Setting up a makeshift brooder

[rabifaf]

I have a Brinsea incubator and heat plate with 12 Coturnix sex link eggs. I'm doing a children's hatching program at work and was wondering if I could use a Sterilite Tote 24" L x 16" W x 13 7/8" H (66qt) for a brooder? I cannot have a soft sided brooder as we have a cat who is left unattended for long stretches. Chicks will only be in public location for 72 hours before moving home with me.

I was planning on putting more ventilation in the sides of the tote by making rectangle holes and covering them with screen. If I were approaching this like a home renovation Toronto project, I’d also consider making a wooden screened frame to cover it. Also, should I use bedding wood shavings or hemp bedding?

I’ll be getting some chicks next week. This week has been freezing, with temperatures in the 30s and 40s, but I’m hoping for warmer weather by then. For my brooder setup, I use one kiddie pool per dozen chicks, lined with wood shavings and a heat lamp suspended inside a box so the chicks can move under it or step away as needed. The brooder is kept in the locked garage to keep my cat and any other curious visitors safely away.

 

[Nabiki]

I’ll be getting some chicks next week. This week has been freezing, with temperatures in the 30s and 40s, but I’m hoping for warmer weather by then. For my brooder setup, I use one kiddie pool per dozen chicks, lined with wood shavings and a heat lamp suspended inside a box so the chicks can move under it or step away as needed. The brooder is kept in the locked garage to keep my cat and any other curious visitors safely away.

That's probably a bit big for quail chicks. They get lost away from the heat very easily during their first two to three days of life.

 

[Sefirothe]

That's probably a bit big for quail chicks. They get lost away from the heat very easily during their first two to three days of life.

They also feather up and start hopping and flapping/flying a lot faster than you’d think!