HELP! Where to put the brooder?

[ZaneyMama]

I am getting 8 chicks on Tuesday! I don't have a brooder, but will probably use a large cardboard box with pine shavings, or a rubbermaid container. I also have extra plastic and wire dog crates I could use.

My biggest question is WHERE to put the brooder? I don't have a coop built yet, but when I get it built, can I put them in there? Will the heat lamp provide enough heat even when it's cold outside?

I'm in Colorado and it's still really cold out at night and some days. Can I put the brooder in a shed in our yard or the garage or should I put it in the bathroom in our house?
We don't have an extra room or a basement in our current house, and we're getting the floors replaced in the house we're moving to in 3 weeks.

Thanks in advance! I'm a complete novice!

Sarah

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

I put mine on the dining room table. I like the irony of it all and I never use it as a dining room anyway. I have to pass through that room to get to the kitchen, so I get to see and hear them all the time. They are pretty dusty, but that is easy enough to sweep up and dust up.

Other than that, a spare bathroom works just as well. I only have the one, so it would be pretty crammed with the brooder in there. A lot of people put them outside as well, but I'm a weenie about the cold weather. It would make me neurotic having chicks outside when they are so tiny. Granted, the mama hen does it just fine but...

I use a wire dog kennel and it works great. I wrapped the outside of it with 1/4" hardware cloth (the square stuff) to keep the chicks in, the cats out and the shavings mostly where they belong. There is nothing on it to melt. I had heard of people melting the rubbermaid containers with the heat lamps, so that always worried me. I tie the heat lamp to the wire on the top of the kennel so it can't go anywhere. I also got the heat lamp with the built in dimmer switch, so I can turn the heat up or down as needed. It is so much easier than moving the heat lamp. I got mine on the reptile aisle at the pet store.

Congrats on your new babies! What kind are you getting?

edited to add

 

[Gonzo]

well, I live in Indiana, and it's cold here. I have 3 chicks in a brooder right now, and they're in the house. I would be afraid of them getting too cold in a garage or shed, even with a heat lamp. Mine our in a big rubbermaid container on a sofa table in my living room. I would'nt put them in your bedroom, the light will light up your room, and they can be sooo noisey.

 

[One Acre Wonder Farm]

Laundry room? Mudroom? Bedroom? Attic? If you use a deep cardboard box and hang a heatlamp they should be ok in the garage or shed, but I would keep them in the house for a couple of days... Once they are a weekish old they are much hardier (they'll still need a heat lamp for a few weeks)

 

[catdaddy66]

Mine is going in the spare bedroom for 4-6 weeks. I don't trust equipment not to fail, as catastrophe will result! Mine will be in the Big House until early spring

 

[ZaneyMama]

Yeah, I figured I'd have to keep them inside somewhere for a while. I'm worried about our dogs getting to them, but I'll just crate the dogs when we're not around. Hopefully it'll be fine.

What about the dust they create? It is gross to have them in your house or in a room near the kitchen?

We're getting:
3 Easter Eggers
2 Plymouth Barred Rocks
2 Rhode Island Reds
1 Buff Orpington

I'm so excited and nervous!

Sarah

 

[Matt A NC]

Quote:
Using a damp cloth, wipe down the inside of the brooder daily. This will help keep the dust down.

Matt

 

[huntsman]

I have mine in a Rubbermaid in my daughter's bedroom cupboard by night, and then in a shade cloth cage in a shaded part of the garden by day. The shade cloth gives them more air / breeze than the 'maid allows, which is how we can fight the local temps...

Dust is wiped up daily, and never becomes excessive, but we replace the pine shavings every three or four days.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:
A lot of dust. Not much the first week or so, but when their feathers really start coming in, then there's a lot of dust.

We have a shed outside that is small and insulated. I put my chicks there. (it was October) It kept in the heat really well. If I had them in there when it got really cold, I'd just add an oil heater to keep the temperature where it needs to be. I didn't need to though, it kept in the heat with just the lamp.

My husband won't allow chickens in the house. (big fat raspberry)

 

[Ridgerunner]

The basic requirements are temperature and no draft. You can keep them anywhere as long as you can keep part of the brooder in the recommended temperature range for their age and keep air from blowing on them. Of course, you have to keep them safe from predators including pet dogs and cats, you have to keep them from getting out of the brooder and not be able to get back in to warmth, and food and water. And especially at a very young age, the brooder can't be so big that they get lost and cannot find their way back to the heat. That stage does not last long but they are still bird brains, even if babies.

I kept my brooder in the coop but that was later in the year. I'd suggest setting it up and trying to stabilize the temperature, checking with a thermometer, before you put them in there. And remember, they can handle it a bit cool better than too hot. I like to have one corner of my brooder up to temperature and the rest a bit cooler. They seem to like the difference.