using the tub for a brooder?

[RebelsHope]

Looks good, but I too would worry if you added shavings to the tub that they would plug up your drain.

I was in Wal Mart one day and the stock boy was moving watermelons from one large cardboard box to another. I snagged the empty one and it was a great brooder.

BTW you little ones are SO cute!!

 

[Poison Ivy]

I use a rubbermaid container from the dollar store. It one of the ones that you can store christmas decorations in. They work great and clean up is a breeze.

 

[Wooden_Pony]

I use my laundry room sink as my brooder.

I put in the plug, a double layer of newspaper then my shavings. When I clean it out I am able to grab the newspaper edges and then roll up all the shavings into the paper. Any left behind I use our shop vac and suck them out.

It works really well. OH, I do have a screen that I place over the top of the sink as once they get older they tend to fly out of the sink. I either find them wandering around the laundry room or roosting on the edge of the sink

 

[lizardz]

We also have an extra bathtub and that's exactly what we used as a brooder for our chickies. I put a few layers of newspaper on the bottom, then pine shavings. I began by hanging the light from the faucet, then moved it up as they got bigger. They stayed in there until they were four weeks old and only a couple figured out they could fly out. It does get kind of smelly, but it's pretty easy to clean - just wrap it all up in the paper, then vacuum out whatever's left. There were 12 in there, and I cleaned it out about twice a week. And, like someone else said, plan on doing a really good cleaning afterward because there is LOTS of dust. My son's friends just thought it was the funniest thing to have chickens in the bathroom!
Liz

 

[nightshade]

Belive it or not we actually raised all of our chicks in a large reptile tank on our bedroom dresser. Worked really well , but there was alot of dust and major cleaning had to be done once they were moved outside. Were at that point they went into a very large cow water tough (basicly the same thing as a bath tub) with wire over it. They were there until we got the brooder coop done.

 

[hinkjc]

There are a lot of great suggestions here for good brooders. Here is another item we found useful. We got a whole pile of old file cabinets and metal closets (you know the 6 foot tall ones) from someone throwing them out. Some were in really good shape and we use them to store stuff in our basement. The rest were flipped on their backs, doors removed, add legs and wahla...magic brooder that is easy to bleach out after each use. Window screens fit nicely over them too to help keep little flyers inside.

Jody