Poultry are very sensitive and vulnerable to changes in temperature, low light and high humidity. The first weeks of their life should be spent warm and comfortable conditions. Otherwise, there is a risk of hypothermia, illness and death.
To maintain the life of chicks, experienced poultry farmers use brooders. Having the drawings and dimensions, their production will only take a few evenings. What is a brooder and how to make it depending on the type of birds being bred?
A brooder is a place or room designated for the life of chicks. It should have accessible space for feeding, drinking and heating the chicks.
Primary requirements:
- dry, non-slippery floor;
- good ventilation and absence of drafts;
- reliable coating that protects against precipitation;
- presence of a heating system. A heater is installed and;
- sufficient lighting. To allow ultraviolet radiation to pass through, some walls are made of mesh, and at night they are covered with fabric to reduce heat loss;
- the presence of a separate removable tray or container under the floor for excrement;
- The design should be easy to disinfect and clean.
Necessary materials
To make a reliable brooder with your own hands, you need to use high-quality, wear-resistant materials. It is desirable that they withstand exposure to humidity, light and heat. You can use the following materials:
- plywood or OSB sheet - for the base of the structure and its walls;
- wooden blocks and slats - for frames, doors and other elements;
- galvanized mesh with 10×10 mm cells – for protection from other animals;
- slate sheet - for protection from precipitation;
- hinges - for doors;
- sheet of tin, pallet, oilcloth or plastic panel, mesh - for excrement.
- The mesh is taken depending on the age of the chicks. The smaller they are, the smaller size grid cells;
- screws or nails;
- incandescent lamp from 25 to 60 W;
- reflector;
- lamp cable and plug;
- thermometer;
- heater;
- thermostat - to regulate heating, as well as automatically turn off and turn on the incandescent lamp.
When designing a brooder, you must not forget that the chicks will stay there for up to 2-3 months. And per chick there should be at least 0.1 m2. Therefore, it is worth considering how long you plan to keep the chickens in the brooder. And from their number calculate the size of the structure.
Tools needed
To mount the structure with your own hands, you will need a certain set of tools:
- Screwdriver or drill.
- Hacksaw.
- Screwdriver.
- Roulette.
- Metal scissors.
- Hammer.
Tip: it is better to install the brooder on the south side of the house to reduce the impact of cold wind.
How to make a brooder for chickens
A brooder for raising chickens differs in design from that for other birds. The table below shows 4 characteristics of such brooders.
How to make a simple brooder:
- Make an approximate design drawing, depending on the number of chickens.
Advice: try to use already finished design, for example, a drawer or bedside table. This will make your work easier and help avoid errors in calculations.
- Mark the plywood according to size and cut out the side and back walls.
- From the bars, cut 6 strips for the walls of the same length (stiffening ribs). They are fastened by retreating a few centimeters from the edge.
- Do the same with the bottom part, observing all dimensions. Otherwise, the bottom and the bowel tray will not be able to slide out easily.
- Drill a hole for the wiring, stretch the wires, attach the socket, lighting fixture and heater.
Optimal brooder sizes
Interesting: if there is not enough light from one lighting fixture, you can also install an infrared lamp.
- All walls can be insulated with foam plastic to avoid drafts and retain heat inside.
Attention: if you simply cover the walls with foam plastic, the chickens will perceive it as food and peck at the white balls. Therefore, it is advisable to sew the foam plastic on top with cardboard.
- Bring all parties together. If everything is done correctly, the grooves on the bottom wall will coincide with the side ones.
- Cut out the front wall from plywood and attach hinges to the side for future doors.
- Make a hole or window in the sheet from a strong mesh for observation of the chickens and ease of maintenance.
- Cut a sheet of metal or plywood for the lid.
- Make a pull-out tray from a material that does not get wet or rot. Secure the pallet with wooden blocks.
Advice: it is better to use sand with small pebbles as filler in the tray. Sand quickly absorbs moisture, and pebbles promote good digestion for chickens.
- Set up dishes for food and water.
- Warm up the brooder and let the chicks in.
