Has anyone purchased this brooder?

[ArkaFarmaMama]

Needing a new setup! Have any of youn's tried this?

http://www.chickensforbackyards.com/Premium-Brooder-Starter-Package-CBPAK11.htm

I've raised several chicks, but after moving SEVERAL times and now in a new farm, all my
bits are all over the place and most broken!

This looks simple, nice lamp set up, much better than my old cage and it's solid sided to
prevent drafts. Plastic should hold up better, worried about moisture though....
This will last me for years, going to get a small inc. for eggs when I expand my flock....

Any better suppliers/setups? Cheaper? Won't go with the paper setup, too risky cause
these babies will be in the house for a while and I don't want to fish babies out from
under the beds!

Thanks so much!!!

 

[mother o' chicks72]

I just use a large metal trough brooder, works great plus you can rent for cheap and then return it when you're done.

 

[homesteadapps]

We use a galvanized trough indoors.

We also have a homemade 4X4 unit that is outdoors and can act as a mini-coop

 

[azygous]

Why spend all that money on something that will kill your back, hurt your wallet, and produce chicks that aren't as trusting and friendly as they could be?

I've discovered that baby chicks are far more trusting when approached from the side, as opposed to being handled from above. Large appliance cardboard boxes are free, and can be fashioned into some very creative "chick condos" as you can see from these photos of ones I've made. One box is adequate for a small brood of three or four, and two placed side by side with a pass-through cut into the adjoining walls will provide plenty of space for six to ten chicks.

Place the whole shebang onto tables and you have a "doll house" set up which is easy on your back and makes it lots of fun to spend time playing with your babies.

When the chicks move into the coop, I collapse the boxes and store them in the tool shed to be used next year for another new batch of babies. A sheet of plastic covering the bottom under the layer of wood shavings keeps moisture from spoiling the cardboard. I've reused these boxes three times now, and it was great to have them when the feed store got in a late summer order of chicks that I ended up not being able to resist.

 

[Time-Out]

Two things I don't like: Their poor grammar and the fact you pour the shavings straight onto the floor?! I can just imagine doing that in our spare bedroom!

 

[silky_3699]

Quote:
x 2. i like the idea of this...

 

[ruthless]

Have you seen this thread, lots of ideas to make and/ or reuse items. Much cheaper and easier to use, I think. I use cardboard boxes, aquariums, guinea pic cages.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=6233

 

[fiddlebanshee]

I've discovered that baby chicks are far more trusting when approached from the side, as opposed to being handled from above.

YES! I made my brooder to have windows and wire at the front and the chicks are very curious and trusting. The failure in my setup was that I was lazy and just covered the top with hardwarecloth so that I cannot open it at all from the top. There are situations where it would have been easier to have access from above, as the chicks are becoming more curious and I'm afraid they may jump out when I open the doors. I may still change that part of the setup but so far I'm pleased with it.

Here are some pics: