Today I want to do something a little bit different. I want to tell you all about a brooder that we built and I am going to share the step by step video, but also send you to my husbands YouTube channel for the full tutorial because that's where we put it!
You see my husband has been talking about making me a new brooder for a while. I'm not really sure where he got the idea but I know he got the IBC tote from my son's work. They have a few extras every month and we picked some up since they were getting rid of them.
Lots of companies use them though and I've seen them for sale online so they're not hard to find at all!
We got a bunch of them because he wanted to make several into firewood holders and while they were almost all white there was one black one and he got the idea to to make it into a brooder for baby chicks.
I hatch chicks or keets every summer so that sounded like a great idea to me!
To make an entry or door on one side he cut part of the metal cage off and cut most of the front panel off. He created a door of sorts for it out of plastic fencing and mounted a light through the top of it and voila, I have a brooder!
As you can see I've been using it for quite a while and have had a lot of guinea keets in there over the last 2 years. I'm actually quite impressed that it's been so easy to use!
Once a year we completely empty it out and power wash it but other than that it requires very little maintenance other than scooping up dirty bedding once in awhile. I like the fact that the chicks and keets are contained and they cannot fall out of the sides like they can with certain wire cages.
He did attach a piece of plastic fencing to the bottom so their little feet had something to grip. That helps prevent leg problems chicks can get like splay or spraddle leg.
Nothing on this brooder is flammable which is super important if you're using a traditional heat lamp with a red bulb. I prefer to use the new brooder plates, but obviously use what works for you.
Related reading: Heating a brooder. What are your options?
These particular totes held alcohol for an alcoholic boba factory so after airing out and being rinsed they are completely safe for animals. Since they're food safe, they don't have any toxic chemicals stuck to the plastic sides.
Anyway I'm sending you over to my husband's YouTube channel now to watch the whole assembly. Tt's right here at Murano Outdoors and he will show you exactly how he built the whole thing!
If you have any questions you can ask them here or you can ask them over thereon YT in the comments and we would be more than happy to answer them.
Murano Outdoors YT video:
Little update since that video was taken: he built me a door this year! It's a wood frame with plastic poultry net to help keep the chicks in. It has metal hinges and fits in the frame tightly enough that it doesn't need a latch just yet.
If the wood shifts over the years I'll add a latch when needed. You can use most anything that can be attached to both sides as a door though, so feel free to improvise!
This is the most sturdy brooder I have ever had and other than the fact that you kind of got to climb into it a little bit to get the back of the inside clean, it's super easy to keep clean!
This is my favorite brooder to use because it's so safe for the chicks or keets (there's quite literally nothing for them to get caught on or fall out of like wire cages etc.) and it hold a LOT of babies!
It's one of those things that now that I have it, I have no idea how I functioned without it till now! Leave a comment if you build one of your own, we'd love to hear about it! Happy building!
~L
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