Step-by-step making of a wall-mounted brooder with your own hands (personal experience)
According to the drawing, we assemble a timber frame and attach it to the wall
We lay a mesh on the floor
We sheathe the partitions, inside which we run cables to sub-units and cartridges
Cover the top with polycarbonate
We also make doors from timber and cover them with mesh. Putting it on hinges
The incandescence of the lamps is controlled by a special regulator, which can be purchased at any electrical store. You can set any brightness, thereby regulating both the lighting and the temperature inside.
Pull-out trays are located under the floor to remove droppings
The brooder is ready to receive chicks!
Quail brooder
To prevent the quail from getting sick, the brooder must be kept clean. You should not put cardboard on the bottom, as it is fire hazardous, fragile and does not withstand treatment with an antiseptic. For this case, plywood or boards from 20 to 30 mm are suitable. They must be treated with safe disinfectants. The removable litter screen needs to be cleaned regularly.
Tip: a mesh with cell sizes depending on the age of the chicks is placed on the bottom. For example, for quails up to 5 days - a 5x5 mm mesh, up to 2 weeks - a 10x10 mm mesh, up to a month - a 25x15 mm mesh. In the first days, you can put two layers of fine mesh so that the chicks’ legs do not fall through.
Brooder for ducklings
Do you use a brooder for poultry farming?
You can't go anywhere without himNo, not needed
Photo: DIY brooder options
Chicken farming begins with hatching and raising chicks. The hen does an excellent job of raising the chicks and teaching them independence. But it is not always possible to raise a laying hen for eggs, and many modern highly productive breeds of egg and meat chickens, as well as crosses and hybrids, have lost their natural ability to breed offspring. In this case, chickens are hatched by incubating eggs or purchasing day-old chicks.
To raise chickens without a brood hen you need preliminary preparation. For the first month, broiler chickens and future laying hens are usually kept in a brooder - this will guarantee their survival and normal development.
This is the kind of cage to which babies will be provided optimal conditions maintenance, feeding and watering. For the first time, you can adapt an ordinary box for chickens, but it is difficult to withstand such important parameters like temperature and humidity, and maintenance will be inconvenient. Therefore, it is best to buy a ready-made brooder or make one yourself to keep chickens at home - in an outbuilding, poultry house, barn and even in the house.
Brooders with metal frame on the balcony
By the way, the name brooder comes from English word brood, which means hen.
Dimensions
Cages for chicks vary in size and material. Dimensions are determined based on 1 sq. m of floor area for 35 chickens of regular chickens and 30 broilers. As recommended by experienced poultry farmers, optimal sizes brooders are 100 cm across the front, 50 cm in depth and 30 cm in height from the floor + 10 cm between the floor and the litter container.
Inside brooder with feeder and drinker
Thus, the area of the chicken cage will be 0.5 square meters, and the volume will be 15 liters. This way, each chick will have the space they need. This brooder for 15-16 chickens is the easiest to maintain and heat. If you plan to hatch a larger number of chicks at the same time, then it is better to make a brooder of two or three floors, or of several sections along the length. This approach is more economical than one large cell.
High quality brooder for 30 chicks
A do-it-yourself cage for broiler chickens can be higher if the chicks will be kept in it for more than 15 days.
Multi-story chicken brooder takes up little space
Materials
To make a cage with your own hands, the following materials can be used:
- Thick cardboard. Plus - it's cheap. The downside is that it is short-lived and does not retain heat. Not suitable for pallet.
- Fiberboard or plywood – best option. Easy care, disinfection, but fragility does not allow it to be used for making a multi-story brooder for chickens.
- From chipboard and OSB boards must be refused - they contain harmful resins, are afraid of moisture, due to the uneven surface they are difficult to wash.
- Plastic and polycarbonate - comfortable and inexpensive material for keeping chickens at home, but there is one thing: the material does not breathe and gives off evaporation at elevated temperatures.
- Pressed foam is dangerous due to pecking.
- Homemade sandwich panels performed well: two sheets of plywood with insulation between them (for example, corrugated cardboard).
Plywood for a brooder - the best option
The frame must be durable and have a front door, preferably made of glass or plexiglass, so that the entire cage is visible.
