AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

Hi guys,

I am now at a situation where I have mulitple chicks of varying ages and not enough brooders.

I have two little silkies and two little pekins hatched 8.3.08
I have 1 little silkie and 2 pekins hatched 12.3.08 (giving 7 chicks)
So the first hatching is nearly 4 weeks old and the second 3 weeks old. I have combined these two hatching so I only have one lot of chicks to worry about and I keep them in my brooder down in the stables. I have this brooder currently running at about 25 degree now.

I also have 1 partridge silkie. 1 sussex chick hatched 21.3.08.
I have 2 sussex and 2 sussex/silkie crosses hatched 24.3.08.
These two hatchings I have also combined and keep in my brooder in the house (large plastic storage box with a clip on desk lamp which maintains the temp at 32 to 33 degree) This gives me another 6 chicks.

I now also have 2 of mummaroos pekins that hatched 31.3.08 which I also keep on their own,in the house in a smaller plastic storage box with desk lamp to maintain temp at 33 degrees.

So I have run out of room for brooders. I am hoping to move the first lot of chicks (3 and 4 weeks old) into a cold brooder in the chicken tractor in the vegie garden. I have attached a photo of my cold brooder.



Do you guys think they will be OK. I believe that the temp in a cold brooder runs at about 32 degrees. I have the 3&4 week old out in a guinea pig hutch through the day and put them in the brooder in the stable at night.

If I can move these chicks safely to the chicken tractor with the cold brooder then I can move the other six from the house to the brooder in the stables and the 2 mummaroo pekins to the big brooder in the house.

You see I have 4 more silkie chicks due to hatch in 1 week and all appear to be doing well then another 10 silkie chicks due to hatch on 18.4.08 so I will need room for these babies when they hatch and I can not put them with other chicks when they are less than at least 3 days old. After a few days I can put the 4 silkies with the 2 mummaroo pekins and then the 10 silkies due on 18.4 can go into the smaller brooder until they are a about 1 week old then I should be able to amalgamate the last three hatchings. Did everyone keep up or have I lost some of you.

All advice and suggestions will be greatly appreciated and my formal dining room is full of chicken brooders at present and will only get worse at the rate I am going as I did not expect to have such a successful hatch from my incubator first time around.

Somehow I don't think I have got the thumbnail thingy right yet.

When ya need more brooders, ya just need more brooders We have 6 going at the moment and will prolly have another 1 or 2 going by the next couple of weeks.

Hi CL,

Excuse my ignorance, but what is a cold brooder?

I have the same problem with housing here at the moment. I currently have four bantam chicks born around 4/3 plus a RIR chick about the same age in a renovated wooden dog kennel with a wire run, with the dog kennel warmed by a 60W light. This is kept in our enclosed patio-type thing out the back.

I have one lone Australorp chick, approx 5wks old, taking up a whole guinea pig hutch next to the other 5 chicks as she is the one I rescued from the retailer when she was nearly dead from being picked on. As she has no bum feathers I can't even put the small chicks in with her in case they do more damage to her.

I have 9 bantam chicks born 18/3 in a plastic tub inside, with a desk lamp, however that is getting too crowded now so I need to move them out - to where I'm not yet sure!!

I am keeping my eye out for rabbit hutches etc in the local trader/Trading Post type papers as once the chicks reach about 4 weeks old I feel that they are okay in these in a place such as a shed as long as they have enough warmth provided by light globes or similar. This gives them a bit more space to run around than the plastic tubs, and if you have enough you can have "inside" ones for night-time/cold weather and "outside" ones for lovely sunny days so that you don't have to lug the whole heavy thing around all over the place.

Just a note on inside-reared chicks - I worry that my artificially brooded chicks don't get much sunlight, so I take them all outside as often as I can for a scratch and play in the sun, and also put a calcium/vitamin D supplement in their water to try to make sure they are healthy. Sorry, maybe that is a bit off topic, but it is sort of related!

Good luck CL!

