Outdoor brooder??

[Featherwisp]

scbatz33, how did you regulate the temp in that brooder? How did the chicks fair in it during the night, and how many times did you check on them on a daily basis?
The outdoor option actually sounds like a better option.
Thanks for the good info, astatula. I'm still not sure on the age of chicks I would get-maybe day olds, maybe some chicks that are old enough to make it on there own. I still dont know, but I think the plan for now is to get chicks a day or a week old.

 

[scbatz33]

We did not put our day olds in this thing - just FYI. We raised the chicks in the bathroom in rubbermaid bins til they started to feather out - a couple weeks. Then they went outside. We didn't get the brooder until our older chicks were about 4 weeks old, mid feb. However, we did get ice and snow the last week of February.

That being said, with a solid bottom in the inside, a good layer of pine shavings and a heat lamp, that thing was nice and toasty warm. I kept a digital thermometer in it, right under the lamp, to check the temp. The inside of the brooder is large enough for the birds to get away from the heat is they want, or to snuggle under the lamp. Also, the lamp can be raised and lowered. We also closed off the door so they couldn't go out. We also "insulated " with sheets of styrofoam, but that didn't last long. The chicks pecked at it and ate it so I took it out.

I probably checked on them 3 or 4 times a day. When it snowed, I was super worried about the temp, but they all did fine. I drove my husband crazy going out th check all my birds at 2 in the morning! We got so much heavy, wet snow that one of my coop 's roof collapsed! My poor big blue bird was not happy!!!

We moved to PA a month ago and brought the brooder with us. It has been really cold here (IM-southern-thin-blood-O) We have used the brooder the whole time. It has been in the barn, but we had taken out the solid floor and so it was just the screen stuff. We put the heat lamp in and the chicks have had no problems.

Here's a couple of photos of it -
with one door open - it's really big inside. I'm 5'5" and I can't reach the birds if they go to the back when I open the door.

Here they have eaten the "insulation"

this is outside part, the chicks are 4 week old orpingtons. they look like they are a mile away!

There is a perch in it - the polish figured it out, the turkens and orps, not so much

here you can see the mesh stuff. The polish chick is about 2 months old at this point - mid March

 

[Featherwisp]

Like I said, that thing is pretty nice.
The problem is...I just gotta figure out how to raise day-olds out of the house.
You think I could raise them in an outdoor brooder?

 

[scbatz33]

I think if you insulate it and have a solid bottom and a heat lamp, it shouldn't be a problem. I don't know how large you are building your brooder, but as long as they are able to get out of the heat if it's too warm, they will be fine. We are going into summer so being cool will be more important than warm.

With the one we have, it is large enough that the chicks are free to move in and out of the heat of the lamp and adjust their own body temp. Having the digital thermometer helps to gauge the temp. Chicks are pretty hardy little things if you give them all the basics, they do a good job of taking care of themselves.

The thing is also off the ground so it's easier to clean with the mesh. having a removable floor is good. When they are smaller you can have the solid floor and shaving. When they get bigger you can remove the floor and have the mesh for the poo to fall through. Right now we have 2 month old polish in ours. It's plenty big enough for them to be in it for another month or two.

We have ours on wheels too. That makes it so much easier to move. And like I said, it's lockable. It's pretty tough for anything to get into it and it's really sturdy.