Two-story brooder made of fiberboard
The roof will help to use energy more efficiently to heat the chickens, since the heat will not escape upward.
Schematic diagram and equipment of the brooder
Requirements for brooders
- Dry, non-slip floor. It is best to lay two meshes: a metal mesh with larger cells on the bottom, a nylon mesh on top - it is easy to wash.
- Availability of a tray for collecting litter. Material – galvanized metal, plastic or oilcloth-covered plywood.
- Ventilation holes to avoid high humidity and collecting harmful gases.
- The heat source and lamp for chicks should be insulated and the chicks should not come into contact with them.
- The lamps should not be very powerful - bright light depresses the bird. It is optimal to use a 60-watt incandescent lamp in a broiler cage with your own hands. Very good option– infrared lamps that can be adjusted both in terms of light power and heating.
- The temperature for chickens varies depending on age: the exact indicators are in the table.
Brooder temperature table for chicks of different ages
First, before you make a broiler cage with your own hands, you need to make its design and calculate required quantity materials.
What you need to make a brooder
Firstly, we provide drawings with dimensions for the brooder for chickens with our own hands.
Secondly, you will need your standard tool box, which will contain a hammer, tape measure, pencil, screwdriver and screwdriver, hacksaw, drill, etc.
Tool for making a brooder
The materials needed are:
- 1 sheet of plywood, at least 1 cm thick, size 150x150 cm.
- Several slats 50x15 mm.
- 4 pieces of the simplest door hinges.
- Galvanized or nylon mesh 10x10 mm for the top layer of the floor.
- Metal grid 50x50 mm – for the bottom layer.
- Ready-made or homemade pallet.
- Self-tapping screws or nails.
- Materials for lighting and heating - lamp, cable, socket, dimmer, plug, reflector.
IR lamps for brooder
Step-by-step instruction
Homemade plywood brooder
You can make a brooder for chickens in this order:
- Cut the plywood: one piece 50x150 mm and three pieces 50x100 mm (pallet base, back wall and roof).
- We divide the first piece 50x150 into 3 parts 50x50 mm - for the side walls.
- We make a frame from slats according to the dimensions of the drawing.
- We install a bottom for the tray, install a removable tray or cover the bottom with oilcloth.
- We install the floor slats 10 cm higher.
- We make a frame for the floor and attach the nets. In the first days, it is best to cover the floor with newspapers or paper - this way the chickens will not cool down through their legs.
- We upholster the frame with plywood.
- We make two doors for doors by inserting glass into the frames, transparent plastic or a mesh with plastic film.
- We attach the doors to the hinges.
- We install the latches.
- We make a hole in the ceiling for the cable. We assemble the lamp and install a reflector under it at a distance so as not to blind the chicks and prevent them from getting burned.
- We attach a thermometer to the inside of the door or to the side wall.
- We install a shelf and a feeder.
If the brooder is multi-story, you need to make one common frame from 50x50 mm slats and then install sections into it.
Steps 1-3 - Making Brooder Walls
Steps 4-5 - installation of doors
Steps 6-7 - pallet arrangement
The brooder for chicken chicks is ready. As a rule, the period of keeping in a nursery cage lasts up to 2-3 weeks, then the young birds can be transferred to a cage for adult birds or released into free housing.
Raising chicks in heated brooders - perfect solution for poultry farmers who buy day-old young animals or hatch chicks using an incubator. In the natural environment, chickens are cared for by brood hens, but during incubation hatching this responsibility falls on the shoulders of humans. Professional brooders are quite expensive: their cost reaches 10 thousand rubles. Therefore, many poultry farmers prefer to make brooders for raising chickens with their own hands from available materials.
In order for the inhabitants of the brooder to be comfortable, it must meet the following requirements:
- optimal temperature at all stages of chicken development (it should be possible to measure and regulate it manually or automatically);
- non-slippery and dry floor (provided by installing a mesh bottom and a removable container for litter);
- space (one chick requires about 0.1 sq.m. of space);
- good ventilation and protection from drafts;
- safety (construction details must be carefully polished, and the lamp must be located at such a distance that birds cannot touch it).
The design should provide two zones with different temperatures: If the bird gets overheated near the lamp, it should be able to move to a cool part of the room.
