I have been mentally designing different versions of an emergency brooder for winter if the power goes out. I thought about Solar Panels or a gas generator but I came to the conclusion that extended power outages come with disasters which means an expensive solar set up might have been destroyed and gas lines for a generator might be too long to waste time in. The only source of heat I will have a plethora of is compost. Even if I do not have enough manure to get the heat up a bag of feed will generate a lot of heat if i compost it, and I always have old feed that did not get used in time stored up. It may be nutrient deficient but it has a lot of nitrogen in it for hot composting. Maintaining a compost is easier than maintaining a fire and the heat can be more consistent with a compost. I can not use pumps utilizing water to deliver the heat to a location. I can't just bury a compartment because it would become too hot. Right now the only design that seems to work a tunnel going through the heat of a compost. this compartment would extend beyond the compost pile with plenty of venting. half too hot, half too cold leaving a middle are where they will find that sweet spot. This wouldn't be meant to be my first choice brooder, just a plan B when the power goes out in winter. I can Build this into every compost pile I start and always keep one at the ready to start a compost pile in a hurry. Any thoughts, should I go forward with this since I can probably get the materials for free? Can anyone think of a better way to use Compost Heat and create a brooder? Should I test it out even if my power doesn't go out? (make use of those cockerels I can afford to lose).
