Brooders

OK go to Walmart by a real big plastic storage bin, get a heat lap, and some pee pads for dog used as the bedding,

 

Quote:That might now work for 50+ chicks..

But a plastic kiddie pool would

 

Plywood sheathing from a home building supply store. Two sheets of what we call OSB or oriented strand board, will only cost you $7 a sheet USD.

One sheet forms the bottom. 4' by 8'. The other sheet forms the sides. For $15 USD, you have a genuine, 32 square foot brooder. You'll need every square inch when they are 4 weeks old.

 

X2 Kiddie pools are great, but the walls aren't high enough, and eventually the chicks will start

jumping out, so I'd put some chicken wire or something around the sides to prevent that. Other

than that they're very easy to clean, & they hold quite a few chicks. Plastic storage bins are also

great, but I would imagine you would need atleast 3 bins, for 50 chicks.

 

Quote:I too am trying to work out my brooder situation my coop and run are all ready i have a light and chick feeders but a plastic container seems so confined to me i can't make a decision! Thanks for posting this thread!!

 

Since I'm a Southern Redneck I'm pretty handy with duct tape and cardboard. If your brooder is going to be inside this might work well for you:




You don't really need the hutch when the chicks are small. Of course this set-up won't work where there are kids, pets or predators, but the Cardboard Corral worked well for me. Once the chicks were ready to go to the big coop, I simply recycled the cardboard and kept the hutch for next time. You can make the corral as big or as small as you need. I used a blue tarp to protect the floor and simply rolled it up to dispose of the waste in the compost heap.

 

LOL! I prefer the duct tape and cardboard method myself. For inside brooders where the chicks are safe from predators, it's perfect. You can start off small and expand the floor area as they get larger. ANd when it gets dirty, you just chuck it away and start again with some clean cardboard.

 

People have used the boxes that they sell watermelons out of... maybe you can ask a grocer for one of those!