It’s good if the brooder is not located in a house or barn, but on outdoors. This way you will ensure good ventilation air and allow the young to enjoy natural sunlight. This will help improve the health of the chicks and also reduce the cost of heating the brooder. During the day wooden structure will heat up, and in the evening you can cover it with a thick cloth and maintain a comfortable temperature for a long time.
The note! If you place the brooder outdoors, be sure to protect it from drafts and precipitation. To prevent raindrops from entering through screen doors, you can cover the roof large sheet slate.
To make a brooder, you will need the following tools:
- jigsaw or regular hacksaw;
- tape measure or long ruler;
- screwdriver or drill;
- hammer;
- pliers;
- metal scissors.
Before you start work, make a drawing future design. This will help you more accurately calculate the dimensions of parts and the amount of materials.
Materials
To make the brooder base, use natural materials, which are highly durable, are not afraid of moisture and direct exposure sun rays. At the same time, you don’t always need to make a box yourself: you can use an old bedside table or barrel as a basis. This design will be less reliable and durable, but you will spend less time and money on its construction.
If you want to make a brooder from scratch, you will need the following materials:
Table 1. Materials for making a brooder from scratch
| Material | Purpose | Options |
|---|---|---|
| Wooden bars or slats | These are used to make the base of the brooder, the frame for the mesh floor and the container for the litter. | section 30×30 mm. |
| Plywood sheets, oriented strand tiles or fiberboard or chipboard sheets | They can be used to make the walls, floor and ceiling of a future structure. | thickness from 1 to 2.5 cm |
| Galvanized metal mesh with small cells | It can be used to make floors and doors. Through such a network bird droppings and spilled feed will fall into a removable tray, and the brooder will remain dry and clean. | cell size –10×10 mm |
| Plastic mesh | Suitable for making doors. | cell size –10×10 mm |
| Incandescent or infrared light bulb | It is installed in the upper part of the structure and allows for optimal temperature and light conditions. | power up to 40–60 W |
| Thermometer and automatic thermostat (dimmer) | These devices are installed in the brooder so that the bird owner can constantly monitor the air temperature. | - |
| Self-tapping screws, nails, stapler with staples | Nails are used to make a static structure; if you want to make a collapsible device, you should use self-tapping screws. A stapler and staples will be needed to attach the mesh to the wooden frame. | - |
| Metal corners, hinges and latches | Used to make walls and doors. | - |
| slate sheet | This material will be needed if you are going to keep the chicks outside. It will protect the brooder from precipitation and excessive overheating. | - |
| Plastic panels or oilcloth | Suitable for lining a litter container. | - |
The note! Multilayer cardboard is often used as a basis for a brooder. plastic panels or oriented strand board. However, structures made from these materials are not durable. After raising the first batch of young animals, it is difficult to clean and disinfect. Therefore, you should not save: choose wear-resistant materials that are not afraid of high humidity and exposure to high temperatures.
Making a brooder
The standard dimensions of a brooder are 1x0.5x0.5 m. Its frame is made of wooden blocks, and the walls and bottom are made of thin plywood (or other similar material). It provides nipple drinkers, feeders, doors, mesh floor and removable litter tray. The room is conventionally divided into two compartments: for food and for heating.
The note! To extend the “life” of the brooder, before final assembly Coat all wood and metal parts with wood and metal primer.
