YooHoooooooo!!
My brooding box Darren was an 8x6 shed! Brian rounded off the corners with hardboard so the chicks couldn't huddle into a corner, but you can make a big circle out of cardboard. I'm thinking I may get some of the corrugated cardboard from Solway Feeders for my next lot, then just chuck it away when the chicks have outgrown it!
We got our heat lamps from Solways too, I've found their prices to be about the cheapest, and after sales is good too as they are farmers, so know what they are talking about! (I really do not have any vested interest in Solways, but they are good prices!)
We got both infra red light bulbs and the dull emitter ceramic ones. Infra reds give out both light and heat, but Brian screwed the chain through the shed roof and water dripped onto the lamp, ran through the shade and exploded the bulb, leaving me with 6 dead chicks who died of the subsequent stampede!! The dull emitter bulbs are heat only, but they are more energy efficient, so when I used them, I also put a small red light bulb in the brooder too!
When the chicks are tiny, you put the lamp really low down, I think it was about 18inches off the ground, and hung a thermometer down beside it. I think we started them off at about 35C, then after 1 week made the lamps go higher 2inches a week. Thus reducing the heat by about 5C each time. You should have a relative humidity thingy too, but we ran out of money so I didn't bother. Apparently meat chicks you start off a little lower, say 30C
We started off with tiny drinkers and trough feeders at first, but the chicks quickly outgrew them and kept knocking the troughs over and wasted a lot of chick crumb. Next time I'll put them onto the bigger feeders earlier.
They have chick crumb for 5-6 weeks, rearer until 16 weeks or so if the chicks are going to be layers, hen onto layers mash or pellets. But if meat chickens. chick crumb for 4 weeks, then rearer until 1 week before culling, then onto finisher.
I'll check my records tomorrow and change anything if I'm wrong, but that's roughly it!
Their brooder shed has a big window and air vents along the top, but if its windy or too cold the window stays shut. Once they are older, like Munty says, its not the cold that kills them, its the draughts!
I copied this diagram from the internet last year, its gives you an idea of the brooder set up, but mine wasn't as long, but it was wider!
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Good luck with it Darren!!!!
