Hello! I am planning on building a couple new brooders as I have three batches of chicks arriving this spring. I am planning on building area brooders with hover heaters (Ohio brooders). The plans I see online and in Plamondons book are 4x4, and I was wondering how people feel about the efficiency and cost effectiveness of a smaller unit (like 2x3). A 4x4 unit is the most effective use of a sheet of plywood and a smaller unit will still use one piece (you cannot make two 2x3 units with one piece of plywood) you can however make two 2x2 heaters with one piece. I usually brood 10-25 chick batches at a time. Any thoughts?
I believe the 4X4 brooders accommodate 250 chicks 4X4 = 16sq ft 16sq ft/4 = 4sq ft 2X2 = 4sq ft So..... 250 chicks/4 = 62.5 So a 2X2 ohio brooder in theory could accommodate roughly 60 chicks. The other way you can go is... 7-10in space per chick 2ft = 24in 24X24 = 576in 576/10 = Low Max 57 chicks 576/7 = High Max 82 chicks Alternatively Since you only need room for 25 chicks you could make the ohio brooder 1ftX1ft and use one lower watt bulb however making a 1ftx1ft brooder may not save much in the long run material wise if you still have to buy a sheet of plywood. On a side note..you can make 2 4X4X2 ohio brooders with 3 sheets of plywood.