Step 1. Making a box
Table 2. Making a box
| № | Action | Photo |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cut a sheet of plywood and make blanks for the walls. You should end up with 3 blanks measuring 1x0.5 m (for the back wall, floor and roof) and 2 blanks measuring 0.5x0.5 m (for the side walls). |  |
| 2 | Assemble a box from the blanks. To fasten sheets of plywood together, use metal corners and self-tapping screws. Before screwing in the screw, make a hole: this way you will avoid cracking the plywood. Ready product place it so that the front part (without the wall) is in front of you. |  |
| 3 | Make guides for the removable floor and tray. To do this, take 4 bars 0.48 m long and 2 bars 1 m long. Using self-tapping screws, attach one long bar to the back wall of the box so that it is exactly between the wall and the floor (in the corner). Then attach short bars to the side walls so that they are between the walls and the floor. It is advisable that they do not reach the front of the side wall by 1 cm. Then, at a distance of 3 cm from the first row of bars, attach the second row. |  |
| 4 | Strengthen the walls of the brooder with stiffening ribs. To do this, take 4 bars about 0.4 m long and attach them to the sides so that they rest against the ceiling and rise about 3 cm above the upper guide bars. |  |
| 5 | Make a frame for the doors. To do this, attach 2 bars approximately 98 cm long between the stiffeners in the upper and lower parts of the brooder. Install another rail between the upper and lower beams so that it divides the front part of the product in half. |  |
The note! When making guides, make sure that the bars are located at the same distance from each other. This will ensure that the tray glides easily and makes it easier to remove litter.
Step 2: Making the floor
Table 3. Floor production
| № | Action | Photo |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Make a removable mesh floor. To do this, make a 1x0.5 m frame from the bars and attach a galvanized mesh to it. Insert the resulting structure between the stiffeners and the top row of guides. |  |
| 2 | Make a litter tray. To do this, make another 1x0.5 m frame, attach a 1x0.5 m plywood blank to its lower part and line the inside of the resulting container with oilcloth or thin plastic panels. |  |
| 3 | Attach a front wall to the tray, which will make the brooder airtight and prevent the spread of unpleasant odor. To do this, take 1x0.1 m plywood and attach it to the front of the pallet (the width may be different: it depends on how large the gap is left between the bottom and the future doors). Insert the tray between the first and second row of guides. |  |
The note! Metal mesh can injure the delicate paws of chicks. Therefore, in the first days of keeping chickens in a brooder, you can put a fine nylon mesh on a large mesh. After 3-4 days it will need to be removed: it is difficult to clean from droppings and quickly becomes dirty. The nylon mesh can be replaced with newspaper.
Step 3. Hanging the doors
Table 4. Hanging doors
| № | Action | Photo |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Make doors from wooden beam. To do this, make two blanks (their dimensions are about 49x40 cm) and attach a fine metal or plastic mesh to them. |  |
| 2 | Install doors at the front of the drawer using hinges. Place latches on them and also attach a stopper that will prevent them from closing inward. |  |
| 3 | Place feeders and nipple drinkers in the brooder so that the birds cannot spill the feed. Ideal option There will be bunker feeders that can be installed on the doors. |  |
Lighting and temperature conditions
1. It should be warm and light inside the brooder, so you need to provide a place in the design for an incandescent lamp or an infrared lamp. To do this, make a hole in the top of the brooder for the cartridge so that the chicks do not have direct access to it.
2. Next, take a piece of cable (its length depends on how far the brooder is from the outlet) and attach a plug to one end. Place the other end of the cable in the previously prepared hole and attach the cartridge to it. Screw the lamp into the socket.
3. Place a reflector on the lamp. It will prevent birds from getting closer to the light source and organizes the space in such a way that there will be cool and warm parts in the brooder. The chickens will be able to move from the heated part to the cold part on their own.
4. To make it easier to monitor the temperature, attach a thermometer to the back wall of the brooder.
The note! So that it is always preserved in the brooder comfortable temperature, you can install an automatic thermostat. If the temperature drops below a certain point, the incandescent lamp will turn on and inner space will heat up. If the temperature is too high, the lamp will turn off.
Temperature conditions in the brooder
Table 5. Brooder temperature
| Age of chickens, days | t near the lamp, ºС | t in the brooder, ºС |
|---|---|---|
| 1–5 | 34–35 | 24–26 |
| 6–12 | 33–34 | 22–23 |
| 13–20 | 30–32 | 21–22 |
| 21–30 | 25–29 | 20–21 |
| 30–60 | 18–24 | 16–19 |
If you are going to keep a lot of chickens, make several brooders and stack them on top of each other in tiers. This will give you a great growing structure. large quantity young animals
Video - DIY chicken brooder
A chick brooder is a box in which favorable conditions for raising young animals. The peculiarity of these structures is that they are equipped with a microclimate control system, which allows you to change the conditions of detention: temperature, lighting, humidity.
