Rubbermaid Brooder?

[cluckcluck42]

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That looks great. I will show the boyfriend this, and see if we have any scrap wood around. I worry the cats would knock it over, they are such little jerks. But then again, I am paranoid.

 

[fancbrd4me02]

Quote:
That looks great. I will show the boyfriend this, and see if we have any scrap wood around. I worry the cats would knock it over, they are such little jerks. But then again, I am paranoid.

They are sturdier than they look! If you have cats you should cut the top out of the rubbermaid tub then cover the cut out section with hardware cloth (wire). I use "liquid nails" glue in a caulking tube to attach mine.

I forgot to add that the screen top keeps the chicks inside. They start flying (out of brooder) within a couple of weeks.

 

[ams3651]

what I did was attach a 1x2 to the side of the box then I could use the clamp on the light to move it up and down as needed. I also cut out part of the lid and replaced it with mesh so they could get the heat but couldnt get out. But I also used a very large box, you will be surprised at how fast they grow. I thought I had pictures but I guess I dont. I used a clear box so my youngest so could see them running around.

 

[CountryPantry]

This is how we decorated our living room:

small Tote Brooder with 5 ameraucana chicks

bigger tote brooder with 20 assorted sizes of quails

our old coke cooler brooder

and of course the rabbit cage in the middle of the room

isn't that how everyone lives in the winter.......NOT!! Hope it gets warmer quickly.

 

[cluckcluck42]

Quote:
That looks great. I will show the boyfriend this, and see if we have any scrap wood around. I worry the cats would knock it over, they are such little jerks. But then again, I am paranoid.

They are sturdier than they look! If you have cats you should cut the top out of the rubbermaid tub then cover the cut out section with hardware cloth (wire). I use "liquid nails" glue in a caulking tube to attach mine.

I forgot to add that the screen top keeps the chicks inside. They start flying (out of brooder) within a couple of weeks.

Yeah thats what we are doing with the hardware cloth, going tomorrow to buy some. Thanks for the idea, I love it. Been wondering how to put the light up safely.

 

[cluckcluck42]

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Good idea!

Yeah, we have two rubbermaids we are going to get ready and also a small dog crate. They will have to stay in for awhile, since its cold here, so we are trying to prepare but really I'm not sure how much room they will need. Hopefully we only get less than 10 chicks (19 in the bator)

 

[cluckcluck42]

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Thanks for the pics and of course the bonus bunny pic.

Do you use paper towel? How often do you have to change it? Is it a decent bedding? We were thinking of using some old linen.

 

[fancbrd4me02]

If you clamp a light instead of hanging it, make sure to secure the clamp somehow. They get hot, so wire is usually best, but some have said they use zip ties. Maybe you could screw an eyelet to thread the wire through? The clamps sometimes don't stay in place and fall off or end up leaned against things. I had one fall off right into the brooder in front of me once, barely missed the chicks and might have caught on fire if I hadn't been there.

I use paper towls for newborns, and I sprinkle the food on it. It gets them interested. After a few days I move them to a large brooder with wood chips.

 

[mediazeal]

I use a rubbermaid box with hardware cloth insert in the top as you describe. I put the heat lamp right on the wire with a 75W heat bulb. Anything higher would melt the box and kill the chickies.
When I used a 120W I had it on a separate stand I could raise and lower, what I do now is easier.
Mine are the milky-clear kind so easy to watch the antics
works great

 

[cluckcluck42]

Hubby wants us to try to put two layers of chicken wire on the top (since we already have it) so I am going to humour him. Methinks we will be getting hardware cloth early next week because I don't see it working out, but who knows!!


We're going to build something to hang the light up on, we got a 175w red bulb so it cant get too close to the bin. I have no idea how that is going to work out, I wish there was something we could BUY to hang it up on but I want to be extra safe so we are going to hang it from the ceiling and hang it from the doohickey.