Cat-Proof Brooder Ideas?

[CluckU2]

Hello all,
I have never had chickens and don't even have chicks yet BUT I am planning on it and making arrangments ahead of time. I have two very large (muscular) cats and I am worried about having a small brooder with them around. I am worried that when mama's away the cats will play! Has anyone made a small, cat-proof brooder? I will only have 3 or 4 chicks. Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[Tala]

I used a medium sized airline dog crate, and put the lamp on the door (instead of over the top). Has to be the plastic kind of crate, because cats can stick their paws through the wire kind.

 

[ranchhand]

Closed door is what I use. Cats are very clever. I have three. Chicks need to be separated form other animals!

 

[MaKettle]

We have 5 chicks in an extra large dog crate, the metal kind. We reinforced it with hardware cloth (just like we'll use for the run) and this has worked out great. We have 2 very curious dogs & 1 cat and haven't had any problems..with anything, hardware cloth is a pretty good way to go & use can use zip ties to secure it all.

Good luck! Having chicks is so much fun!

 

[CluckU2]

I'll start by saying I'm sorry that this thread was posted 7 times. I'm not exactly sure how that happened but I might have hit "post" more than once.

I do have a plastic crate with a wire door I use for my cats' vet visits but am worried the cats will be posessive over the crate because it "belongs" to them.

My other concern is with size. What size brooder do I need for 3-4 chicks? I don't know if the cat crate is too small or not, and I can't imagine there being any such thing as one being too big.

Any comments?

 

[Tala]

Quote:
My cats are NOT AT ALL "possessive" about their crate, lol they hate it, if anything.
I would also think that a cat-sized crate is too small to raise the chicks in for very long. They grow so fast and more room is always better!!!
The "recommendation" is half a square foot per chick for upto 3 weeks, then a full sq ft per chick till 6weeks, something like that.
I always had 6-8 chicks in a medium sized crate (it's about 21" tall and almost as wide, and about 3ft "deep"

 

[MaKettle]

well, we have 5 chickens in a extra large dog crate & they are just over 5 weeks. Its hard to imagine when you first get them & they are so tiny that they will need so much space but its becoming increasingly obvious to me that they will soon outgrow that crate. This is fine though as they will be moved into the coop & run. I don't know if there is a hard and fast rule on how much brooder space you need--just remember, they grow FAST!

 

[Evermore Ranch]

I use rubbermaid type tubs. i cut the a big place out in the lid and zip tied hardware cloth over it. mount my light above it. I have several cats and all live in harmony once the babies are older but i have to keep my eye on one of the cats while they are that little.

 

[CluckU2]

Quote:
When you cut the area out of the lid, do you drill holes in it to be able to attach the zip ties? I'm worried that if I cut a big portion out of the top than they will be able to simply jump on top and collapse the hardware cloth. I've never used hardware cloth, and don't know much about it. Also, do you mount the light on the rubbermaid bin to shine from above or do you mount it on something else? THANKS!

 

[schmije]

We keep our brooder in our spare bathroom, so we just close the door when the cat is inside.