the back corner of the garage. For some reason their was a section where they didn't pour concrete when the garage was built; it is just bare earth. Maybe 4'x10'. We laid down a tarp then framed in some sides and chicken wire around most of it; about 4'x6'. Added hangers for the food, water, and heat lamp. Put down a thick layer of wood chips. Moved chicks. At first they weren't sure what to do with so much room. They just stood in the corner looking around and looking at each other. Then they started running around like lunatics, scratching in the bedding, and testing the new feeder/waterer. They are enjoying the room. Need to add some branches for roosts/jungle gyms.

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Edit to add - The waterer shown in the first pic was cleaned. Then we went to build the other brooder. Come back to move them, maybe an hour and a half later, and that is what it looked like.

 

[yolksonus]

The same thing with the water happend to is too- I got tired of cleaning the water and food every 1/2 hour! So we raised the water and food up on a brick and worked really well until we could get something hanging for them. Great idea with the dresser! And even better set up in the garage! I'm jelous! We need to make a bigger brooder for our almost 6 week olds as the coop isnt ready yet. I bring them outside and put them in a x-pen covered with gardening cloth for the day and bring them in every night but it's getting to be a pain!!

 

[Blooie]

Try nipple waterers. No worry about drowning chicks, no crud in the water, no dumped water, and refill a couple of times a week instead of a couple of times an hour.