DIY Brooder

[504707]

Hi,

as this is my first time hatching I want to make sure I am not making mistakes.
I just finished transforming an Ikea box into a brooder and I would like to get some feedback and DIY tips.
This is the whole thing:

It will have a lamp with a heat bulb shining through the wire part.
There is some ventilation provided through the cutout and through the vent on the side. I wrapped the edges of the wire with gorilla tape to make sure the hatchlings or I won't get hurt.

Any other ideas? Critique?

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Hi,

as this is my first time hatching I want to make sure I am not making mistakes.
I just finished transforming an Ikea box into a brooder and I would like to get some feedback and DIY tips.
This is the whole thing: View attachment 1319812
It will have a lamp with a heat bulb shining through the wire part.
There is some ventilation provided through the cutout and through the vent on the side. I wrapped the edges of the wire with gorilla tape to make sure the hatchlings or I won't get hurt.

Any other ideas? Critique?

You will need a thermometer. Adjust the lamp height up and down to tweak the temp. The lid part is un necessary for the first few weeks. it is only going to help contain heat, maybe too much heat. Chicks need a warm area and a cool area in brooders. If you notice all your chicks congregating in the cool area, your warm area is too hot.

 

[Sara L]

Hi,

as this is my first time hatching I want to make sure I am not making mistakes.
I just finished transforming an Ikea box into a brooder and I would like to get some feedback and DIY tips.
This is the whole thing: View attachment 1319812
It will have a lamp with a heat bulb shining through the wire part.
There is some ventilation provided through the cutout and through the vent on the side. I wrapped the edges of the wire with gorilla tape to make sure the hatchlings or I won't get hurt.

Any other ideas? Critique?

Looks good to me, I have a similar setup with the plastic bin for a brooder. If you are going to start without a lid like the other responder suggested I would make sure you have the lid on after the first week. My quail start getting feathers at end of first week usually and like to try out their wings and jump. They can jump pretty high with the wing assist and could get out if the lid was not on. I don't put a thermometer in my brooder because the chicks poop all over it. I just go by their behavior if it's too hot or cold or just right.

 

[Fishkeeper]

Looks pretty good, but is that mesh solid plastic? You don't want that, you want lots of ventilation for your babies. They have tiny, delicate lungs.

 

[504707]

Looks pretty good, but is that mesh solid plastic? You don't want that, you want lots of ventilation for your babies. They have tiny, delicate lungs.

Its hardware cloth with tape on the edges.

 

[Quailtastic]

Hi,

as this is my first time hatching I want to make sure I am not making mistakes.
I just finished transforming an Ikea box into a brooder and I would like to get some feedback and DIY tips.
This is the whole thing: View attachment 1319812
It will have a lamp with a heat bulb shining through the wire part.
There is some ventilation provided through the cutout and through the vent on the side. I wrapped the edges of the wire with gorilla tape to make sure the hatchlings or I won't get hurt.

Any other ideas? Critique?

I am new too but I watched so many videos I got a quail book with good information looks good

 

[mdees88]

Just make sure you measure the temperature at each end of the brooder. You want 95-100 under the lamp and you want the other side to be 5-10 or more degrees cooler. You want the water on the edge of the heat lamp (in the middle of the brooder) and the food on the cooler end (so they are forced to move in and out of the warm side). You do not need to leave the thermometer in the brooder. Just use it to get your light set up at the appropriate height/brightness.

As mentioned the birds will show you how they feel. If they are piling on top of each other directly under the light they are too cold. If they stay at the "cool" end and never come past the middle of the brooder they are too hot.

I'm assuming you're going to put down shavings or paper towels for them to walk on?
They will need something and do not use newspaper.

I use fine pine shavings from day one and they work great. I pack them down tight at first so they can get a firm footing. I'll put a paper towel at the cool end for a day or two and sprinkle the food on it. By the end of the first day they will be eating out of feeder.

Make sure you use a quail waterer with a narrow trough. If you don't you will need to put marbles in the waterer so the chicks do not drown.

 

[Erkenstein]

Beware of giving chicks "ventilation" from the side. That sounds like a draft to me. When you start out with the lid off as suggested, I would have everything sealed on the sides to avoid drafts. Don't worry about their lungs. You just need to make sure the temperature is right.