So around the beginning March we started working on our brooder. Actually it can be so much more than a brooder for the baby chicks. We designed it with the idea in mind of being a brooder, a hen hospital or quarantine, a breeder box and even a small grow out pen for another bird project I have in mind. So we looked online at a lot of designs and read a lot about brooders. We ended up going big. I have to say one thing...chicken math! For those that are not familiar with chicken math, it goes like this...if you think you want 6 chickens, you will probably end up with at least 9. Don't know how it happens, it just does...one of those strange phenomena of the universe.
So off to the home store to buy supplies. Okay, I must be honest. I was at first considering painting some cutesy flowers or some kind of scene, but then decided against it at the last minute. Trust me, I did go look at paint chips.
Even Alex got in on helping and learned a thing or two and even made some suggestions of his own. I love family projects. Here a few pictures of the brooder build in progress.
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| The start of the build. |
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| Alex getting in on some power tool action. |
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| We added two doors and made it so we can divide the brooder in two we needed. |
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| Here it is covered in the hardware cloth, much more durable and predator proof than chicken wire. |
We built this for the long term, we also made it cat and dog proof, which in turn pretty much makes it capable of being outside and safe from other predators. I don't know as if it will ever be outside as a brooder, but you never know. At this point we were not fully sure if it was going to be in the garage or in our unfinished basement. So much to consider as far as pros and cons of each location.
We wrapped the brooder with hardware cloth, and Kevin installed latches and hooks to hold the doors open. It is done. One afternoon Kevin and his daughter moved it to a corner of our basement. After much thought we decided that we needed the temperature to stay relatively constant and we would not have that in the garage with the doors being opened and closed several times a day. I was not home when they moved it, but wish I was so I could have snapped a few pictures of the move.
Now having it in the basement is kinda like having a nursery ready for a baby...it is all in the waiting. So it was down there for a few days and then I got it all set up with some bedding, the puppy pads, heater and the food and water founts. I have to admit I found myself down there a few times dreaming about what they would like in their new little home. I had been reading about how much dust and dander chicks can generate, so we decided to block off a room so to speak around the brooder. Because our basement is unfinished and there are only a few walls in place we hung sheets in a semi-circle around the brooder. This will help keep everything contained and should make for an easy clean up when they are done in the brooder.
The video is a little cockeyed...gotta love cell phones!
