BROODER thread! Post pics of your brooders!

[lazy gardener]

Thanks for the advice. I did not realize they produced all the dust as most people talked about it being from pine bedding, etc.
Currently our 8x18 run is complete with roof, sides, etc. and all hardware cloth is in place. I now simply need to finish building the coop inside. I only need a couple nice days outside with help from my dad and it should be ready.

Maybe we could move them outside after the first week and they don't need as much attention. My wife is purchasing me an Ecoglow 20 as a birthday gift as I worry about the heat from a lamp and know the power consumption will be much lower with this. We are located in Raleigh, NC, so it doesn't often get much below 30 degrees during this time of year.

We will see how things go.

Double check to see if the Eco-glo will actually produce enough heat when outdoors. I believe they come with a warning to not use them below a certain ambient temp. Many of us are using Sunbeam X-Press heating pads over a wire frame that will do well even in winter temps. This method more closely mimics Mama broody experience, and cost a fraction of what the Eco-Glo does. Check out this article: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/yes-you-certainly-can-brood-chicks-outdoors

 

[Tillicans]

Yakmayar I would be inclined to get your coop set up before you get your chicks, they may be tiny but as one of us said here their dander is not good for you or the chicks. Why not get a dogs kennel and place it on a balcony or near the house where you can keep an eye on them. It really is not fair for them to be moved several times, that's what I think anyway. good luck.

 

[TriciaAnne]

I took a modular playpen we had when kids were little. Formed into a rectangle. Covered most with chicken wire. Put a piece of 2 x 2 across the middle on top to stabilize and attach lamp and waterer. Added a small roost and the top of a plastic shelving unit for a lid. An old comforter was added on lamp end that we can adjust according to the temperature is outside. They are on my covered back porch. The open end is where I bungie the shelve top on as a lid.

 

[TriciaAnne]

Here it is with lid attached and comforter pulled up as temps will drop a bit tonight (we are in Florida).

 

[BY Chicken Lady]

Love this!

 

[TriciaAnne]

Thank you. It was actually easy to put together. And inexpesive because I recycled the baby pen. I am happy with how it turned out.

 

[chippy99th]

During the nighttime, my two 3-week-olds sleep inside in a big cardboard box. During the day, they like to be out in the grass in this brooder we made out of an old compost bin:

They like it much better than the cardboard box, because of the grass and the sunlight and the little windows. Of course, this is without the lid on (you can see my little white roo Geronimo in the second pic getting ready to jump up). The cloth is there for taking a rest from the grass. Most days they don't need a heat lamp, unless it's nearing dusk and they're still out. Also, the fact that it's round keeps Una (the gray one) from getting stuck in a corner.

 

[mobius]

Just teasing. This was how I moved them around!

After they outgrew the bathtub brooder contraption. I got this pen for Christmas last year and it was repurposed. Easy to take them outside in this as well when they were tiny. And the doggy playpen let me keep an eye on them. Easily hosed off as well.

The small dog wants inside. And it let the dogs and chickens get comfortable with each other (and they are to this day) across time. Course the chickens are about as big as the dogs now. And the occasional nose-peck keeps the dogs in line should they show a bit too much interest.

 

[Bawk2theFuture]

Made a newborn chick brooder out of a TV Stand with 1/2 inch HDPE floor.

 

[Bawk2theFuture]

Made an electric mama hen out of a reptile heater pad enclosed between two cookie sheets wrapped in duct tape.
They love it!
It's adjustable by little brackets I placed along the edges of the inside of the brooder.