Purpose and types
People begin to think about building or purchasing a brooder when there are no hens taking care of their offspring. Many farmers do not breed purebred birds, but crosses, the representatives of which lack maternal instinct.
More often these are meat birds. For such crosses there are summer and winter options.
Therefore, to produce offspring, you need a brooder for broilers, which differs from the one intended for chickens only in name. Thanks to the special design and equipment, in any device it is possible to create the conditions that are optimal for a given breed or cross.
Chickens are kept in these houses for no more than a month. In one room measuring 100x50x50 cm you can keep no more than 35 chicks aged from 0 to 30 days.
Grown-up babies are seated in two brooders.
Cages for raising young animals vary in size and materials. The most simple designs constructed from cardboard boxes.
Purchased brooders are more convenient to use, but not every novice poultry farmer has the funds to purchase them.
Device
All structures for raising young animals, both purchased and homemade, must consist of the following elements:
- Walls, floor and roof;
- Lamp for lighting and heating;
- Feeder;
- Drinking bowl;
- Openings for air exchange;
- Tray for collecting litter;
- Door.
An important element of equipment for a brooder is a thermostat. Universal devices for this purpose are equipped with sockets and temperature sensors. Can work in conjunction with cooling devices. You can buy an analog or digital thermostat.
Installation of equipment for microclimate control is simple: plug the device into an outlet and set the required temperature on the panel. Automation will monitor its maintenance. If necessary, the cooler or heater will start operating. Range adjustable temperature in the brooder from +16°C to +40°C.
How to build a brooder with your own hands
At the stage of designing and creating a drawing of the future house for raising chickens, its dimensions are determined. You can make a long brooder consisting of several rooms connected by holes with doors.
But a small house is enough for a novice poultry farmer. You can take the dimensions of the factory brooder model you like best as a guide.
Selecting wall material
For reusable structures, you need to choose wear-resistant and easy-to-clean materials. It is important that they do not absorb water and odors, do not change their properties under the influence of heat and light, and do not emit toxic substances when heated.
These requirements meet:
- Moisture-resistant plywood(for setting up a brooder it is recommended to use sheets 25 mm thick);
As connecting elements, you can take bars with a cross section of 30x30 mm. All wooden materials covered with special antiseptic solutions.
To make the walls of the chicken room easier to clean, the internal surfaces can be covered or covered with thin linoleum or polycarbonate.
Choosing flooring material
For the floor you will need a galvanized mesh with a mesh size of 10x10 mm or 12x12 mm. It is convenient for chickens to move on such a surface, and droppings and leftover food will fall down. This ensures cleanliness and reduces the risk of disease in young animals.
Those who are already quite experienced in keeping chickens are sure that the galvanized mesh proposed above is not the best choice for floor installation. For reasons:
- Due to the small cross-section, droppings often get stuck in the cells, which dry out and accumulate.
- It is difficult to remove it from metal rods and you have to use scrapers.
- The chickens will certainly begin to peck their droppings.
In this regard, experienced poultry farmers advise installing a floor made of mesh with a mesh size of 10x20 mm or 12x20 mm.
The rod should have a cross-section of 1.5 or 2 mm. Chickens move on this mesh without difficulty, and droppings easily fall through the holes.
Selecting pallet material
It is advisable to make the pallet from galvanized steel. To do this, all 4 sides of the metal sheet are cut and bent upward, forming the sides. You don’t have to weld the corners, but fill the gaps with a moisture-resistant sealant.
Suitable for tray and plastic devices. If necessary, you can simply place a piece of PVC panel under the mesh floor (used for wall cladding).
Ventilation
For chickens, an influx of fresh air and the absence of dampness are important. Therefore, high-quality ventilation is necessary in the house. It can be arranged on the principle of natural air draft, ensured by the presence of two holes in the walls of the room.
- One should be located at a distance of 5-10 cm from the floor.
- Second - on opposite wall and at a distance of 5-10 cm from the ceiling (roof of the brooder).
- The cross-section of the holes is 30-50 mm.
Device forced ventilation relevant for large houses. To do this, you will need a fan, which is installed under the cover.
