BROODER thread! Post pics of your brooders!

[suenrob]

My brooder and chicken shepherd, Ben

 

[ruth]

Hey Suenrob - great brooder system. I have the exact same model but mine is named Rex.

Great brooder system. I put that box outside amongst every predator known to man and Rex doesn't let anything come near it.

Gotta love GSDs.

 

[suenrob]

very cute Ruth!!!!!!

 

[LynneP]

We're expectng our chicks May 16, day-old layers from our co-op. We're adapting a plexiglass container for them. We experimented today with the temp, and we've decided to partition the brooder and have a chick opening so they can gather under the light or move out for water/feed. It was a bit chilly with the entire brooder open to one space.

 

[jkcove08]

Here is my newest brooder. I almost always brood in the house and this time is the same. I also have 2 large metal cattle troughs in the front porch with chicks of different ages in those also. This is in the back porch. I have to admit this is my best idea to date..lol My hubby is the ABSOLUTE BEST to tolerate my ideas.. There are 10 chicks in this brooder. Jenn

 

[sharkobeach]

My chicks are due to arrive March 31. I just built an Insulated electric brooder that I put in a 4'x6' pen.

 

[jazzpurr]

Here is the Peep Jeep.
I made it mostly of scrap lumber. I added the screened cover after I found the cat sleeping in it!!
I got a remote thermostat from Radio shack and that was waayy easier
than bending over and squinting at the thermometer in the brooder ever 15 minutes.
The hinges on the screened top were a must. I dropped the lid into
to brooder a couple of times and realized that could be a disaster
if the chicks were in there.
I did a temperature test run yesterday. It stabilized at 93.5F.

I noticed in the commercial brooder at my local Agway that there was a
"curtain" dividing the heated area from the food/water.
Should I put something like that in. The brooder is 5 ft long on the inside.
It seems like enough space to get away from the heat if they feel like it but I
can't be sure.

Thanks to everyone on this forum for all the great information. I was
supposed to get my 25 Buff Orps today but it got delayed until
Wednesday. There was no other explanation from Agway.
Maybe I'll put in a few mini-roosts now that I have time.

 

[Texas Fluffy Feet]

jazzpurr- The Peep Jeep is very cute! To pass time maybe you could paint on little headlights on the front end there.

I just wanted to comment on your heat question. They should be fine with being able to move away from it without you adding any sort of divider.. If you check the tempeture at the other end you will see it is quite a bit cooler than under the light. My brooder is only 3x3 and it has a much cooler side. I actually placed the food and water in the middle at first so that it was not on the warm or cool end. I have gradually scooted it over to the cooler side as the days have gone by and the chicks seem happy with that.

sharkobeach yours is definitely different than anything I've seen. Do the legs lift it off the floor of the rest of the pen and the chicks just run under the box for warmth? How do you adjust the lights as they grow to adjust temps? Just change wattages? Will you be sitting it up on some sort of risers as they grow and need more room to get in there or are the legs longer than they look in the pic? Sorry so many questions, I've just never seen anything like that and was wondering how it worked.

 

[allen wranch]

Sharkobeach,
Nice looking brooder, but you need to rethink those two heat lamps in that small a space. They really only need heat at one end of the brooder, with room to move away at the other end if it gets too hot.

If you are going to be brooding in the house, you may only need a 75-100 W bulb.

 

[sharkobeach]

The legs sit on the floor of the pen and there is a 4” space for the chicks to duck under to get in side. As the chicks get bigger I will put blocks under the legs to raise it up and I will also change the bulbs to a lower watt. Right know I have 2 50watt bulbs in it. I have worried about the heat but the 2 bulbs are keeping right at 95. I used a design that was developed in 1940 by the Ohio Experiment Station. Robert Plamondon reprinted the original article in his book “Success With Baby Chicks”.