Large number broiler -brooder help needed

[J_Yonts]

We do 70 broilers at a time 2x a year. This keeps my family, my grown kids, my co- chicken tender's family, and her inlaws in chicken all year. The operation is larger than a small brooder box typical of what most single families do, but not industrial my any means. We struggle with the heat. We have used heat lamps the last few years but the brooder box is not in a heated building so we have also used insolated boards on the outside to help maintain heat. I hate this setup. Does anyone else have ideas for 70 chicks to keep them warm? I'm in Indiana so weather is always a thing to contend with.

The brooder is L shaped, solid on the sides and back. The front is open mesh (this is enclosed with the insulation board during colder months, but allows for airflow) the top is open no lid because we have been hanging the heat lamps.

 

[FunClucks]

We do 70 broilers at a time 2x a year. This keeps my family, my grown kids, my co- chicken tender's family, and her inlaws in chicken all year. The operation is larger than a small brooder box typical of what most single families do, but not industrial my any means. We struggle with the heat. We have used heat lamps the last few years but the brooder box is not in a heated building so we have also used insolated boards on the outside to help maintain heat. I hate this setup. Does anyone else have ideas for 70 chicks to keep them warm? I'm in Indiana so weather is always a thing to contend with.

The brooder is L shaped, solid on the sides and back. The front is open mesh (this is enclosed with the insulation board during colder months, but allows for airflow) the top is open no lid because we have been hanging the heat lamps.

Pictures? That can help us picture what you're describing. The only non-electrical ideas I know of are using feather dusters so they can huddle under it, but that might be hard for 70 chicks. 15-20 chick clusters can keep each other warm, at least for shipping. As long as you have areas in the brooder where all of them can be warm at the same time when they need to be, you should be okay. What exactly are you struggling with regarding the heat?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Do a search on "Ohio Brooder". That's basically an inverted box that traps rising warm air. It was a method pushed by the government in WWII to raise chicks using less electricity or fuel. That was just before the Cornish X took over the chicken meat industry so intended for dual purpose or layer chickens. As much as CX poop, cleaning may be an issue. I'd probably want it on a pulley system so I could raise it to clean.

I'm not sure it would be that much of an improvement on your current set-up, from a cleaning aspect and I just like to be able to see the chicks. What kind of problems are you having with the heat lamps? For 70 chicks I'd think that would be the way to go.