We are planning on ordering about 20 Cornish crosses this spring. What size brooder do they need week to week? We have a dirt floor barn with 4 11.5'x8.5' stalls. I was thinking a plastic kiddie pool with a heat lamp for the first few weeks then just use the heat lamp in the corner of a stall without the pool and finally moving them out to their chicken tractor in the yard. Thoughts?
They may well jump out of kiddie pool by 1-2 weeks...space sounds ok. How big is tractor? More space equals less manure pile up, cleaner bird.s
The pool should be good to keep them from wandering too far and not being able to find the lamp, by the time they can jump out of it that shouldn't be a concern and you can remove it. Just be sure you're confining them to that stall, I had to adjust my stall doors closer to the ground so young birds don't weasel out when I use it as a brooder.
