Brooding a Large Number of Chicks

[bigredfeather]

As I increase the number of broilers I do every year, I have came across a stumbling block - how to design a brooder that will house a larger number of chicks. The one I have will comfortably hold 75 chicks for up to 3 weeks of age. I am looking for a design that will hold up to 150 of them for this same 3 week period. Easy access and cleaning have also been a problem with the one I have, so I'd like to be able to get the chicks out easily and clean it out without having to get in the darn thing.

Anyone have any ideas or pics. I would like for it to be about 75 sqft.

Thanks.

 

[ChickenJerk]

Use a raised box with a wire bottom floor. Have a plywood bottom to cover the wire bottom at first. That will keep litter in. Remove the plywood and let the litter sift through the bottom and become something that the pure poope' de chicken can land on for easy clean up.

 

[SIMZ]

This has worked for us: We put a tarp on our garage floor and use boards about 2 feet tall to make a square border. We start this out pretty small. As the chicks grow, we either add boards or expand them to make the area large enough.

This is inside a garage, so the top if not covered. When we first get them we might put a large board or some type of cover (large pieces of cardboard) to keep heat in. After a week or so they're usually fine with it open.

Sometimes I will stand inside to clean it, but I can use a shovel and get to most of it from around it. There is a video that shows it in my signature.

 

[jaj121159]

I brood 150 at a time using two 4x8 wooden crates in a old chicken house.. I put all 150 into one upon arrival, I keep them in there until a week and a-half or two weeks old. I then split them and put 75 in each brooder. They stay there until 3 or 4 weeks of age. These crates are used to ship irrigation pivot parts. They are 4x8x4 tall. I use part of a cattle panel cut and to fit as the lid covered with hardware cloth. The crates are made of half-inch plywood. These work great. I hang brooding lights from the ceiling and use two or three lights depending on weather conditions. These work great for me.