This is my third time raising chicks, and I just moved from using a dog crate to a stock tank brooder. Though the ability to view and handle chicks from the side was a huge advantage, it was also a mess: hard to keep the shavings inside and very hard to clean, in my opinion. The main con of this brooder is that you have to reach from the top, but the pros: can be dumped to clean, can access different areas of the brooder and the shavings will be contained.
I'm not sure how many chicks we will have hatch, but we will be at the edge of capacity if we had them all hatch, so I built two lofted areas to increase square footage a bit. This structure will also keep them from roosting on top of their water and food.
I will update this after the chicks test it out--we are just five days from hatch date!
Built from: 2x4 stock tank
1x3 and hardware cloth frame for lid (covered hardware cloth edges in duct tape)
scrap wood and plywood for lofts (glued and brad nailed together--not super strong but fit tightly in the brooder so they work!)
mama heating pad method (wire frame under heating pad)
I'm not sure how many chicks we will have hatch, but we will be at the edge of capacity if we had them all hatch, so I built two lofted areas to increase square footage a bit. This structure will also keep them from roosting on top of their water and food.
I will update this after the chicks test it out--we are just five days from hatch date!
Built from: 2x4 stock tank
1x3 and hardware cloth frame for lid (covered hardware cloth edges in duct tape)
scrap wood and plywood for lofts (glued and brad nailed together--not super strong but fit tightly in the brooder so they work!)
mama heating pad method (wire frame under heating pad)
