How To Build a Poultry Brooder - Free Chicken Brooder Plans!

Raising one's own chickens for meat is becoming more and more popular due to the low quality of commercially raised birds. Also, farm-raised chickens are leaner and firmer - if you ever were to compare farm raised poultry to store bought you would surely agree! One can set up a trouble free brooder with a few commonly available items. Here is what you need:

One five-foot diameter pool for each 15 chickens
One 2ft by 2ft square by 15" deep box for each brooder. On each corner, screw in 25" legs that extend 10" below the box - this will keep the box 10" off the ground. I used ordinary drywall screws to fasten the cardboard box to 2x2 legs. Cut a 6" or 7" hole in the top of each box for the brooder lamp to hang through and allow for excess heat to escape.
One brooder lamp (available at any hardware store) and 250W clear brooder bulb for each 15 chickens. Knot the brooder cord around a stick that sits atop the box. The brooder lamp should be about 1/2 way down. If the chicks are huddled together under the bulb, lower it a little. If they are scattered far away, bring the bulb up a little.
One large bag of wood chips or shavings for each pool. If the bedding to chick ratio is high enough, you can get by with hardly having to change this bedding at all before moving the chicks out since it will compost itself with little or no smell.
If the chicks are starting to get out of the pool before you are ready to move them outside, place 2 ft wide chicken wire around the outside of the pool as shown on the right picture. We had to put the wire after about 1 week and it kept the chickens in until we moved them outside.
If the pools are on concrete, place wood elevated on blocks under the pools to keep the pool off the cold concrete. This will help keep the bedding warmer under the lamp.

Click on photo for larger view

For details on how to raise the chickens after they leave the brooder, go to Raising Free Range Chickens.

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