Starting brooder build have questions.

[briana1975]

My husband came home from work yesterday happy about a large wooden crate that came into work with parts in it. We are picking it up later to make a brooder out of it. He says it is about 3x3. We ordered 12 chicks from Ideal and it sound like there will be extras added for warmth. So we are looking at possible 25 chicks max. I really don't want to keep making a bigger brooder each week or two so what size should this thing be to get them through at least 4 weeks. They aren't coming till mid April and we are in Mi. so the weather gets nice in mid May so I am hoping to have them in the coop with a light at night for warmth at the end of week 4.

 

[Oceanseve]

Is it 1/2 sq ft the first two weeks then 1 sq ft after that? I can't remember and my Storey guide is in the car. We are currently having this dilemma. We have plenty of cages but none big enough, I got a little carried away ordering

. We found a huge furniture box on the side of the road thats about 5x5, so in theory by 2 week it can hold 25, but we now need to set it up and find another one for the other 25 we have coming the end of march

 

[agirly4chicks]

I feel your pain I have 2 2 1/2'x1' brooders but 11 chicks right now they are 2 weeks and 5 are in one and 6 are in the other. I want something bigger but I can't keep throwing out money and I have nothing to make a new one out of.


Good luck!

 

[CTChickenMom]

Storey's A Guide to Raising Chicks says 6 sq inches up to 4 weeks and then 1 sq ft up to 8 wks. I've also seen 9 sq inches up to 6 weeks. I will have just enough room in my 3'x3' brooder by the time they head out to the hen house. Once in the hen house, large breeds need 3-3 1/2 sq ft and light breeds need 2 1/2 to 3 sq ft.

 

[RIVERA69R]

I use a 150 gal reptile tank its 6ft long by 2ft wide we have 8 one week old pullets in it my son made two little houses out of cardboard boxes for them to go in I like to give them as much room as possible to have fun and explore in after all there kids!

 

[Oceanseve]

Quote:
I've got a 140 tall (wishing I hadn't given my 150 to my uncle

), trying to decide to use it or not. Its not easy to clean is my worry.

 

[RIVERA69R]

Quote:
I've got a 140 tall (wishing I hadn't given my 150 to my uncle

), trying to decide to use it or not. Its not easy to clean is my worry.

well the first week I had pine shavings down but just rolled out papertowel the length of the tank to cover the shavings until they got use to whats food and whats not, so when the paper towels got dirty I just rolled them right up and in the trash I just started using only the pine shavings two days ago they are about a week old now and i plan to use a dust pan scoop it out and into the compost pile i am about to start but its pretty easy to clean beings its all glass

 

[cmom]

Here is a thread with tons of pics of many BYC members brooders. Enjoy.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=6233

 

[Oceanseve]

Quote:
I've got a 140 tall (wishing I hadn't given my 150 to my uncle

), trying to decide to use it or not. Its not easy to clean is my worry.

well the first week I had pine shavings down but just rolled out papertowel the length of the tank to cover the shavings until they got use to whats food and whats not, so when the paper towels got dirty I just rolled them right up and in the trash I just started using only the pine shavings two days ago they are about a week old now and i plan to use a dust pan scoop it out and into the compost pile i am about to start but its pretty easy to clean beings its all glass

The problem I have with it is its over 4ft tall, so its hard to reach into even if its on the ground

 

[High Mountain Chic]

I am in the middle of building a brooder for my 6 chicks. They have to stay inside for longer than most due to the fact that in Leadville we have snow on the ground until May. So i need a big brooder and i don't have a lot of money to spend. So here is my suggestion for free supplies- wood loading pallets! Every shop from the lumber yard to the stove installer has them leaning against their dumpsters! The great thing too is that the boards are cut into nice easy to manage sizes. The brooder I am building is 4'x3' and managed to find all the wood i need without having to break out a saw! AND THEY ARE FREE! I am lining the bottom of my brooder with vinyl tiles for easy clean up. Plus hitting up the thrift stores never hurts! I found several dresser drawers that I'm going to use as nest boxes. If you can't afford class- funky can be divine! Hope that helps!