Old playpen as a brooder?

[Tigertrea]

I may be able to get my hands on an old 4X4 playpen. It has a vinyl bottom and decently strong netting around it. I have used it as a playpen for puppies in the past and it worked OK for them.

Has anyone done this?

 

[gryeyes]

As long as the holes in the netting aren't big enough for little bitty chicks to escape. That would be great! And, I recommend a Brinsea EcoGlow brooder (heater) instead of heat lamps?

Heat lamps scare the heck out of me now, plus the light on 24/7 sucks, too. The EcoGlow units solve that problem and are far more "normal" for chicks.

Just my .02

 

[critters]

Last year that is all I used for my brooder....

used it on chickens, guineas and even ducks for a shorter period...

worked great for me and I was able to put netting on top to prevent the little guys from
trying to fly out....I also used a heat lamp, switching mid season to the red heat lamp.
I had the vinyl pad and put puppy pads atop that with a layer of shavings...made clean up great
and the little ones weren't slipping around due to that vinyl pad.

I have 2 week old chickens in it now....guineas are hatching out tonight and have them in a
large tote box with center part of the lid cut out and wire put in place. The tote is clear and makes
it also easy to see the keets inside.

I don't know what kind of heater the last person is talking about but other than a light being on
24/7, the heat lamp works great. . . wouldn't the heater have to be on 24/7 as well?

( I too used playpens for my puppies in past years)