BROODER thread! Post pics of your brooders!

[Stephine]

Thanks for clarifying, it's a bit hard to see. I would still take the light to one end and point it straight down to just create a warm spot, not a whole warm brooder half.
Other areas to make mistakes are type of feed and age of feed (spoils within weeks), not feeding grit, dirty feeders and waterers, wrong bedding material. If all those are good, really that's all you can do. If you spot a chick that seems droopy you can give nutri drench (best) or Save-a-chick, or at least tiny pieces of raisins and make sure it has easy access to water and feed and isolate if need be - and then just hope for the best. I've had it work and I've had it not work, at different times.
And just a few weeks ago I had a healthy looking hen just fall over dead out of the blue. She was just under a year. Most likely she had egg yolk peritonitis - which has no cure - but I didn't do a necropsy, I just wanted to bury her since she was one of my two favorites out of all 15. These things can happen and it doesn't mean you have necessarily done anything wrong. Someone here at BYC said "where there's livestock there is deadstock." Caring for animals is tough!

I looked more closely at the picture - can't see their feeder or waterer - is one of them that grey thing at the cooler end?

 

[TayCol]

Thanks for clarifying, it's a bit hard to see. I would still take the light to one end and point it straight down to just create a warm spot, not a whole warm brooder half.
Other areas to make mistakes are type of feed and age of feed (spoils within weeks), not feeding grit, dirty feeders and waterers, wrong bedding material. If all those are good, really that's all you can do. If you spot a chick that seems droopy you can give nutri drench (best) or Save-a-chick, or at least tiny pieces of raisins and make sure it has easy access to water and feed and isolate if need be - and then just hope for the best. I've had it work and I've had it not work, at different times.
And just a few weeks ago I had a healthy looking hen just fall over dead out of the blue. She was just under a year. Most likely she had egg yolk peritonitis - which has no cure - but I didn't do a necropsy, I just wanted to bury her since she was one of my two favorites out of all 15. These things can happen and it doesn't mean you have necessarily done anything wrong. Someone here at BYC said "where there's livestock there is deadstock." Caring for animals is tough!

I think that's a good idea to move it to the end. We do have some cold nights coming up (cold here is like 10 degrees celsius) and that will give them good heat options. Other than that everything else is as per the breeders instructions and the other two are happily chatting away as we speak. Thank you for your advice and helping me feel a little less crap about losing the little one. I'm so sad we didn't get to see it grow and find out what it was. I'm sorry to hear about your girl also. It's hard losing one of your own

 

[sas212]

Panels set inside a 4' kiddie pool, using equine pine bedding pellets. The panels came with an adjustable light hook so you can raise it as needed. I have mine in a nice shed in the backyard. This was a few weeks ago...they're almost 6 weeks old and really flighty so they've been spending the afternoons in their run and using an igloo dog house for shade. LOL Their house will is supposed to arrive tomorrow or this weekend. Just in time to coincide with the nice weather we're having now.

 

[davef03743]

Had a 100 gal Rubbermaid tote with 13 chicks in it, worked great at first but after 3 weeks they looked so crowded in it, so today I built them a 8x3x2.5 foot box now they have plenty of room. Will be good till they go out to the coop. Should have built a box to begin with, plan on putting in a couple of dividers so when I want to clean I can herd them into one section while I clean the others also if we raise more next year we can have them in one section and open it up as they get bigger. I can dismantle it after they go outside and store it for later.

 

[MigraineMan]

davef, GET . WORKING . ON . THE . COOP . NOW. These things grow amazingly fast. We've got 6 at 9 weeks, and another 6 at 7 weeks in a brooder about the same size as yours. We are racing to get the coop done. Maybe next weekend (it's always "maybe next weekend.") I just need a couple of days without rain ....

 

[dbblaine]

//

 

[mygypsysoul]

Ours is very basic.  The basement ceiling is low, so the light clamps on very easily to it.  It's not shown in the photos, but we cover the plastic tub with two window screens (one on top of the other) to make it heavy enough they can't lift it off.

Awwww!  Easter eggers! /img/smilies/smile.png

 

[mygypsysoul]

Question?!? I believe my little chicks are 7 weeks old and I basically have the same set up. I'm having a problem with them flying out. When did you move them or how did you stop this?

 

[aart]

Question?!? I believe my little chicks are 7 weeks old and I basically have the same set up. I'm having a problem with them flying out. When did you move them or how did you stop this?

Welcome to BYC!

That tub is way too small for more than a few days.
By 7 weeks old they could be out in the coop or in a much larger brooder with a cover to keep them from flying out.

 

[MigraineMan]

Tonight's Feature Presentation:

The Great Chicken Escape of 2017 !!!

Cheeky RSLs push the top off their brooder and run amok, leaving only their business behind. The Black Australorps can only watch as the horror unfolds.

Starring - Nugget, Parma, Marsala, and Chicken #4