Rubbermaid Brooder?

[cluckcluck42]

Oooh another question now that i have you all here

Are there any cheap alternatives to the chick feeders/waterers at the feed store? Will any shallow dish with rocks in it do?

 

[froggie71]

When they are a few days old I put in a shallow dish with marbles in it. Like the lid to a peanut butter jar. Same for food. It doesn't take long for them to go through a bit of water though, so we switch to the plastic waterers within a week.

 

[BigSkyChickens]

Cluckcluck42,
Try the feed store for a heat lamp. They will have white and red bulbs to choose from, and I've heard the red one makes the chicks more mellow (i.e. not pecking each other) Be sure to suspend with a chain, and not by the electrical cord.

I used corn cob litter when I first got them (expensive), then switched to pine shavings. Mine were in the dining room, so I changed out the pine shavings every other day (too much work - next year they will live in the garage!).

Good luck!

And enjoy your chicks!

 

[Wifezilla]

Click on the link in my signature for a picture of my rubbermaid brooder.

 

[cluckcluck42]

Ah well I will pick some feeders and waterers up tomorrow then.

Does anyone use old fabric to line their brooders? I have some old sheets here that would be put to good use with this method. Change them every day or so? I suppose that would get far too messy once they get a few weeks old?

I may just look online for some chick supplies, my local feed store is quite expensive, 6.95 for a waterer. My Hova Bator was 159.95 :O No egg turner included either. Anyone have good experiences buying stuff from mypetchicken.com?

 

[joletabey]

Rubber maid works great- I did a1/2 hardware cloth cover, the light sat on the wire. When the chicks got bigger, I got another identical tub and cut a hole in each and joined them together with a bottomless bucket to double my six- the chicks ran back and forth through the tunnel and had a great time- put a light over both- someone on here did it and posted a pic, it's where I got the idea. Worked great!

 

[cluckcluck42]

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Very nice, love the hardware cloth idea!

 

[cluckcluck42]

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Hey that sounds funky, I hope I can find the pics of that!

 

[FortWorthChicks]

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Great idea... that was helpful as I have a fridge in the garage I could snatch a rack from! Free is great!

 

[Coopa Cabana]

CluckCluck42,
Before shopping online and having to pay shipping costs, check out the Reptile section of your local Petsmart or Petco!! Believe it or not, the set-ups for reptile housing are very similiar to brooders. You can find your heat lamps & clamps, bulbs, thermometers, shallow dishes, etc. They also have large wire mesh lids made to fit aquariums - you might be able to find one large enough for your Rubbermaid.