Do I buy an all inclusive brooder or?

[CroneWild]

Soon to bee chicken owner here, So I have been thinking on what to get for a brooder, Do I get a fancy all included brooder? or do I buy bits and bobs by themselves? I'm worried that a hot plate+ wall+ feeder+ water is going to be as much as the fancy all inclusive brooder, but I have to accommodate around 20 chicks.

Any recommendations of set up? our garage, workshop is not insulated but has electricity and chicks would be here in april with temp averaging 57F - 27F at night

 

[Ridgerunner]

Are you looking at a specific brooder to buy? There are many different ones out there, it's easier to evaluate if we know what you are looking at.

What are the temperatures inside that garage/work shop? How stable are they? To me the biggest challenge in brooding outside are the temperature swings. My brooder is in the coop, I've seen it go from below freezing to the mid 70's Fahrenheit in about a day. Your averages aren't that important, it's your potential extremes. That's where you are most likely to get into trouble.

To me the perfect brooder is one that has one spot warm enough in the coldest temperatures and a spot cool enough in the warmest temperatures. If you are in a climate controlled area that's not that hard to achieve but with temperature swings outside that can be a challenge. I keep one end of my brooder toasty in the coldest temperatures, sometimes ice forms on the far end. In hot weather the chicks spend a lot of time on the cooler end. I find chicks straight out of the incubator can move to a comfortable temperature if given the option.

You mentioned 20 chicks. They grow really fast so you may need a much bigger brooder than you initially think. The age you take them out of the brooder is pretty important in how big it needs to be. My first brooder was 3' x 5'. I kept 28 chicks in that until they were 5 week old, then it started looking really crowded. All but 5 of these were girls. Another time I kept 23 chicks in it until they were 5 weeks old, then it started getting crowded. All but five were boys. There are some variables involved. I've had chicks 5-1/2 weeks old go through nights in the mid 20's Fahrenheit with no supplemental heat. I don't know where you are located but I'd suspect you can take yours off of heat by 5 weeks old.

The requirements for a brooder are that you have to have food and clean water, predator protection, and weather protection. Weather protection means you keep them dry, you prevent a breeze from hitting them, and in most situations, you need to provide heat. You will with those temperatures. Is your coop built? By your first post there are no adults out there. Can you set the coop up so it meets these requirements? How well can you set something up in that garage/workshop to suit this? That may help you decide where to put the brooder. If your coop is not built yet, get started, it needs to be finished when you first get your chicks. They grow really fast and life has a way of interfering with schedules.

How often do you plan to brood chicks in the future? I brood at last once and sometimes twice a year, depending on how many hatch and how my broody hens do. I built a permanent 3' x 6' brooder in my coop. I also use it as a broody buster and to isolate chickens that need isolating when I'm not brooding chicks. I like building in flexibility and, since it is often used, I feel better about spending some money to build it right. If this is it and you do not plan on brooding any chicks in the future you may want to be more fugal. A popular way to put together a fairly inexpensive brooder is to get a large appliance cardboard box for something like your garage/workshop. Put some more cardboard or plywood on the floor to prevent staining from the poop. If they outgrow that brooder, get another appliance box and tape the two together. Of course, there are lots of other ways to build a brooder.

What kind of hot plate are you looking at? There are different ways to provide heat to the chicks. The chicks don't care where the heat comes from as long as they have heat when they need it. I use heat lamps but many people are scared of them. You can use heating pads or heat plates. People use other heating elements and methods. Whatever you do it needs to be installed safely. If you are looking at a heating plate is it big enough for 20 chicks? What temperatures are it rated for? You might want to check with the manufacturer to see what they recommend. If you make a heating pad cave, which are very popular on here, you want one that does not have an automatic shut-off and it needs to be a certain size. Don't use an old cracked one, cracked wires can cause a fire. There are little tricks with any of them on how to set them up safely, you might start a thread with the type you want to use to ask how to set it up. There is a lot of good experience on this forum.

Good luck!

