The Brooder

This is for John & Jana - photos of the brooder. It measures 24"w x 36"l x 18"h. The heat lamp is suspended from above. There is a piece of 1x2 screwed to the sides that serves as a roost.

I fashioned a lid using plywood and hardware cloth to keep the cats out and chicks in. I also put felt pads on the bottom so it wouldn't scratch the floor, and put a rope handle on it...

Electrical: I got a two outlet plastic electric box from Lowes, an outlet, and a dimmer switch. Power goes to the dimmer switch, first, then to the outlet. I can control the heat output without adjusting the height of the lamp. It works well. There is a $2 thermometer in the brooder that I use to keep tabs on the temp.

At about 3 weeks the chicks were flying around, and able to fly up and out onto the top of the brooder - they seem to like it there. They are 5 weeks old now and rapidly outgoing this brooder. I would suggest that a good brooder could be constructed from two cardboard bicycle shipping boxes - tall enough and long. At 5 weeks they need more space.