Making a OUTSIDE BROODER?!

[Kennas_Kritters]

Well I'm sure we all know how fun it is to raise chicks in the house.... how about making a outdoor brooder box? Has anyone done this? I would love to see! I am planning to make one outside in a shed since the wind can't really get in. What are y'alls thoughts?

 

[CluckerFamily]

There are some great ideas for outdoor brooders. Some people leave the brooder in the garage. I have seen some outdoor brooders that fold up flat when not in use. I of course choose to have my brooder in the house. My sister uses a prefab coop for her brooder outside.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I have an actual outside-outside brooder (which is converted from a prefab) which sits in the run:

If building it inside a shed, I'd consider something like plywood or scrap wood, with plenty of small opening wire mesh for ventilation, and most importantly, an access door that opens on the side so when you reach in to do anything with the chicks, you're not reaching down on them which resembles something a predator would do.

 

[3KillerBs]

Yes. I did just that.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/run-to-outdoor-brooder-conversion.76634/

And here's the story of it's first use: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/introducing-the-ideal-dozen.1469451/

 

[ChickenLord33]

I use a horse trough and cover the top with metal mesh that I've fastened to a wooden frame that fits over the perimeter of the trough. We keep it on the back porch which is covered from the elements but also from the wind. Heat lamp cannot fall on the chickies or light a fire, either (kept outside on top of the metal mesh).

 

[nicolekathryn]

We built a brooder in our coop and it was great! The chicks were chest high in the raised coop and integrated into the flock early and easily.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Here is a photo of my 3' x 6' brooder built into the coop. It's built under the roosts so the top acts as a droppings board.

To me the biggest challenge of an outside brooder is the temperature swings. You want a brooder that has one spot warm enough in the coolest temperature but also a spot cool enough in the warmest conditions. It's not unusual for it to go from below freezing to 70 F in a day and a half.

 

[MadamContrary]

I just use a little prefab coop. I have two of these and a run that can be attached to each one as well. I do brood indoors the first 3-4 days to make sure everyone is eating and drinking well, and to identify any potential issues. Then out they go!

 

[Harmony Fowl]

Ours was not attractive at all, lol. It was 7 feet long, 3 feet deep and 4 feet tall. That was too tall. It opened on top and it made reaching in to clean or grab chicks too difficult. The only other doors were small (3x4 inch) holes on either end so chicks could come in but adults couldn't follow. Well, adolsecents often did, so they could have been smaller. Those helped with integration. Chicks went outside at about a week old, spent two weeks in the outdoor brooder and began integrating at three weeks. The brooder had no floor and the caging material was chicken wire, with one side being solid plywood because I've noticed chickens get really crazy in a total fish bowl. I opted for chicken wire and not hardware cloth because the brooder was in the run, under cover, and behind a physical fence and an electric fence. The one other thing I might have changed was having a hen sized door. I used the brooder for any number of things, including isolation and brooding hens, but to get any adult birds out, they had to be caught and removed, they couldn't just walk out on their own. Otherwise, an outdoor brooder is a phenomenal idea that you will have endless use for. I demolished ours last fall and haven't replaced it yet, but I have a very large cage and three prefabbed coops that do the job instead.

 

[Tonyroo]

I'm in the process of making a brooder attached to the outside of the coop, that has a doorway into the coop.

My first batch lived in a modified nest box, it wasn't big enough, but made cleaning easy.