Rural Gardening: My best brooder, 0 by jylgaskin

jylgaskin wrote:
I have tried so many diffrent things to use as brooders that can easily be cleaned and stored. I finially found something that works. Play pens. I bought two of the collapsable nylon ones at yard sales. I was using them for fawns and such as they come in, but I needed something for my chicks and turkey poults and grabed one. Throw some shavings in the bottom, hang a lamp for heat and you're set to go. If it is really cold in the laundry room, I toss a sheet over the whole thing (it also keeps the dust down). Since I have two, I set up the clean one, move in the chicks and haul the other one outside. Then I pick up the bottom pad,( litter and all) and dump. Everything hoses down and can be disinfected. When it's dry, you fold it up till you need it again.

After a few weeks I move them outside to a big pen with a kids play tent (dome shaped and quick to put up). I hang their lamp in there and fill the bottom with shavings. It holds the heat in really well and at night I can zip the door to hold in even more heat, if it gets too warm I can open the screened top to ventilate. It was worked perfect and I only paid $10 for each of the play pens and $6 for the tent.