BROODER thread! Post pics of your brooders!

[Kolbeslayadayinn]

Husband built me a brooder. Just waiting on the chicks to hatch.

 

[Becstasy94]

First time with chicks and I’m obsessed and ready to buy a farm

 

[Altairsky]

Here is mine ^^

 

[TLynne1]

Hello everyone!
I had several ideas about what to do for a brooder, then read someone's post about how they might use a dog crate ..... *ding!*..... we had a huge one in our garage I was about to list on craigslist! (FYI, it is 27" x 40" and we have 6 chicks) This was perfect for us, to protect the babies from our house dog and the two kids. I thought it might be useful for others to see how some of us have made a brooder and get some ideas, so I will start it out!


Here it is from the outside..... it is in our living room with the light mounted on the outside. As they have needed less heat I have slowly turned it to the left, lowering the temp each week.

Here is the inside. Thermometer is on the left (not in photo though!). Food and water are on a 4x4 post scrap to get it up a bit so they dont poop in it, or get shavings in it. We still wash out the water every day. It is also in the back so it stays cooler. I screwed in screws to hang the oak branch in there and they love it. The chick flapping is one of the two who are competing for the Queen of the Pecking Order. They fight for who is on the roost, and she is clearly telling the other one to get off! We use the deep litter method, and so need the bit of cardboard in the front to prevent shavings from coming out the front! We also stir it up everyday.

And here is our huge Lab protecting the babies.........actually, he is scared of them and backs away when we get them close to him, but he wants to look at them!

Can't wait to see everyone else's ideas!

Hello everyone!
I had several ideas about what to do for a brooder, then read someone's post about how they might use a dog crate ..... *ding!*..... we had a huge one in our garage I was about to list on craigslist! (FYI, it is 27" x 40" and we have 6 chicks) This was perfect for us, to protect the babies from our house dog and the two kids. I thought it might be useful for others to see how some of us have made a brooder and get some ideas, so I will start it out!


Here it is from the outside..... it is in our living room with the light mounted on the outside. As they have needed less heat I have slowly turned it to the left, lowering the temp each week.

Here is the inside. Thermometer is on the left (not in photo though!). Food and water are on a 4x4 post scrap to get it up a bit so they dont poop in it, or get shavings in it. We still wash out the water every day. It is also in the back so it stays cooler. I screwed in screws to hang the oak branch in there and they love it. The chick flapping is one of the two who are competing for the Queen of the Pecking Order. They fight for who is on the roost, and she is clearly telling the other one to get off! We use the deep litter method, and so need the bit of cardboard in the front to prevent shavings from coming out the front! We also stir it up everyday.

And here is our huge Lab protecting the babies.........actually, he is scared of them and backs away when we get them close to him, but he wants to look at them!

Can't wait to see everyone else's ideas!

 

[Yo_yo5]

Here is my set up in a large plastic tub. I have a Brines heater that I adjust as the chicks get older. For feeders, I rigged up 2-inch PVC with a 90 degree elbow and short section of pipe to which I have attached an end cap that I cut at a 90-degree angle to form a little feeding trough. I cut holes in the tub to insert the feeders so I can mount them to the outside with zip ties and save room in the brooder. For water, I have a 4-nipple waterer on a short section of PVC with a hose connection. The hose is connected to an elevated 5-gallon bucket to which I have attached a garden hose fitting. I elevate the bucket enough that there is enough water pressure to supply the nipple waterers. Last year I used a rubber mesh mat cut to fit the bottom of the brooder and put pine shavings on top. This year, I did not even bother and just put the pine shavings in with no problems. I've tried various solutions to make the cleanup of poop on top of the heater easier (because the chicks love to get up there and poop), but I think contact paper is the best bet - just peel it off and throw it away when messy, then replace with a new piece. It sure beats scraping and scrubbing every few days. Lastly, I do have a simple screened top that can go over this because it is amazing how quickly the chicks figure out how to get out. Of course, the first thing they when they get out is to poop on the floor, so the top goes on after about a week or so.

What are the height measurements for the feeder and waterer?

 

[ChickyMudder]

Here is my set up in a large plastic tub. I have a Brines heater that I adjust as the chicks get older. For feeders, I rigged up 2-inch PVC with a 90 degree elbow and short section of pipe to which I have attached an end cap that I cut at a 90-degree angle to form a little feeding trough. I cut holes in the tub to insert the feeders so I can mount them to the outside with zip ties and save room in the brooder. For water, I have a 4-nipple waterer on a short section of PVC with a hose connection. The hose is connected to an elevated 5-gallon bucket to which I have attached a garden hose fitting. I elevate the bucket enough that there is enough water pressure to supply the nipple waterers. Last year I used a rubber mesh mat cut to fit the bottom of the brooder and put pine shavings on top. This year, I did not even bother and just put the pine shavings in with no problems. I've tried various solutions to make the cleanup of poop on top of the heater easier (because the chicks love to get up there and poop), but I think contact paper is the best bet - just peel it off and throw it away when messy, then replace with a new piece. It sure beats scraping and scrubbing every few days. Lastly, I do have a simple screened top that can go over this because it is amazing how quickly the chicks figure out how to get out. Of course, the first thing they when they get out is to poop on the floor, so the top goes on after about a week or so.

Do you remove the feeders to clean the whole thing out? Wondering if there is a way to make clean out easier.

 

[ChickyMudder]

My little Bresse darlings love their ceramic heat lamp with natural light. I use a smooth surface for the first week like paper towels or similar. Then we switch to pine chips after they are walking well and no splay leg.
My favorite brooder is the tent. I raise the most docile birds because we sit with them daily and become one of the flock.

 

[Debbie292d]

It is 62" high and 24"x36". The bottom of the brooder is 28" from the floor.

More details if interested.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/garden-shed-chicken-coop.78150/page/brooder.340/

 

[Emmaloveschickens9156]

I entered a raffle at a pet store and won a rabbit cage, and that is currently a brooder for ten chicks, but in a few days, possibly even today they will move outside into a dog kennel that previously housed 19 week old chickens. They will be moving out into the bigger flock as the chicks move in.