Coops, Coops everywhere, not a Brooder One! Brooder Plans Anyone??

[MamaDragon]

Coops, Coops everywhere, not a Brooder to be found.

I've tried to find threads on building brooders, and i guess i'm just not talented enough to get the right results.

Anyway, I'm needing to knock together a decent brooder for up to 36 chicks on a scavenger's budget in a hurry. Long and dizzy story, (see my other threads), but i've got two orphan chicks, three more due to hatch any time now, a cardboard box for a temp brooder, and I need something more durable. preferably last week sometime

Anyone got plans for an OUTDOOR brooder that's not gonna break the bank to build?? Don't have room inside the house for more than an aquarium, and I don't think Hubby would appreciate it if I turned his fishtank into a brooder. Not to mention, that they'd probably cook in there knowing the way my luck has run this last week.

Thanks,
Kathy

 

[eggonomist]

I'm hoping it's a typo, 36 chicks, go big, huge even, in fact go straight to the coop and heat that, it will be less trouble. 3-6 chicks, thats different, my advice is get on craigslist and look for interior doors, the ones that are thin melomine sheets sandwiching a 1-1.5 block board. if you can get 3 then great, lay one on the ground making the bottom and screw the other 2 to it making 2 sides, have a piece of cheap melomine board (I used a kitchen worktop that was being thrown out), to cap the ends. now all you need is some mesh and some 2 x 2's to make 2 lids. Estimated cost $30.
Have a search for totes and brooders on the incubation threads and you should get a load of great ideas.

 

[coffeelady3]

In the 'raising baby chicks' thread there's a sticky for people to post pics of their brooders. You have 42 pages of pics to look through....

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=6233

 

[pookiethebear]

Here is my brooder:

We made it by ripping 2x4's lengthwise so we had 2x2. We made frames 8x2 using the ripped 2x4s. We stapled chicken wire to the frames. We made 4 frames all the same size then to set it up we used zip ties to hold the walls together so we can easily tear it down for storage until the next brood season. We put a 2x4 across the top down the center and covered 1/2 of the brooder with scraps of plywood. We covered the plywood and 2 sides with a tarp to provide wind protection and shade, once we moved them outside. When they were in the basement we had them on a tarp coved in shavings and had the heat lamps clamed to the frames. We also made 2 frame lids, 2x2, 2x3 and 2x3 in the same manner as the wall frames. We zip tied 2 of the lids down and tied the last one with rope and installed a simple hook and eye latch so I can get access to feed and water them. This has worked out great for us.

 

[patandchickens]

Hm, you need a reasonable size area for that... I'd say either knock together a tractor type thing with excellent chick- and predator-proofing, and good draft prevention on walls;

or perhaps easier, build a lean-to roof coming off the wall of your existing coop or whatever;

or hey, could you set up a brooder *table* in your existing coop, using an old door or two *securely* up on sawhorses or cinderblocks, with cardboard securely taped around the edges as a wall, and some sort of lid that would either prevent the other chickens from getting up on it (very slanted) or be solid and strong for if they did.

?

Good luck,

Pat

 

[miss_jayne]

what about a kiddie pool covered with hardware cloth??? cheap cheap and easy to clean/sanitize.

i am using one now, uncovered, in the garage and it works wonderfully. plus, found the pool on the side of the road free.

 

[EllyMae]

FOr my brooder( I went to Fred Sanfords School of Technology...eh hem)I put together a cage using the 1/4 inch galv hardware cloth and used the clips to attach the panels, like making a quick rabbit cage). Then I elevated the cage on bricks so the cage would be off the floor a little for droppings to pass through. THEN I surrounded the entire cage with bales of hay for draft barrier and suspended my lamp above. Oh, and I put the door to the cage on top for easy access. It worked great and I didn't even have to go out and buy the stuff.
Let me add, I had the brooder in my barn which is predator proof. Kinda like a garage because you can close it up tight.

 

[MamaDragon]

Greetings All!

No, that wasn't a typo - I've got 12 eggs left in the incubator from the abandoned nest, and all candle as fertile and developing (so far). Silly me, making a Newbie mistake, went ahead and loaded up the rest of the fresh-laid eggs I had (since I was running it anyway, and have a neighbor who would take any hatchlings that I don't want) for a total of 36 eggs in the bator.

I'm figuring a 2 1/2' x 4' x 18" table of some sort, with 1/4" hardware cloth bottom, chicken wire sides and top for ventilation thru the summer, and a drop light for the heat source.

In the mean time, I guess I'll comandeer the dog crate set that on top of a dresser, and do the best I can with what I've got.

We're in the process of building a partition down the middle of our henhouse to segregate the adults from the young ones.

coffeelady3 - Thanks for finding that thread for me.... too tired last night I guess.

 

[ChickenToes]

We modeled our duck coop after this design.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1560-Post_Brooder_Co

They use it as a 'post-brooder' coop, but we put our ducklings right into the coop, right outside. And they are doing just fine.

 

[denahli]

We used a 50 gallon rubbermaid tote from Lowes- $19
Misc Dowels for perches- $3.00
Section of Hardware Fabric- $4.00
Misc bolts, Washers and nuts...the kind with large screw heads-$2.50
Small Utility Light- $5.00
thermometer- $1.00
duct tape

We cut the entire top of the cover out, leaving only a 3' lip on top. Cut Hardware Fabric to size, attached with Bolts. Placed Feeders on 2- 2x4 end pieces so wood chips dont clog 'em up and placed the utility lights on top (started with 2, one for each end. You can regulate temp by wattage on bulb and using a towel to cover open top spaces.
Duct tape the edges to the wire ends dont scratch

DH Placed dowls inside for perches....birds on perches=more floor space for the rest. Took about 30 min. to assemble.

Easy to disinfect, big enough to house 'trouble chickens' in the future and store hay in too!.. They love it!

gosh Owl Chickie is so cute, He wants you to see his Crib