My first brooders .... thoughts?

[TonySorrento]

Hey all! I am getting my first round of chicks this Saturday ... I took this old wagon that was left by the previous homeowner used to haul coal years ago and turned it into a brooder. I got the.idea after seeing someone else's on here kinda like it ...

It is 4x6 ... what do you think? Any suggestions? Should I use 2 heat lamps?

This was the before ... stuck in the ground

Here is the completed project....

 

[brahmabreeder]

That will work fine and depending on how many chicks you're getting you may or may not need two heat lamps.

 

[redheadfarmer]

I would put in a second heating lamp and place a cover over a portion of the top....helps keep the heat in early and the chicks from flying out later

 

[prescott2k]

I agree that it definitely depends on your number of chicks. The chicks will naturally want to regulate their temperature by moving closer or farther away from the lamp as they see fit (but you still need to be sure to distance the lamp so as to prevent over heating based on the chick's age). If you have alot of chicks, you'll want a second lamp so that your chicks don't feel a need to crowd each other and possibly hurt each other in the process. Another thing I did is I positioned a beam a couple of feet above the brooder so I could eventually hang my bird's water/feed containers from it. That way, as my birds grew taller, i could raise the containers by simply wrapping the rope around the beam. Not only did this make my bird's happier, their water doesn't get dirty as quickly as it did when they were smaller. Have fun and good luck!

 

[TonySorrento]

I am going to have a total of 20 chicks ... the first batch will be 12 ....

I am getting another lamp for when I seperate the newbies from the 4 week old chicks with a screened wall, so I am going to put another lamp in ... for the first batch should I put it closer to the first lamp to create a zone or should I put it on the other edge of the brooder?

I will be putting a top on as well ...eventually

Thanks for all the help!

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk

 

[Egghead_Jr]

How warm is it at chick height? That is what your determining factor is if you need more heat or to lower the lamp. Grab a thermometer and place it directly under the lamp, if it reads 90-95 F then your fine with the one. You can raise the lamp weekly to lower the temp 5 degrees. At 4-5 weeks they are ready to go outside without any further heating. If you want to brood them longer than put the older ones screened in on unheated side of brooder.

 

[Cynthia12]

I agree that it definitely depends on your number of chicks. The chicks will naturally want to regulate their temperature by moving closer or farther away from the lamp as they see fit (but you still need to be sure to distance the lamp so as to prevent over heating based on the chick's age). If you have alot of chicks, you'll want a second lamp so that your chicks don't feel a need to crowd each other and possibly hurt each other in the process. Another thing I did is I positioned a beam a couple of feet above the brooder so I could eventually hang my bird's water/feed containers from it. That way, as my birds grew taller, i could raise the containers by simply wrapping the rope around the beam. Not only did this make my bird's happier, their water doesn't get dirty as quickly as it did when they were smaller. Have fun and good luck!

X's 2.. chicks will naturally go into the amount of heat wanted. I see that you are using a red heat lamp, they can get pretty warm. 20 chicks..you will be able to tell pretty quick as to whether they need another light or not. Someone else mentioned here that a cover would be a good idea..I agree, helps keep that heat in. Just at the end where you don't have the lamp. You would be surprised at how much a small tarp will help hold the heat in there at that other end.
Great idea on the hanging of water and food containers. I put mine up on wood so they don't get the wood chips in there, but they are getting older, and now want to really kick up the chips..will have to have DH fix that "up" for me. )

 

[TonySorrento]

How warm is it at chick height? That is what your determining factor is if you need more heat or to lower the lamp. Grab a thermometer and place it directly under the lamp, if it reads 90-95 F then your fine with the one. You can raise the lamp weekly to lower the temp 5 degrees. At 4-5 weeks they are ready to go outside without any further heating. If you want to brood them longer than put the older ones screened in on unheated side of brooder.

I do understand the chick height thing ... but the thing that aggravated me yesterday was if I hung the thermometer from the lamp, it got up to 90 ... so I laid the thermometer down on the bedding directly underneath and it went to the top ... makes no sense to me ... maybe the thermometer is junk? It's brand new from TSC and it looks like this but the top is in the shape of the hook .... thoughts?

X's 2.. chicks will naturally go into the amount of heat wanted. I see that you are using a red heat lamp, they can get pretty warm. 20 chicks..you will be able to tell pretty quick as to whether they need another light or not. Someone else mentioned here that a cover would be a good idea..I agree, helps keep that heat in. Just at the end where you don't have the lamp. You would be surprised at how much a small tarp will help hold the heat in there at that other end.
Great idea on the hanging of water and food containers. I put mine up on wood so they don't get the wood chips in there, but they are getting older, and now want to really kick up the chips..will have to have DH fix that "up" for me. )

I will be hanging both feeder and water as well

Do any of you sprinkle DE in the brooder with the chips?

 

[Cynthia12]

They shouldn't need any DE yet. When they get out and about in the dirt/weeds..then they will need it. I do my chickens in the spring and fall, unless..I see them going for their fluffy butts more than usual.. That's where the mites like to hide the most..I put DE there, under their wings, and behind their necks.
I also put DE in their nest boxes,and, where they like to take their dust baths. And, I will put it in on the coop floor. Keeps the smell down too.

Those thermometers..hmmm? I don't care for those. I like the digital ones.

 

[uaj0sh]

When I first got my baby chicks I went a little over board and got a digital remote thermomiter, and put it in the ping (very similar to the pics posted) so I could monitor the temp from inside since it was still snowing a lot in Colorado. Totally worth the 15 bucks at Home depot.

I used plywood to cover and section off my brooder to keep the chicks from getting too far away from the heat lamp. Worked great for all 29 of them.