How to restore Antique Sears and Roebuck Brooder

[Stephine]

I raised thousands of birds in brooders just like this. Yes there are better systems. But if you want to restore Granny’s antique then that s a different situation entirely and it will successfully raise birds. I love my birds and antique farm goodies. Combining the two are pure heaven to me.

Raising thousands of birds is clearly not in the backyard chicken keeping realm that we are talking about in this forum and which was the basis of my argument. If this is your thing, fine. I would not recommend it to anyone raising a backyard flock.

 

[BeeMaster]

Raising thousands of birds is clearly not in the backyard chicken keeping realm that we are talking about in this forum and which was the basis of my argument. If this is your thing, fine. I would not recommend it to anyone raising a backyard flock.

Stephine do you understand this is just a temporary spot until they are old enough to live in the backyard? They will not spend the rest of there lives in this, there will not be thousands of birds crammed into it.

 

[Stephine]

Stephine explain yourself. Other then the possibility of it having asbestos, how are they not suitable? The chicks stay dry, warm, out of the feed and water. Cats can't get in. Droppings fall threw the screen on to the tray and cleaned daily.

Alot better then a cardboard box filled with sawdust like almost everyone else does.

Ok. The brooders are too small. It is hard to tell from the picture, but the ones I have seen in person were maybe 8 sqf max. Proper occupancy floor space wise 8 chicks up to 3 weeks and then 4 chicks. These things have very little head room - chicks can’t stretch out once they are a few weeks old and they have no room to flutter around like regular chicks will do. They are on metal grids which are hard on the feet and can injure toes. It’s not a comfortable sleeping surface. Droppings fall through, but if there’s no substrate on the trays they are a lot stinkier than if mixed with bedding. Also, the droppings are soft and a lot of it sticks to the wire, this, the chicks will run through and sleep on. Yes, the feeders and waterers are convient, but there are plenty of other choices that work well. Finally, the whole thing is heated to the same temperature, giving chicks no way to choose their own temperature comfort level. If it is not the exact right temperature for everyone it will lead to stress. Oh, and these things allow very little natural light in, which is important for growing healthy chicks.
Sure, it is a way to brood a bunch of chicks in a small space, but it is not putting the needs of the animals first. For any normal backyard chicken keeper, cardboard boxes and heat lamps/emitters/plates are a much better, more humane option.

 

[Stephine]

Stephine do you understand this is just a temporary spot until they are old enough to live in the backyard? They will not spend the rest of there lives in this, there will not be thousands of birds crammed into it.

Of course I do. Please see my response to your previous comment.