Would this giant cage make a good brooder?

[NoseyChickens]

I just want to get some opinions. I can get a couple of these for FREE. they are about 3x4ft about 3ft high. With some modifications I am hoping they will work for brooders. I have 10 runner ducks coming and 40 eggs in the incubator. For the duck brooder I was just going to put some poultry wire mesh at the bottom and on the sides, for the chicks I was going to build a wooden bottom to hold in the shavings. Is it alright to just have the ducks on wire or should they have a solid bottom too?
They fold down flat and I did not put them entirely together for the pictures.

 

[debilorrah]

YES!!!! I use old towels in the bottom of my cage brooder and change them out every few days. Pop it in the washer and you are good to go. It gives them good traction too!!! I have ducks in mine now so they are changed every day. Ducks are messy!

 

[kathyinmo]

Oooooooohhhhhh, I would love to have a dozen of those!

For a brooder, you may need to use some cardboard around the edges (bottom, too?), if the holes are big enough for the chicks to get through. Or, you could use something else.

 

[NoseyChickens]

Cool. There is a whe stack of them in the background so you can see how they fold down. I may have DH bring home more than 2. There are big wooden boxes to. I am getting three to make little breeding coops out of! He got me a really big one last week I am making my duck house with.

 

[ChanceRider]

Heck yes! I'd snap those up in a heartbeat. Congrats on the great find, and good luck with your babies

 

[babsbag]

I put towels around the outside of my wire cage and just clipped them onto the wire with clothes pens. I put cardboard on the floor for the first week and covered that with paper towels. Worked great. Good find on the cages, I would grab 'em fast.

I also found some solid plastic raningutter guard at Ace Hardware that I used to make a shield around the bottom. Sorta like the seed gaurds birdcages have on them. The plastic is about 6 inches high so it would work to hold the pine shavings in.

 

[Randy]

Like has been said already you will have to put something in the bottom and around the bottom as the holes are too big for chicks. I've got a few of those around here but haven't used any for poultry although I've been eyeballing them. They are some heavy sons of guns. You won't be moving them often.

 

[dumb_cluck]

FREE IS GOOD ! I use a similar fold up dog cage with a plastic tray in the bottom for my adopted duck (drake) He likes it.
My other ducks (2 hens and a drake) are in a dog exercise pen with a cargo net over the top. They think it's home.

I'm still trying to plan my chick containment........not sure what I want to end up with......

 

[Morgan7782]

Security ROCKS too! I have cats, and would LOVE a few of those cages. Right now it's musical rooms with the cat and chicks lol.

 

[onthespot]

grab ALL of those you can get!!! Those are expensive cages!!! I would LOVE to get a bunch of those for free!