Rubbermaid Brooder?

[Madcap621]

A drop cord [mechanic's light] with a 100 =0to 159watt bulb should work for heat. Decrease wattage to decrease temp.

One of the neatest feeders for little chicks I have seen was an egg carton turned upside-down with a quarter sized hole cut out of the bottom of the cups!

waterers can be made of butter tubs with a couple of holes punched very near the bottom and set in a bowl. once the water covers the holes [be sure the lid is tightly closed on the tub] it forms a vacuum and no more water will come out until they drink some.

feeders can also be made from butter tubs. cut the holes larger at the bottom, set in a pie tin, place a funnel up-side down inside to channel the feed to the holes.

Feeders and waterers can be elevated on a 2x4 or brick to get it chest high to the chicks. As they grow container size can be uncreased.

2 or 3 inches of pine shaving litter with DE will work for deep litter for chicks and you won't have to change it for 6 to 8 weeks or more, then just empty into the compost.

Happy brooding adventure!

Madcap, sitting here watching "chick TV - my brooder in my living room

Life is good!!

 

[cluckcluck42]

Quote:
Great ideas for the feeder/waterer!! I actually bought some pie plates to paper clip together and cut holes in for food or maybe water but I really like the egg carton idea. I will try out a few ideas and see what I like best!

Any pics of your chick TV? I cant wait for mine!

 

[thechickonthehill]

Here is how I fixed up my Rubbermaid brooder.

I cut out the inside of the lid leaving the outer portion intact and screwed to it a wooden cross piece (1" x 6") so I could attach a light fixture (porcelain, NOT plastic) and attached a hinged door on either side of the cross piece for easy access the brooder (the doors lay completely flat when open so are out of the way). My husband used a 15 foot household extension cord to wire the light fixture. I cut viewing windows in the side and covered them with plastic netting (the side is rippled so I needed to use something that was flexible). I made a binding around the edges of the netting with duct tape to make it easier to attach it to the tub with zip ties. Make sure not to cut the windows on the sides too low or the shavings will get kicked out all over your house! For the heat lamp (the regular 250 watts are too much and too big) I found a Heat Glo infrared heat lamp (100W) at the local pet store. Pet Smart carries these and so does Amazon ($7/8 bucks). I plan to attach a dimmer switch (Lowes $10) to drop the heat down week by week but you can also get these bulbs in lower wattages if you prefer.

 

[Julie08]

I use racks from an old stove to cover the top works great for keeping other pets out and chicks in, plus you dont have to worry about the heat from the lamp, sometimes I put the lamp right on the racks (wired on of course) and also put the cord on a hook so it can fall.

 

[Kerilou]

That is awesome!! i am gonna show hubby this one. How many chicks could something like this house?? (question directed at thechickonthehill)

Keri

 

[fancbrd4me02]

her's how I hang my heat lamps. The stands are simple but effective and easy to store. You can make them to suit the hight of your brooders. The one pictured is the table-top version I use for newborns, but I also have larger ones used for the brooder/grower pens in the garage.

 

[thechickonthehill]

Quote:
I suppose, if you go by the .5 square foot per chick rule (since the box is about 1.5' x 3'), you should only put 9 or 10 chicks in there. I plan to (hopefully if they all hatch, that is) put 14 chicks in there. However, 7 of the 14 are bantams so they'll have plenty of room.

 

[jaboo81]

How long will that be holding that many chicks for?

 

[thechickonthehill]

Quote:
I'm not exactly sure but hopefully at least a month.

I have a much bigger brooder built from scratch that lives in the chicken coop and I will move them into that when they outgrow the rubbermaid tub. This is my first time to use this size of tub so I'll just have to see. Last year I used a large dog crate for twelve large fowl chicks. I moved them at 5 weeks out to the big brooder. The dog crate was not as big as this tub is though.

 

[Ms~Silkie~Girl]

You could hang the heat lamp from a chain above the brooder, thats how we hung our heat lamp