Lighting and heating
As heating element use infrared lamps. To control the temperature, a thermostat is installed.
- For brooder standard size(100/50/50 mm) a 250 W lamp is required. It is placed on one of the walls, in its upper part.
In a small space, such a powerful lamp will get very hot and needs a heat-resistant socket.
- To control the daylight hours, you will need a switch, which is installed on the outside of the wall on which the lamp is located.
How to make a door
The brooder door can be hinged or sliding. It is easier to make the first one, but it requires devices to hold it open. This could be a hook or latch.
The door can open in any direction: top-to-bottom or left-to-right and vice versa. This structural element must be made from durable material: metal, wood, plastic. But it's easier to do wooden frame and cover it with polycarbonate.
Installation
Equipment installation algorithm:
- Frame structure. The brooder must be located at a certain distance from the floor surface, so the structure requires legs 5-7 cm high. And also to install the frame, you will need 4 wooden blocks, the length of which exceeds the planned height of the house by 5-7 cm. The frame elements are connected to each other using metal corners and wood screws.
- Wall cladding. Parts corresponding to the dimensions of all walls are cut out of plywood sheets. The sides and back are attached to the frame using self-tapping screws.
- Floor installation. Using metal scissors, cut out a metal mesh sheet of the required size and attach it to the frame.
- Threshold installation. From wooden block a threshold is made, which is attached from the front side of the structure to the bottom of the frame.
- Door device. A sheet for the front wall is cut out of a sheet of plywood, taking into account the height of the threshold. They cut out an opening for the door. Install the hinges. A door is made and the corresponding parts of the hinges are attached. Equip the door with a latch or hook.
- Installation of lamp and switch. A socket and a lamp are mounted on the inside of the cage, and a switch on the outside. It is recommended to install a mirror reflector on the lamp, which will allow the space underneath to be heated more intensely. If the chicks are cold, they will gather under the lamp. If they feel hot, they will find a cooler place.
- Installation of thermostatic equipment.
- Making a pallet.
- Installing the front wall.
- Installation of feeder and drinker.
If desired and necessary, you can make several similar structures and build a battery out of them. It is most convenient for keeping chicks of different ages.
How does a metal brooder for 50-70 chickens work?
To create a brooder for chickens with your own hands, you need to study the design of popular models offered by manufacturers.
Most popular models are made from galvanized sheet steel. The choice of this material is not accidental: the metal does not rot and has an easy-to-clean surface. The litter collection tray is also made of galvanized steel.
Installed:
- Thermostat;
- Automatic drinking bowl, adjustable in height;
- Metal, easy to clean automatic feeder;
- Lamp.
The floor is made of galvanized mesh with a mesh size of 12x12 mm. Design dimensions (L/W/H): 750x450x450 mm.
It's easy to buy everything necessary materials For self-made such a house for chickens. Temperature control equipment is a mandatory attribute of these structures. Low-power devices for small rooms inexpensive and able to maintain the desired temperature.
It is a box or a fenced off part of the room. Conditions have been created inside that allow day-old chicks to replace their mother hen and help the chicks survive the stress of the first days of life. A brooder can be made with my own hands at home. In terms of its parameters, it will not be inferior to factory analogues. Poultry farmers share their experience and step-by-step instructions with photos and videos on how to implement this.
To ensure that chickens develop normally and do not get sick in the first days of life, the poultry industry came up with the idea of using a brooder - the first home for the little inhabitants of the chicken coop. Typically it consists of:
- feeders;
- lighting systems;
- drinking bowls;
- devices that will control the level of humidity and heating;
- bedding;
- ventilation.
The chicks live in the brooder until they are one month old. As a basis for similar device on a quick fix will do cardboard box or other similar containers - this is the most cheap option. But behind the apparent savings lies impracticality. Therefore, if such containers are used, it is only for one generation of chickens:
- boxes tear quickly;
- they do not fully protect against drafts;
- it is difficult to disinfect cardboard without losing its durability;
- cleaning of droppings and debris is made difficult by the design.
A good reusable brooder meets the following requirements:
- The floor covering always remains dry and non-slippery.
- It is advisable to equip the structure with a tray for collecting and disposing of excrement.
