DIY brooder for 30 chicks?

[Iluveggers]

View attachment 2830666

We cut the tops open on these plastic bin lids and used duct tape and plastic mesh to keep them from flying out.

What did you use to cut through the plastic?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

What did you use to cut through the plastic?

Hmm. It was a couple of years ago. I don't remember how we started the holes, probably with a drill, but once you breach the plastic you can use either a stout pair of scissors or a reciprocal saw to finish the cuts, the plastic is quite flimsy.

 

[Ridgerunner]

This is a shot of my 3' x 6' brooder built into my 8' x 12' coop. A brooder this size should handle 30 chicks until they are 5 weeks old. By that time they can probably handle the temperatures you'll see but I'm not sure where you are located. If you are going to keep them in your brooder longer than 5 weeks I'd go a bit bigger.

I put chicks in here straight from the incubator or post office, whether it is below freezing in winter or in the middle of summer. The most I've done is 28 chicks. I keep one end toasty but let the far end cool off as it will. In winter I sometimes have ice on the cool end. To me the biggest challenge in brooding outside is the temperature swings. I've seen it go from below freezing to in the 70's F in 36 hours. As long as they have a warm enough spot in the coolest temperatures and a cool enough spot in the warmest temperatures they can handle that themselves, even straight from the incubator. The amount of plastic I wrap it in depends on how cold I expect it to get.

If you use a heat plate check to see how many it will handle. 30 chicks would be a lot for some of them. If you use a heat lamp, throw that clamp away that comes with it so you are not tempted to use it. Secure it in place with chain or wire so it can't fall. Do not use string or plastic that can burn or melt, use wire or chain. That gets rid of the worst of the fire worries. Don't count on any of them dying, I almost never lose one. My average loss is around one in every hundred chicks.

30 chicks is a lot to raise in your house. You do need a certain sized brooder. Maybe give them your spare bathroom and plan on some serious cleaning afterwards. Tape plastic around the bottom of the walls to keep them from staining it and requiring repainting.

If you have an attached garage or a big basement maybe you can rig a big brooder in it. Maybe tape two or three appliance boxes together to make a big brooder.

If you have electricity to your coop I'd give a lot of thought to using that coop. If not, well, good luck.

 

[blackdog043]

If your coop is finished and secure when you get them, I would raise them in there. Set up some cardboard to contain them in a small area for the first week, then expand that as they grow, until you release them to the whole coop. Make the space big enough, so they have a warm and cool side. If you use a heat lamp, make sure you secure it 3 different ways, to keep it from falling and lighting your coop on fire.

 

[NikksChicks]

Thank you all SO much!! We don’t have electricity in the coop, and it’s a good distance from the house, so I didn’t consider starting babies out there, but I might look into that!

We live just outside of Seattle, WA, so it’ll be mild here until they get their feathers (assuming I order soon!), and it remains generally mild temp-wise… just really wet!

Thanks again!!

 

[blackdog043]

A heavy duty extension cord would work. I used to do that before I moved, for brooding chicks and keeping my water from freezing in winter. The colder temperatures won't bother them as long as you have a heat source. They will feather out faster and learn day and night also.

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC and the wonderful madness of chickens.

You could brood them right in the coop. For this many chicks, it would probably be easier than brooding them in your house or garage.

This.

Brooding outside and in the coop is so very much easier, especially for more than a handful of chicks.

A heavy-duty, outdoor-rated extension cord can go quite a distance safely.

This is the outdoor brooder I made this spring: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/run-to-outdoor-brooder-conversion.76634/

 

[Tonyroo]

Consider when you do get your chicks you will need to monitor them for a week. Looking for pasty butts, illness, injuries, and all the chick health worries.

So your location for the brooder is important to accomplish this task.

Brooding is temporary, a cardboard brooder is the easiest, cause it's free and you can diy it to make it any size you need it and when your done, just throw it in the recycle bin.

 

[miles2go480]

Hi all!

We are nearly finished constructing the 12x8 coop, looking towards completing a 30x20 run, and feel like it’s a good time to think about ordering chicks! We are planning on 30 chicks (assuming some casualties will occur) and I’m trying to find DIY solutions for a brooder (or 2) that will get our chicks from day-old to coop-ready in the next several weeks.

Anyone have ideas, plans, pics for how they did it with about 20-30 chicks?

Thanks in advance!

I did 25 chicks in a puppy play pen. Worked great. Started with puppy pads, then pine shavings, then the floor of the hen house in sand.

 

[milkbuckets]

I have the same size coop for 28 chickens. This spring I ordered 25 chicks to raise, and tried a completely different brooding setup for me which was a total success (100% survival with no illnesses). I brooded them in a 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 Foot wood box right in the coop using 2 mama heating pads on each end of the box. On their 1st night here the temp fell to 38 degrees and they were perfect under their heating pad. I will never go back to heat lamps again, because the chicks seemed so much more content and QUIET being able to sleep all night without having the heat lamp on 24 hrs a day. I ran an extension cord out to the coop for power. I used 2 heating pads because I worried they would need more room because they are all large breeds, but ending up taking out the 2nd heating pad after about a week because they all mostly used just one and some were even starting to sleep on top instead of under the pad. I made the frames for the heating pads with adjustable legs so I could raise the height every couple of days.