Need a bigger brooder for replacement chicks. Any ideas?

[FattySmough]

Hello!

I ordered four chicks from Meyer Hatchery and have been using a brooder that is big enough for the four of them. Sadly one of them died and I had to get a replacement order with a 3 chick minimum. So I guess now I'm going to have 6 chicks hehehehe... Anyways, I'm likely going to need a larger brooder. I have been using a large plastic bin, but after the feeder and waterer there is barely enough room for 4 chicks. Is there anywhere I could buy an even larger plastic bin(preferable option)? Or perhaps even something I could make at home(preferably something not too complex). Also, we have cats in our house so the brooder has to have a lid that won't collapse under the weight of a cat. Any Ideas would be much appreciated. Thanks!

I attached a picture of my current brooder.

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC. Where, in general, are you? Climate matters.

Do you already have adult chickens? If not, is there any reason that you can't brood in your coop?

Here's an excellent indoor brooder if you can't. Easily adapted to any size you need: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/diy-chicken-tv-brooder.76033/

 

[FattySmough]

Thank you for your recommendation! I can't brood in the coop because of my adult chickens, but I managed to find a plastic bin that was big enough at my local Home Depot. The plastic bins are soooo easy to work with. Thanks again!

 

[Randol]

I just use a tote, I have 13 do as they get older I'll slit them up and use a second tote. I will be putting a screen over them.

 

[Blooie]

Brooding outdoors among the adults is easier than most people think, and smarter too! For 8 years now I have done it, and never lost a chick or had one injured. I use a wire pen with little wooden doors cut into it. The first week those doors are closed. The adults can walk around the chicks on 3 sides. I hang the feeders and waterers side-by-side, the adult feeder on their side and the chicks’ feeder inside the brooder, with nothing but the wire between them. I do the same with the water. When I toss scratch to the adults, i toss it right at the outside edge of the brooder. I also toss some in the chicks’ pen on their side. They learn to eat and drink peacefully, head-to-head.

Within a day or so of putting the chicks out, the adults have satisfied their curiosity and don’t pay much attention to them anymore. The chicks learn to be chickens by watching the adults. At two weeks I lock the adults out of the coop and run, and open the portal doors, letting the chicks explore. Every so often I gently herd them back in through the doors into their brooder until I’m confident they can get back in even if they’re panicked. Then I let the adults back in. I let the chicks and adults mingle, under my supervision, off and on for a few days. I carry a long bamboo planting stake. If an adult gets wat too pushy, I let out a loud “bawkkkk” and he or she gets a rap on the noggin as a reminder that these are MY chicks, just as a broody hen would do. I have several hidey holes provided for the chicks in case they get spooked and are too far from their brooder to get back to it.

At three weeks my chicks are down to minimal heat. I open the portal doors in the morning and let them be among the adults, even outside in the yard, all day long and only lock them in at night. By 4 weeks they are with the adults full time, and we remove the brooder pen and Mama Heating Pad completely. We have total and peaceful integration.

I am absolutely convinced that once they are accustomed to seeing them every day, the adults just don’t consider the tiny chicks threats to resources and the pecking order the way they see older chicks that look more like them. The tiny chicks are usually faster than the adults as well. And if chicks have “safe zones” to duck under, the adults can’t follow and bother them. I follow this routine every batch, every time, every year. It’s less stressful on me, the adults, and the chicks.

Brand new chicks in their brooder. DumbDaphneTheFlockComplainer is checking them out at the front of the pen, while Ida scopes them out on the far side. Notice that the chicks aren’t one bit stressed or frightened.

Four week old Silkie chicks leaving the brooder for the last time while Gladys stands guard. Right after I took this, the brooder pen was removed completely.

 

[Iluveggers]

I used a watermelon box/bin, picked up free from the grocery store! It fit 15 chicks up to 4 weeks. Covered with garden netting.

 

[FattySmough]

Brooding outdoors among the adults is easier than most people think, and smarter too! For 8 years now I have done it, and never lost a chick or had one injured. I use a wire pen with little wooden doors cut into it. The first week those doors are closed. The adults can walk around the chicks on 3 sides. I hang the feeders and waterers side-by-side, the adult feeder on their side and the chicks’ feeder inside the brooder, with nothing but the wire between them. I do the same with the water. When I toss scratch to the adults, i toss it right at the outside edge of the brooder. I also toss some in the chicks’ pen on their side. They learn to eat and drink peacefully, head-to-head.

Within a day or so of putting the chicks out, the adults have satisfied their curiosity and don’t pay much attention to them anymore. The chicks learn to be chickens by watching the adults. At two weeks I lock the adults out of the coop and run, and open the portal doors, letting the chicks explore. Every so often I gently herd them back in through the doors into their brooder until I’m confident they can get back in even if they’re panicked. Then I let the adults back in. I let the chicks and adults mingle, under my supervision, off and on for a few days. I carry a long bamboo planting stake. If an adult gets wat too pushy, I let out a loud “bawkkkk” and he or she gets a rap on the noggin as a reminder that these are MY chicks, just as a broody hen would do. I have several hidey holes provided for the chicks in case they get spooked and are too far from their brooder to get back to it.

At three weeks my chicks are down to minimal heat. I open the portal doors in the morning and let them be among the adults, even outside in the yard, all day long and only lock them in at night. By 4 weeks they are with the adults full time, and we remove the brooder pen and Mama Heating Pad completely. We have total and peaceful integration.

I am absolutely convinced that once they are accustomed to seeing them every day, the adults just don’t consider the tiny chicks threats to resources and the pecking order the way they see older chicks that look more like them. The tiny chicks are usually faster than the adults as well. And if chicks have “safe zones” to duck under, the adults can’t follow and bother them. I follow this routine every batch, every time, every year. It’s less stressful on me, the adults, and the chicks.


View attachment 3086669
Brand new chicks in their brooder. DumbDaphneTheFlockComplainer is checking them out at the front of the pen, while Ida scopes them out on the far side. Notice that the chicks aren’t one bit stressed or frightened.

View attachment 3086671
Four week old Silkie chicks leaving the brooder for the last time while Gladys stands guard. Right after I took this, the brooder pen was removed completely.

Thank you for your thoughtful reply! Maybe I will try this next batch.

 

[FattySmough]

I used a watermelon box/bin, picked up free from the grocery store! It fit 15 chicks up to 4 weeks. Covered with garden netting.

View attachment 3086704

This setup looks really interesting! Very spacious and I like how you did the roosting bar.