Deb

Hey Deb, a cold brooder is just a brooder that doesn't have a light to keep the chicks warm...i think

I'll take some pics of my brooder tommorrow. It's made out of the bases of a kids wooden bunk bed. It's about 7ft x 4ft x 40cm high. I've made it so it can be converted into either 3 smaller sections or 2 big sections or 1 huge section depending on the chicks numbers and various ages. I've got inserts that can be put in and taken out so you can make the choice of sections that are to be used. There are 3 lights permanently in there.

Behind the brooder as part of the wall i've used lazerlite rather than iron to allow the natural sunlight to come into the brooder room during the day.

Hopefully it might give ya a few idea maybe

Cold brooders

The cold brooder is an alternative method of brooding which can be used for small numbers of chickens. It is particularly useful where access to power is limited, is easy to make and is ideal for chickens that have been 'started' under a lamp. After 2 days the chickens will have started to eat and drink and will then take to the cold brooder readily.

The cold brooder conserves the body heat of the chickens and keeps them warm. A brooder suitable for up to 50 two-day-old chickens consists of a frame 100 mm deep, 750 mm long and 600 mm wide. The bottom of the frame is covered with wire mesh and can be set above the litter on adjustable legs. The bottom of the brooder should be 80 mm above the litter when the chickens are started, and should be raised gradually as they grow.

Strips of hessian or plastic 50 mm wide and 80 mm long can be hung from the bottom edge of the frame to act as curtains. The curtains help to retain the body heat while allowing the chickens to wander in and out.

The mesh on the frame can be covered with hessian and overlaid with a 100 mm layer of rice hulls, wood shavings or straw. A second layer of hessian placed on top will prevent the chickens from scratching the litter material out of the frame. In this way the brooder is covered with a porous material which will retain the body heat but will allow air to pass through.

The cold brooder can be set up in a surround in a manner similar to the heat lamp. However, for the first 2 days the chickens need to be confined close to the brooder.

The chickens should be introduced to the brooder in the evening and confined under the brooder for the first night. This can be done by placing strips of hardboard over the curtains on three sides and wire mesh over the front curtain. This will keep the chicks warm while allowing air to pass through the brooder. The wire mesh can be removed after the first night; however, it may be necessary to use the hardboard strips for a few nights during cold weather.

We have had this info for quite some time, courtousy of dpi-Qld.

Hope it helps


Thanks
P.A

PA do ya reckon a cold brooder is as good as having a brooder with lights? I sort of can't understand the purpose of one unless like ya say there is a problem accessing power

Hi Darren, they were used in the Roman days with good success so they have been around quite a long time but of course power was not an option back then. We haven’t used one and probably never would as they totally reply on chick’s body heat so the time of year is very important. In climates like in far north Qld they may do quite well but in say Canberra it would be a gamble.


Not to put you off CL, good luck with yours and hope it works well. We would be keen to hear your results.


Thanks
P.A

Thanks PA, yer was kind of thinking it would have to be a seasonal thing.

Good luck with it CL

County Lodge, I have done exactly what you are talking about.
It can work, but you have to watch them.
If you transfer chicks that about four weeks old (this is what I did) they don't know to go to bed in the brooder because they are not used to it. I had to go down there at sundown each night and physically place them in the brooder. I thought they would learn if I kept doing it, but mine didn't. Your chicks may be smarter. I think if they are put out at a younger age perhaps they get used to it but I havent tried that.

The cold brooder does work when they are in it. I made mine from an upturned cardboard fruit box and an old towel which I cut into strips. It was warm enough. I put it in the box in their tractor. You have to be careful not to overcrowd the chicks. I have had 30 in there which works ok when they are little, but is too many when they get bigger.

I always combined similar sized chicks in my brooders. Size seems to be more important than age after the first week. A difference in age of a week or two doesn't seem to be a problem. I keep mine in a brooder off the ground as long as possible because they don't get coccidiosis. I take them out of my brooder when they are about six weeks old. Then they go into a tractor with no heat - but the climate is pretty mild here in northside Brizzy.