My "Infant" brooder & "Teen" brooder pic

[Momagain1]

I ordered from Welp

not trying to be stupid; but its quite warm where the first brooder is (the black one), no draft and it is sitting on a thick rug..so why do I or should I put it up on cinder blocks?

the second one; DH has already said; no, he is not putting plywood down (he's already upset that its costing so much to get the coop/run done)...so he's not putting any
extra into the 2nd brooder eekk...thats why I was going to do a deep litter method in the 2nd brooder (the plywood one)..

but I can always keep working on him! I hvae a couple wks til they need to go out there anyway

Thanks guys for your info!

 

[kfchickenlady]

I have a few chicks growing out in an old rabbit hutch in my garage. I took off the wire bottom and set the cage on a folded piece of tarp, its probably 8 layers thick, and then shavings on top of that. My thinking was to keep any dampness from coming up from the floor, as cement can feel damp in the cold. Pile on the shavings on top of that and they should be ok. Works great!

 

[Casey76]

I have my third brooder in the cellar to acclimate the chicks before they go outside. I just put a tent groundsheet on the tile floor then a couple of inches of pine shavings.

If you have a couple of heat lamps then they should be find on the floor (with the thick layer of shavings)

 

[Pascal PicklePants]

Quote:
You could check the "free stuff" section of Craigslist and see if anyone is giving away any sheets of plywood. I check almost every day.....you would be shocked at what people give away. there is often free building supplies on there. because I agree with previous posts getting it off the concrete will help a lot. Even with the DLM, the cold concrete will absorb a lot of heat because of its mass.

 

[Merryment]

Why not lay down a couple layers of cardboard in the bigger brooder? It's free for the asking at just about any store, and you should have some around the house you need to get rid of. It'll help with the clean up, too. I use it in my tub brooder, like your first example, as well, under all the pine shavings. I'd use pine shavings in the big brooder too, if you weren't already planning to.

 

[ElkMtnCove]

For the garage brooder, how about an old carpet remnant or layers of cardboard? A recycling center or check craig's list, etc.?

That's what I'm doing when my teens move to the garage.

 

[AK Michelle]

You didn't say what part of the world you are in, so I'm not sure what type of "cold" your garage is, but as was stated earlier use the heat lamps and watch the chicks, if they are huddled together add another light or turn up the heat, if they are running all overthe brooder, it's all good

When the chicks come they will be in the house right? So DH will see them... and they are all really cute (wait you said turkens..

) Anyway, I wouldn't put it past DH to get a little attached to the cute little fuzz balls. Then see if he thinks the 2nd brooder needs any improvements

Good luck!!!

 

[Pascal PicklePants]

Quote:
Very good point

 

[Liamm_1]

25 chicks should last in the first brooder for about # (3 lol) weeks, as another poster mentioned. They will be nice and cozy by then lol. They'll be plenty feathered to withstand the garage at that point. With enough bedding, the coldness of the floor won't matter. If the floor is cold, they just will move to higher ground lol. Baby chicks are not nearly as delicate as some would like to believe. I prefer the 'toughen 'em up quickly' approach myself, as I think that lays the foundation for much heartier birds in the long run.
I have 12 1-week olds in the garage now. 3 x 5 brooder with a single 125W heat lamp. The surrounding room temp has typically been 45-55 degrees. They are all eating, drinking, running around and generally thriving. I first had a 250W heat lamp in there, but they were all avoiding it, too hot. I then replaced it with a 100W green floodlamp and they all slept standing up (getting closer to the warmth lol), so I switched it to a 125W brooder lamp, and now they are very comfortable.

 

[catdaddy66]

I think your good on your brooders, but did I understand you want to try the deep litter method in them? I was under the impression that DLM was used once they were in the coop and out of the brooder. Most chicks are brooded for no more than 6-8 weeks or until fully feathered then moved to more permanent housing. The DLM is used for 4-6 months at a time, sometimes longer, so you would not need that much bedding for use in a brooder as the birds are not in it long enough. I am no expert but this is how I understood it.