Look how much money I saved on a brooder!

Beepers Keeper

In the Brooder
Jan 28, 2020
5
16
21
I saw a Brinsea safety brooder on eBay for £70 and I knew it must be possible to save some money with a little creative thinking!

"There's no way I will spend that much on a heat mat", I thought.

So I spent £14 on a heat mat.

It was too cold so I bought another, bringing the total to £28.

I didn't like the heat mats as the temperature was very hard to balance out, sometimes way over 40 degrees C, sometimes just over 30.

I bought a heat lamp for £25, meaning I had spent £53 so far.

I noticed the lamp kept the chicks horribly awake all day, and with any disturbance at night. They were stressed and I was too.

So I bought a "dull emitter" - a bulb that gives only heat, no light. It was £5 on eBay and the chicks loved it. The trouble was it went bang. Thank heaven I found it in time, all the chicks might have got too cold.

I went to a local pet shop and bought a decent dull emitter, this brought my brooder spend up to £78.

At this point I realised that with just one heat source i was "putting all my eggs in one basket". So I went to a local Mole Valley farmer's supplies and picked up a Brinsea Eco Glow, I genuinely thought I had wasted my money on a heat mat glued to a Fisher Price toy. That said, it was cheaper at Mole Valley, just £36. 12 watts, I thought, what can you do with that?

Total spend £124 on brooder equipment. I only use the Brinsea and the chicks love it!

But look how much I managed to save...
 

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Let's be honest, we've all done it at some point in time while raising chickens! I have every kind of waterer imaginable trying to find the perfect waterer, lol. I use a cheaper brand of heat plate but I love them too!
 
It reached a point where I had to admit this project was about pets rather than production!

Haha, yeah, We keep chickens for the love of chickens and to supply our family with the best quality and freshest eggs you can get. Well, we're definitely doing that, but you could probably buy a lifetime worth of eggs for the price of our chicken coop and run. lol
 
Funny to read. I've been there and will continue to be, not always so save money but a lot of times because I feel there's a better way. :)

There are many things that are worth DIY, and many that just aren't , and those lists are different for each of us based on our skills, abilities, and courage! :D :D

I've got a picture of like 3-4 different fodder trays because I just knew I could save a few dollars and find something better. After a ton of "wasted" time, money, and thought, I ended up buying the seedling trays in the end. :D :D :D

The right tool for the right job is indispensable! Good luck on your future experiments!
 

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