show me your dog crate baby brooders

[taprock]

I can't show you a picture since mine is torn apart for cleaning for the next batch of chicks. It looks much the same as those pictured. We do not use any other wire or mesh but we keep ours in a fish tank or box until they are two weeks old then they move to the dog crate in the basement. I zip tie cardboard about 8 inches up on the bottom. We just use a 75 watt bulb in a clamp light. I clamp it to the side and wrap the cord twice through the top and then adjust with clothes pins to keep it at the right height. That way there are three different points holding the light up for safety. I duct tape heavy paper in the bottom of the crate and put the shavings over it. It makes it easier for clean up and they don't get kicked around quite as much as just the metal tray. I also have a clip on the door besides the latches, added safety as our dog knows how to open the cage from the outside. Branches work great for roosts, which are adjustable as they grow.

 

[Nicole01]

Not the greatest photo. I used sheetrock inside along the boarder, so our cats don't swipe their paws inside. It's an extra large dog kennel. I've put some logs in there for the girls to stand on since I took this picture.

 

[Emmalion]

Quote:
I have not had to touch the cardboard sides at all. So no need to change them unless they get really dirty which I don't see happening. Just make sure to secure them to the sides so they don't fall in on the chicks or have a security breach.

 

[SabaiFarms]

Quote:
The bulb on the right is a full spectrum light that makes no heat at all. The lamp on the left has a ceramic heat emitter in it. I hated the red light. I turn off the white light at night and they sleep like babies until I turn it back on in the morning.

The chicken wire was mainly to keep cat paws out better. I can't wait until they are old enough to put the cat in her place. One of the chicks in there is super tiny, she could get through the bars if she really wanted to, but she doesn't.

 

[birdstheword]

This is my dog crate brooder. (Hope the upload works)

 

[Emmalion]

Quote:
If you are using the site uploads make sure to grab the img tag under the photo. Then paste it in here and it should show up.

 

[beardiemom]

We did the same thing. We started with a medium sized wire crate fit with cardboard. We put pine shavings down and a mesh screen on top of that to help them walk. After a few weeks we moved to a large wire dog crate with a much lower cardboard wall. Then we added a fold-up dog's x-pen (exercise pen) so that we could let them out of the crate and get some exercise. We also used the x-pen outside during the day for a few hours when the weather got warmer until they were old enough to move to their coop.

 

[craziechick]

Here is mine....It's inside but I am moving it to the coop for the next babies.

 

[dbounds10]

Here is mine - we used the cardboard that the crate came in and it fit nicely. We have not had to replace it and they are 6 weeks old today.

 

[mommto3kiddos]