Plastin bin brooder for 12?

[Honora]

So I am ordering 12 bantam orpington chicks. This is the 2nd time I have had chicks, but last time I only had 3. I kept them in a plastic bin for a brooder, which worked out great and was really easy to clean out with the hose every few days.

So I'd like to use a plastic bin again for the coming chicks, but obviously one would be too small. I was thinking of maybe cutting the sides off of 2 bins and taping them together, that way I would have the advantages of the plastic bins but more room. They would probably have to be in there for a while, because the person I am splitting the order with wants 3 chicks that she is sure are pullets, so I will have them until we can tell which is which.

Any suggestions on a plastic bin brooder for 12 bantam chicks? Thanks!

 

[mistifier99]

This one here doesnt look too bad off of google. Just one thing to watch out for is they don't breath as easy as cardboard, or wood. So be sure to have plenty of insulation, especially because there is a few chickens.

I have something similar to this which is around 1 metre by maybe 60cm?


I have 14 chickens in there, and they seem to like it..

 

[Honora]

Ooh, that is nice mistifier99. Where did you get that? (I mean the blue one).

 

[mistifier99]

I got it from my local petshop (I live in Australia)

 

[LanceTN]

I had nineteen Astralorps in the biggest plastic bin I could get from Walmart.

Compared to the birds it was gigantic for about two weeks. Then it started to get small and at three weeks I was cramming to get the coop finished to get them outdoors.

For that many birds I would suggest something bigger if you want to brood then past a few weeks.

 

[KittyKat3756]

I use a rat cage (like the blue one in the photo above) for my chicks. I had 7 chicks in it last time, and this time I have 4. It already "feels" too small at 10 days old, but it's not much smaller than most brooders. This one came with a "second floor" which covers about 1/3 of the area, which is very useful because it allows me to have a deep litter downstairs while keeping the food and water clean upstairs on a non-slip mat.

I got this cage for free from some friends whose rats died, but if I was to buy one right now, I would go for a larger guinea pig/rabbit cage because those have bigger openings so easier to get the food and water, as well as the chicks, in and out without taking the top off.

The cage is really easy to clean and I would definitely use it again. I get around the cage being too small by letting the chicks run around the house while I clean it out every day and taking them out for handling a few times per day. It definitely beats cardboard boxes as the chicks can see people through the sides and end up friendlier.

 

[sunflour]

I have seen an example of two joined with an opening cut in the sides and taped together, using duct tape to prevent sharp areas from the cut edges. And one that expanded theirs by a cardboard "walk thru" between 2 bins. Sorry don't still have the link. You shouldn't need to cut out the whole sides just enough to make it blend as one area so the strength of the box shape is maintained.

You may consider a hard plastic child's pool - If you are going to wash it, it seems it would be easier than adjusting 2 bins. And make a wire framed top to overlay.

Instead of washing out, have you considered brooding on sand? I changed my bedding to sand after chicks were a week old. Just sifted with a reptile sand sifting tool and was quite easy to do. The poops dry so no smell. Crumbles they scratched out sifted out easily. Didn't have to move them to clean, they quickly learned the cleaning routine was not a threat. My girls started sand baths as soon as the sand appeared. A porous tile under water fount took care of any small water spill I created when changing the water. Used 2 and removed tiles and cleaned and swapped.

But if you plan to use shavings or straw for their grown up coop, I would start it from the beginning. So the learn it is not food.

 

[HighStreetCoop]

It's pumpkin season, which means grocery stores have tons of HUGE, sturdy pumpkin boxes to dispose of. I got one from my local grocery (Farmer Joe's on Fruitvale in Oakland) for free last week. They had at least a dozen of them ready to go in the masher.

 

[LanceTN]

It's pumpkin season, which means grocery stores have tons of HUGE, sturdy pumpkin boxes to dispose of. I got one from my local grocery (Farmer Joe's on Fruitvale in Oakland) for free last week. They had at least a dozen of them ready to go in the masher.

That's a fantastic idea

 

[Honora]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I think I will go with either the 2 bins taped together or a plastic pool, cause I am really wanting to go with plastic. I'd say they will be in the house for at least 6 weeks so I really need something easy to clean.

If I need to go bigger for a week or so at the end I will think about boxes at that point. It'll probably be close to Christmas at that point so maybe there will be some big boxes at the store then!