BROODER thread! Post pics of your brooders!

[OnnieMae]

Hopefully you have a big coop and room for the brooder, easier to integrate for sure.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/integrating-new-birds-at-4-weeks-old.72603/

The coop is a very good size. So you think the chicks will be safe from the roosters and hens?

 

[aart]

The coop is a very good size. So you think the chicks will be safe from the roosters and hens?

Did you read my link?

 

[junebuggena]

The coop is a very good size. So you think the chicks will be safe from the roosters and hens?

You do have to take precautions to protect the chicks, like rigging up a pen or box inside the coop that is covered to keep the chicks in and the adults out.

 

[OnnieMae]

Did you read my link?

Yes - Thank you it is a great article. I have a small coop off to the side of the larger coop. I will take photos tomorrow and post them and ask for assistance in upgrading it for my babies.

 

[aart]

Yes - Thank you it is a great article. I have a small coop off to the side of the larger coop. I will take photos tomorrow and post them and ask for assistance in upgrading it for my babies.

That might work too if you can put a 'tiny door' between the coops/runs.
It would be good to start a new thread with your pics here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/coop-run-design-construction-maintenance.9/create-thread

 

[Chris240]

Are there any reasons I shouldn't use a fish tank as a brooder? I have a couple of 50 gallon (18" x 36" x 18" deep) tanks with lockable wire mesh covers collecting dust in the basement.

 

[aart]

Are there any reasons I shouldn't use a fish tank as a brooder? I have a couple of 50 gallon (18" x 36" x 18" deep) tanks with lockable wire mesh covers collecting dust in the basement.

They are kind of small(or will be quickly, chicks grow fast),
ventilation is not great(despite the mesh top),
can become an oven if using a heat lamp to warm chicks.

 

[Chris240]

They are kind of small(or will be quickly, chicks grow fast),
ventilation is not great(despite the mesh top),
can become an oven if using a heat lamp to warm chicks.

Thanks aart.
Probably not getting chicks for six weeks or so. Maybe I'll try setting it up minus the chicks and see if I have problems controlling heat and humidity.
Six chicks to start. I have room for a bigger brooder if/when I need it.

 

[aart]

I have room for a bigger brooder if/when I need it.

Seriously......just start bigger, save you the task having to switch them over after a week or two.

Here's my notes on chick heat, hope something in there might help:
They need to be pretty warm(~85-90F on the brooder floor right under the lamp and 10-20 degrees cooler at the other end of brooder) for the first day or two, especially if they have been shipped, until they get to eating, drinking and moving around well. But after that it's best to keep them as cool as possible for optimal feather growth and quicker acclimation to outside temps. A lot of chick illnesses are attributed to too warm of a brooder. I do think it's a good idea to use a thermometer on the floor of the brooder to check the temps, especially when new at brooding, later I still use it but more out of curiosity than need.

The best indicator of heat levels is to watch their behavior:
-If they are huddled/piled up right under the lamp and cheeping very loudly, they are too cold.
-If they are spread out on the absolute edges of the brooder as far from the lamp as possible, panting and/or cheeping very loudly, they are too hot.
-If they sleep around the edge of the lamp calmly just next to each other and spend time running all around the brooder they are juuuust right!

The lamp is best at one end of the brooder with food/water at the other cooler end of the brooder, so they can get away from the heat or be under it as needed. Wattage of 'heat' bulb depends on size of brooder and ambient temperature of room brooder is in. Regular incandescent bulbs can be used, you might not need a 'heat bulb'. You can get red colored incandescent bulbs at a reptile supply source. A dimmer extension cord is an excellent way to adjust the output of the bulb to change the heat without changing the height of the lamp.

Or you could go with a heat plate, commercially made or DIY: http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate

 

[BBZZZZTT]

Okay... My brooder is all set up. I have a plastic bin for the first week or so with MHP.

Then the top of that brooder becomes one of the side panels for the interim teenage chicken holding cell.

Right now there are some absorbent pads on the bottom of both which will eventually be pine shavings. I used the red tape over the edges of the hardware cloth just so I don't cut myself on it. XD
This was all made from scrap lumber and hardware cloth left over from my coop build.