Need brooder ideas for housing 6 meat birds.....

[smchickfarm]

Gonna be raising meat birds (cornish cross) for my sons 4H project. In the past I have had room for them, but now I don't!!!! ( got to many critters!)

Getting them May 20th and will have them for 8 weeks! Would like to use or make something they can stay in the entire time!

Been looking on here and nothing has really struck a cord with me yet!

Any ideas are welcome!

 

[hydroswiftrob]

For a brooder, I used a cheap blue plastic kiddie swimming pool filled with wood chips. It's light to move and easy to wash. Not sure I would keep them in it the whole time. I moved mine out into a trampoline yesterday at three weeks old that I re-purposed.

Cheap plastic pool.


Re-purposed trampoline.

 

[smchickfarm]

OMG !

The Trampoline idea rocks!!! That is really clever. I just wouldn't have the room in my yard to do that I don't think.........But awesome...I will keep that in mind.

Thank you for sharing!!!!

 

[hydroswiftrob]

I wished I would have taken step-by-step photos of it in progress and made a little how to blog on here, but I did most of the work on it at night after I got home from work. I will take some detailed pics of it and show how I modified it for the meat chickens. It was built originally to house my new spring piglets, but momma didn't take and we are currently pigletless. We AI'ed her last weekend so I will know soon if it was successful this time.

 

[smchickfarm]

ok, that would be great.

we also have pigs. My son does 4H. So he is doing pigs (4th year) and meat pen chickens (3rd yr) been in 4h 9 years. We have a hamp cross gilt and a york cross barrow. Born 2/5. Both look good, gilt looks awesome!

Just need to figure out the meat pen housing. I have a yard exersize pen for a dog. It is 8 sided and metal. The diameter is pretty good size. I was thinking maybe I can wrap that garden plastic fence around it(to keep them in and then come up with some sort of top!

 

[daniel-delarosa]

digging the trampoline idea!

 

[smchickfarm]

aw, come on people, need more Ideas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[crazychickenwom]

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Here is what I built for my meats but we will have 20 of them so it is bigger than what you will need. I am sure something similar, on a smaller scale, would work with yours fine. Basically it is just a square covered with chicken wire with an opening at one end to refill food and water. If you also need to use it as a brooder you can put a big cardboard box in it and keep them confined to a smaller space until they get bigger and don't need a heat lamp. If you have space in a garage or a barn to house them it would be best to avoid drafts, but if not just wrap it in plastic or a heavy tarp and hang the heat lamp from above. Hope this helps!

 

[trifecta]

so I'm in a similar situation and this is what I did: this is my first time raising chickens of any type, and my husband wasn't crazy about the idea... so the agreement was we would start with meat birds due to their short life span and not put in any permanent structures.

For a brooder I am using a 3ft high dog exercise pen. I put a tarp underneath it and wrapped up the sides, threw some shavings in. When they were really little they could escape out but the tarp kept everyone in place. They are now 3.5 weeks old and the 16 sq foot pen is getting too small for the 12 birds.
For their outdoor home (which they'll be moving to this weekend), I am temporarily re-purposing my dog run. Its 10ftx5ft with a shade cover and paver block floor. I am going to run some poultry netting around the inside because I'm afraid that some of the DP cockerels can escape.

For only 6 birds, I think the x-pen would work fine.

 

[smchickfarm]

​

Here is what I built for my meats but we will have 20 of them so it is bigger than what you will need. I am sure something similar, on a smaller scale, would work with yours fine. Basically it is just a square covered with chicken wire with an opening at one end to refill food and water. If you also need to use it as a brooder you can put a big cardboard box in it and keep them confined to a smaller space until they get bigger and don't need a heat lamp. If you have space in a garage or a barn to house them it would be best to avoid drafts, but if not just wrap it in plastic or a heavy tarp and hang the heat lamp from above. Hope this helps!

I like it! thank you. Yes, I thought whatever I do , while they are little, I can put it in the garage, then say, move it outside. Like the idea!!! thank you so much!