Hover Brooder with BSL’s

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So this is hatch day for my Red Rock Cross BSL chicks. They are due to arrive at the post office in about 40 hours. I moved my three laying hens out to their tractor in the garden just as the last of the snow here in the North was melting a few days ago. Then I moved all the deep litter out of the coop into a hot bed and spread some around my fruit trees as mulch. The coop was first dry swept to free the dust from the ceiling and walls. Then I used a mop and brush with water and bleach to clean and sanitize.

I have been reading a lot about brooding chicks and coccidiosis etc. It’s still cold, which means just above or below freezing to about 10 degrees C. In considering the dangers or heat lamps and the limitations of brooder plates, I decided to use a brooder lamp in a hover brooder. Often called an Ohio brooder, I ran across it first on Robert Plamondons blog. It made sense to me but it was developed before brooder lamps existed using ordinary light bulbs and often with very large batches of chicks. I wanted to use an infra red bulb and make it smaller. So after studying many different designs, this week I put it together!

It’s 24” square by 18” high. I used some 1/4 “ plywood 12 inches wide and some 2x2’s I had on hand. I left a 6 inch gap at the bottom where a skirt will be fitted.

 

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Next I used a scrap piece of 3/8” plywood for the ceiling and cut a hole for the top mounted lamp. I have seen people using heat lamps inside the box mounted sideways but it does not seem right to me. That’s not the way the bulb was designed to be used and they are too close to the floor and ceiling of the box to be safe.
Speaking of safety, I am going to use a dimmer switch on my lamp so the temperature can be regulated without needing to move the bulb up or down. It is 18 inches above the floor in this design. I have a lot of experience playing around with hot grow lamps inside hydroponic growing cabinets. So using a brooder lamp safely is something I am pretty sure I can handle!

 

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Low bandwidth right now will be continued

 

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Stapled on a piece of 1/2 “ HC . I had to cut out a square in the centre to give the lamp poking out below the reflector slightly room, but the HC still does a good job of supporting the lamp.

 

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Here it is.

 

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Next step is to add a 8 inch plywood nesting extension made with 2x2’s and 3/8” plywood. This is where I could add non combustible insulation and I can exclude chickens from the reflector .

 

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Added a door that I can slide up to view and reach inside.

 

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I decided to build a bench height platform in my coop using 2x4 supports and some scraps of plywood.

 

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Here I have added 2x2 rails to support a surrounding cage that I will cover with cardboard and wire.

 

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We interrupt this construction temporarily to announce the chicks just arrived after a 30 hour journey with the Canadian Postal Service! I was just putting some screws in the sliding door to the brooder so I could open and close it, when my wife knocked on the coop door with a peeping cardboard box. The chicks had to wait a few minutes till I drilled some holes and fastened the screws. Then I placed the box inside the brooder and opened the lid. There they were under the lamp but too scared to jump out of the box or maybe just tired and hungry. I set the water on a scrap of 2x4 to raise it above the hardwood pellet litter. Then I put down some paper towel and sprinkled a small amount of medicated chick starter. I filled the red plastic feeder and sat back to watch. They pecked at the crumbles on the towel and a few found the feeder. A couple chicks found the water and the rest gradually took notice and went after water and feed for themselves. The thermometer said it was 40 degrees C. Some of the chicks huddled in the centre of the brooder and looked like they were cold. I turned up the lamp dimmer to Max. and they began to disperse. It was 4 C outside the coop and snowing. Inside the coop it is 10 C and inside the brooder it’s a lot warmer. I am going to keep a close eye on things inside the brooder. It’s going to be 0 C or freezing the next couple nights with about 5 C during the day (just like a warm refrigerator).