Greenfire Farms' Brooder Design

[stoneunhenged]

Greenfire Farms is a very small farm that raises ultra-rare breeds of chickens. Some folks have asked how we brood our chicks. We have an innovative system of 24 cages placed over fiberglass trays. The manure falls into the trays and they're hosed clean once a day. The manure is pumped through underground pipes and eventually goes into a raised tank where it is aerated and converted to manure tea. The tea is then sprayed on our pasture. The cages are vinyl coated wire with low pressure automatic waterers, external feed hoppers, and infrared ceramic heaters overhead that provide warmth for young chicks. Each of the 24 cages is 2' x 3' x 18" high. With experience we've made a few adjustments to the system, but it is a fairly easy way to clean up after several hundred chicks and convert a problem (manure) into a valuable asset (fertilizer).

Here's are a few pics:

 

[redhen]

Fancy Smancy..

 

[EweSheep]

Love it!!! Fantastic set up!

The dropping trays, are they to be washed off or does it pull out for you to sweep out the droppings into a bucket?

 

[stoneunhenged]

Quote:
You hose them down and the manure slurry flows into an underground pipe and is pumped to a holding tank about 200' from the brooder shed.

 

[EweSheep]

Pretty much like a hog barn! Terrific!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[CARS]

I've thought about using that system years ago when I received a Bass (rabbit supply) catalog but I just don't have enough chicks or small animals to justify the cost.
It's a great idea!

 

[stoneunhenged]

I bought the basic cage and tray set-up from Bass (they were good to deal with) and then modified it for chicks. The roof wire on the top rack of cages is galvanized, not vinyl coated, so the overhead infrared emitters will not melt the plastic. The other cage sides are all vinyl coated. I fabricated sheet metal end caps to stop overspray while cleaning. There is sheet metal flashing at the base of the cage rack to prevent feed from falling underneath the cage battery.

 

[moonlyghtegirl]

Thanks for your generosity in sharing your expertise and methods! I always appreciate reading your posts! Lots of helpful info, and I always learn something!

April

 

[phasianidae]

Very cool design. What are the dimensions of the wire on the floor or the cages?

Thanks,

Ryan