We have started a flock of backyard chickens! Well, right now they are not "backyard" anything. They are living room chickens. When they start to smell and outgrow this brooder, they will become sun room chickens, then about a month after that, they will graduate to the back yard. Fingers crossed that their coop will be built by then and they will not be homeless chickens! LOL!
ANYWAY
Here's the current setup, just before adding the babies: Brooder- storage tub, lid- hardware cloth bent at the edges to form a lip, which secures the lid, heat lamp with 100W light bulb and thermometer to make sure it's warm enough, waterer- home made. It's lined with newspapers and paper towels, which will probably be for the first two weeks or so. We will just be sprinkling their feed on the ground of the brooder for the first week or so as well, since they are born with the impulse to forage and scratch for food. The lid is half on (secured with a small weight) to help maintain the temperature.
The waterer was super easy to make. I tried to make it with a large can (from tomato sauce), but during the testing phase it started to put rust in the water so I switched it out for a plastic cup. You just make some small holes near the lip of the open end of a container, fill it with water, and put the cap (cool-whip container cut down to about 1.25") on top. Flip it over and you're all set.
I like that the storage tub is clear, so the dogs can see in and the chicks can see the dogs. Hopefully this means they will all get used to each other. The bin is lofted up off the ground by about a foot, though, so the dogs cannot look down in through the top. We joke that at least one of the chickens will be Emma's pet--I just have a feeling she is going to like them.
ANYWAY
Here's the current setup, just before adding the babies: Brooder- storage tub, lid- hardware cloth bent at the edges to form a lip, which secures the lid, heat lamp with 100W light bulb and thermometer to make sure it's warm enough, waterer- home made. It's lined with newspapers and paper towels, which will probably be for the first two weeks or so. We will just be sprinkling their feed on the ground of the brooder for the first week or so as well, since they are born with the impulse to forage and scratch for food. The lid is half on (secured with a small weight) to help maintain the temperature.
The waterer was super easy to make. I tried to make it with a large can (from tomato sauce), but during the testing phase it started to put rust in the water so I switched it out for a plastic cup. You just make some small holes near the lip of the open end of a container, fill it with water, and put the cap (cool-whip container cut down to about 1.25") on top. Flip it over and you're all set.
I like that the storage tub is clear, so the dogs can see in and the chicks can see the dogs. Hopefully this means they will all get used to each other. The bin is lofted up off the ground by about a foot, though, so the dogs cannot look down in through the top. We joke that at least one of the chickens will be Emma's pet--I just have a feeling she is going to like them.
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