- There should be free flow inside the brooder. Fresh air. But drafts are contraindicated.
- Increasing humidity is not advisable.
- The heat source should not overheat the chicks. It is better to place it in a place inaccessible to birds.
Attention! If you follow the drawings exactly and step by step algorithm, then even a novice master will take 2-3 days to assemble the structure.
Do-it-yourself brooder: what material will be needed
For the base homemade device You need a durable, wear-resistant material that will retain its properties under the influence of moisture, heat and light. Fiberboard and chipboard - not the best the best option for this. Plywood good quality- exactly what is needed. You will need sheets 25 mm thick and a bar 30x30 mm.
The bottom of the brooder should be made of a fine-mesh grid. It does not have to be made of metal. Just check the strength of the mesh. The width is suitable for 10 mm cells. They are wide enough to allow droppings to fall through and are comfortable for the chicks. Take the gratings for future use. They will also come in handy on box doors.
All surfaces must be easy to clean Excrement should not fall onto the floor of the room, but into a prepared tray. It is better to make it from plastic or metal - it will be easier to clean and wash. Of the most simple options pay attention to PVC ceiling or wall panels. Also, before work, prepare:
- infrared lamps of any type;
- thermostat;
- two hinges for the door;
- self-tapping screws;
- lamp socket, wiring.
Assembling a home brooder: technology features
The dimensions of the future structure directly depend on the number of chicks. The norm is approximately 200x100x50 cm (length-width-height). Make a design drawing, taking into account the placement of all elements. On inside Before assembling the side and rear walls, it would be a good idea to make guide strips for free movement of the grille:
- The slats will be located at the bottom and top. The length is 2 cm shorter than the length of the side wall itself.
- Secure the bottom strips at a suitable height, 1 cm away from the side cuts. These are the grooves for the tray.
- The upper stripes are located 3 cm higher. These are the grooves for the grating.
Attention! Keep the distance between the brooder parts exactly. This is the key to the normal functioning of the moving elements of the box.
The next step is to attach plywood blocks to the sides. They will perform the function of stiffening ribs. The top edge of the element should be at the level of the cut side walls, the bottom should be 3 cm higher than the top rail. After you assemble the plywood sides, lattice and tray together, all the parts should form an even and stable structure.
Brooder assembly The front opening must be covered with a plywood door. Cut out a suitable piece of material and attach it to the hinges. You need to make a window in the panel for a third of the area for ventilation. It can be located in the center or adjacent to the edge, be square or have rounded corners. Use a jigsaw for this. Close the window plastic mesh and watch the brood.
Advice. You can install a latch on the door.
Next, assemble all the remaining parts: install the removable tray and grid floor, then the ceiling. Between the floor and the tray external walls there should be no gaps. They can be covered with wide strips that are attached to self-tapping screws. They will prevent drafts and the spread of unpleasant odors.
Brooder Electrical System Installation
The comfort of the chicks inside the brooder is ensured by a system of infrared lamps, which illuminate and warm the brood:
- Cut a hole in the ceiling of the structure.
- Pass the cable through it. Secure the cartridge.
- U outside the wiring should be secured.
- Attach a plug and a dimmer to the opposite end of the wire.
Advice. Full-fledged brooder equipment requires the installation of thermometry.
Screw in the lamp. It is very important to choose the right power. The norm is 0.28 kW per 1 sq. m. Whether you made the right choice can be assessed by the behavior of the chicks:
Place the lamp at a safe distance for the chicks - low temperature - babies gather in groups;
- too warm - a lot of droppings and difficulty breathing;
- optimal heating - chickens eat and drink well.
Advice. A reflector attached to a lamp works effectively in a brooder. This allows you to create two thermal zones inside. The chickens will be able to choose for themselves: to bask under the mirror or cool off in another place.
In the first 3 days of the chicks’ life, it is important to create a climate for them with a humidity level of about 60-70%. During the same period, the light bulb in their home should not be turned off for 23 hours a day. The work is completed by securing the drinkers and feeders. Proper assembly of the brooder will help you repeatedly raise full-fledged bird offspring.
Do-it-yourself chicken brooder: video