Brooding meat birds with layers

[E Buschjost]

My incubator is in storage buried behind all my projects that I “will work on one of these days” but I did a quick google search and found one that is identical here.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Interesting photo. That looks like a smoke stack off to the side. Is it gas fired maybe?

I will put it inside the coop (it’s a large coop with two sections separated by a wall) then transfer the layers to the coop from the brooder when they’re ready.

That’s really a good idea. Yes I think I’ll keep it separate from the layers. But wouldn’t it need to be in a totally different space since the simultaneously growing layers will want their coop when they’re old enough?

I'm not following something. My thought was to immediately put the broilers under the hover when they come from the Post Office. That would be in their half of the coop. Everything to do with the layers could be totally separated. Start incubating them whenever you want. Brood them separately. Consider it two separate independent projects.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

My incubator is in storage buried behind all my projects that I “will work on one of these days” but I did a quick google search and found one that is identical here.

Yeah that is an incubator. The bulk of it is for the heat system. It either used a candle or an oil lamp. I'm not sure how they regulated temperature unless it was by trial and error.

 

[E Buschjost]

Interesting photo. That looks like a smoke stack off to the side. Is it gas fired maybe?

I will put it inside the coop (it’s a large coop with two sections separated by a wall) then transfer the layers to the coop from the brooder when they’re ready.



I'm not following something. My thought was to immediately put the broilers under the hover when they come from the Post Office. That would be in their half of the coop. Everything to do with the layers could be totally separated. Start incubating them whenever you want. Brood them separately. Consider it two separate independent projects.

I think it is oil fired if I remember reading the booklet that was with it (original instruction book). It’s a very cool piece and I’m looking forward to getting it into operation.

 

[E Buschjost]

Yeah that is an incubator. The bulk of it is for the heat system. It either used a candle or a oil lamp. I'm not sure how they regulated temperature unless it was by trial and error.

There is a thermostat on mine - brass like the oil container/heat source. I’m not sure how it worked but I’m going to drag it out this week and start researching and seeing how much is feasible to do original and what makes more sense to retro to a better system.

 

[E Buschjost]

Interesting photo. That looks like a smoke stack off to the side. Is it gas fired maybe?

I will put it inside the coop (it’s a large coop with two sections separated by a wall) then transfer the layers to the coop from the brooder when they’re ready.



I'm not following something. My thought was to immediately put the broilers under the hover when they come from the Post Office. That would be in their half of the coop. Everything to do with the layers could be totally separated. Start incubating them whenever you want. Brood them separately. Consider it two separate independent projects.

 

[3KillerBs]

The antique is really neat and I absolutely LOVE to see old machinery brought back to life, but IMO you should give it a test run with just a few chicks while running a backup system simultaneously so that you could rapidly transfer the chicks to it in case of malfunction.

75+ chicks would be a big investment to lose to unreliable equipment.

That said, 4'x4' is only 16 square feet. At half a square foot per chick for the first 2 weeks that's only room for 32 chicks maximum and then only in the earliest stage. They'd need a much bigger brooder very shortly.

Meat birds grow faster than layers and need more room sooner. Ag extension bulletins say 1.5-2.0 square feet per bird so 75 of them would need 113-150 square feet -- 10'x15' rather than 4'x4'.

Have you raised meat birds before? If not, maybe a 10 bird trial run to test your ideas and your processing capability would be wise.

 

[Xouie]

View attachment 2490946

It is what I thought! You sure you want to use that as an incubator? It may be a collector’s piece. I’ve seen them cleaned up and sold as rustic tables for over $100.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

There is a thermostat on mine - brass like the oil container/heat source. I’m not sure how it worked but I’m going to drag it out this week and start researching and seeing how much is feasible to do original and what makes more sense to retro to a better system.

I wouldn't retrofit it. It will be worth much more money as it is if it works.
Save your retrofit money for a modern incubator with electronic controls and a metallic heat element.

 

[jher77]

Here is a similar one for sale.