 

[azygous]

Buy? Really? BUY a brooder? Sorry, I never can justify buying anything that can so easily be fashioned with odds and ends and repurposed things. Look at this. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...and-start-raising-your-chicks-outdoors.71995/ It has pictures of all of my various brooders over the years, including how I brood now - right in my enclosed run.

As long as this is your maiden voyage into chick brooding and chicken raising, why not take a look at your coop or run with brooding out there instead of indoors in your garage? This is much more convenient and chicks grow up where they will be living in only a few short weeks anyway.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

I just use a plastic tub and a heat lamp.

 

[aart]

I considered this hot plate that fit's up to 30 Hotplate up to 30 chicks If I do the outdoor thing.

Get the large size.
Plates, like dollhouse coops, are inaccurate about the number of chicks it will serve.

 

[CoconutCoffee]

I'm generally against "pre fab" housing. They look nice and seem like they'd be useful but usually aren't. The advertised dimensions are, at best, 7sqft of space and around 5sqft with the "layer (internal)" dimensions. That's not a lot for 20 chicks. The more space they can have the better off they are.
I think building a brooder would be the best choice. It'd be cheaper but with better materials. All they need is a heat source, draft free, safe from the elements, and predator proof.

 

[Ridgerunner]

They give the internal dimensions of the brooder, the part where the chicks are, as L 35.8” x W 19.3” x H 15”. I would not try to keep 20 chicks in this until they are five weeks old. Their capacity chart shown below agrees.

I know this is getting a bit picky, but that "week" chart is a bit misleading if you are not careful how you read it. We typically don't say a chick is a week old until it is alive for a week. Their "Week 1" does not mean the chicks are a week old, it means they are in their first week. So where you see "Week 6" it means they are into their 6th week of life and are 5 weeks old. I agree with them, in most climates chicks will not need heat after they are 5 weeks old.

I don't think this brooder is for you.

I could not find any ambient temperature requirements in that heat plate literature. If I were going to use this out of doors in freezing weather I would contact the manufacturer and see what they say about that.

I would not worry about the size of the heat plate taking up a lot of the brooder floor space. By the time they are a couple of days old they will be able to hop on top of the heat plate so no lost room. The bottom of the heat plate is the only part that is heated so they will be comfortable on top. Just expect to be cleaning poop off of the top of the heat plate.

 

[jBabychickn]

Soon to bee chicken owner here, So I have been thinking on what to get for a brooder, Do I get a fancy all included brooder? or do I buy bits and bobs by themselves? I'm worried that a hot plate+ wall+ feeder+ water is going to be as much as the fancy all inclusive brooder, but I have to accommodate around 20 chicks.

Any recommendations of set up? our garage, workshop is not insulated but has electricity and chicks would be here in april with temp averaging 57F - 27F at night

This is what I was comfortable doing, as a first time chicken owner. I wouldn’t have been comfortable doing it outside, especially in winter my first time. That’s just me.
Personally, I’d say: If you have a good building that’s enclosed like a garage with electricity, then your golden! — Get a doggie play pen and zip-tie Cardboard borders around it to keep drafts out, then set up a Heating plate that covers the amount of Chicks your buying… I’ll attach a pic of what I did. I set mine up in our She-shed.

 

[casportpony]

I considered this hot plate that fit's up to 30 Hotplate up to 30 chicks If I do the outdoor thing.

I would get the biggest one for 20 chicks.

 

[Kurczaklover]

My first brooders, an rubbermaid container nearly big enough to put a body in, and my 80 lb dogs kennel. The first I used until supplemental heat wasn't needed, then the first flock went into the coop about 7 weeks. Pictured is a heat lamp and it worked fine, I actually have a sticker thermometer I used on 6 gallon jugs that I put on the inside. The second batch of chicks was not as many and I put the modified dog kennel right under the hen house at the end of May in Florida and just kept an eye on night temps. My husband has accepted this will be a regular thing so now building a 3 x 12 3 foot tall addition along the front side for brooding, which can be divided into 3 for medical/timeout needs. The second picture is just because they were so adorable.