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2 Posts on Brooders -- First What Not to Do....

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Guest:
One RubberMaid Tub: $12

One 250W Infrared Bulb and 250W-rated fixture: $20

Melting bottom of the RubberMaid even with a temp only rising to 80F, because of IR waves in the heat bulb: PRICELESS.

Guest:
My final brooder (shown in the first photo) is 4\' x 2\' x 2\' made out of wood. I removed the 250W IR bulb and put in a 100W red-colored non-IR bulb. I\'m still futzing with the bulb height to get 95F in there. With the bulb on the netting like that, the temp doesn\'t go above 80F. If I hang the bulb down from the board, it soars over 100F. Probably elevating the crossbar 3\" or so will do the trick. I\'ll try that tomorrow. Doing all this testing now before I load it with birds.

The second photo which I failed to attach to the first post shows my first PRICELESS attempt at the brooder.

Guest:
Well, now I can prove to my dear husband that \"You can\'t use those tubs for EVERYTHING\"!  ;)He thinks they are the best thing, since sliced bread... I love the wooden brooder. What are the measurements on it, please? Deb

Guest:
Deb,

The measurements are 4 feet long, 2 feet wide, 2 feet high. I\'m brooding about 30 birds (down from the 40 I projected). You don\'t want anything much larger than this, because it becomes bulky and heavy to move. Beyond 30 - 40 birds, just build a second unit.

You can get pieces of 4 x 8 3/8\" plywood from the local big box (Home Depot or Lowes) usually cut down into \"handy boards.\" I used three 4 x 2 sheets and two 2 x 2s. I used some 1 x 2 strips to join the pieces, because there is no other way to join plywood, especially plywood this thin. I didn\'t want to get involved with mortise and tenon or anything fancy for a brooder box. The beauty of this is that the only cutting you\'ll have to do is the 1 x 2 strips. The rest is screwing with the cordless drill. I used 1\" x No. 8 screws. I prefer the square heads to flat and philips -- the square heads don\'t slip. Construction can be done in about 90 minutes to two hours at a liesurely pace -- I did it in an hour, but I was rushing some.

Get a piece of 2 x 4 that\'s a little more than 2 feet. I found one that\'s 30 inches. Right in the middle of this, you drill a pilot hole and then screw in an hook screw. You hang your brooder lamp off this crossbar. I used my 250W fixture, but I removed the 250W IR bulb and put in a 100W flood light with a red lens. You want red, but no IR. I use the 250W IR for the coop in the winter.

Get several more pieces of 2 x 4 which you position diagonally to raise the crossbar and consequently the lamp. The 2 x 4 stack should form a V at one end of the box, then you run the crossbar at the opening of the V. No drilling or anything -- just lay them there.

Right now, I have a stack of three 2 x 4s and the temp is 90F in there. If it stays 90, I\'ll take a 2 x 4 off the stack (on each side) and thus lower the lamp 1 3/4 inches. That might get me to 95F for the first week.

After I\'m done brooding, I\'ll post the lamp heights for each 5 degree increment so as to eliminate some trial and error.

--Ron

John:
A couple thoughts...I would cover most of the top to hold the heat and if the bottom is closed off I would add some vents to allow for fresh air circulation at the chick level.

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