What do you guys think about this brooder?

[BigBlueHen53]

Wow! That's pretty slick. Is it glass or plexiglass? I love that you can see the chicks so clearly. Where did you get it, what's it called, and did you buy the top separately?

 

[mcdze]

what do i think about it .. chicks indoors is a dust-bomb waiting to happen ... my brooder setup is 3 stage now, the first week they go in the brooder in the pic, its shallow and easy to deal with, is easy to control the heat even out on the porch, and its easily portable ... after a week they go to a big deeper box in the garage, then depending on weather they go to, or back and forth to a wire pen out back in the shade covered by a sheet and piece of tin with a block on top so nothing can tip it ... less mess to clean and cheap, thats the goal .. but if you really love them, sure, raise them in the livingroom heheh ..

 

[Sammster]

Here it is!

View attachment 3809458

Nice! Would you mind sharing the link, please?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

No dust with puppy pee pads.

 

[rosemarythyme]

what do i think about it .. chicks indoors is a dust-bomb waiting to happen ... my brooder setup is 3 stage now, the first week they go in the brooder in the pic, its shallow and easy to deal with, is easy to control the heat even out on the porch, and its easily portable ... after a week they go to a big deeper box in the garage, then depending on weather they go to, or back and forth to a wire pen out back in the shade covered by a sheet and piece of tin with a block on top so nothing can tip it ... less mess to clean and cheap, thats the goal .. but if you really love them, sure, raise them in the livingroom heheh ..

Even easier is to just brood directly in the coop or run from the start. No "stages," no need to make adjustments for weather (if you get it set up juuuust right), no need for cleanup (if you do deep bedding or litter).

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Even easier is to just brood directly in the coop or run from the start. No "stages," no need to make adjustments for weather (if you get it set up juuuust right), no need for cleanup (if you do deep bedding or litter).

That's what we're doing with our next batch, coming this weekend, but in the past we've gotten chicks in early March. Good weather this time of year, but early March - can be harsh around here.

 

[Brooks_]

No dust with puppy pee pads.

The dust was greatly reduced with pads this last time around. I was just not expecting how often they would need changed. Never saw how messy and dirty it was using flakes.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

We change ours every night, for each tote of six chicks. At three weeks they move to an outside brooder, and we do use chips or shredded paper in that.

 

[Brooks_]

We change ours every night, for each tote of six chicks. At three weeks they move to an outside brooder, and we do use chips or shredded paper in that.

I was able to start with every other day. Then daily. By two weeks, it was....

 

[rosemarythyme]

That's what we're doing with our next batch, coming this weekend, but in the past we've gotten chicks in early March. Good weather this time of year, but early March - can be harsh around here.

I'd always done chicks in May, when risk of rain was minimal and weather was generally more consistent and pleasant. Turns out rain isn't a problem if you spend enough time perfecting the brooder placement (compare the dark and damp litter outside vs inside):

We only ended up with a late March batch this time because hubby didn't want to wait, how can I not see that we're not getting enough eggs?!? So maybe we'll have eggs through fall and winter for once.