I have found the brooder box also detailed in Fowl Ideas for the Aviculturist to be very useful for small numbers of quail, bantams, and even waterfowl if for only a short period of time. The person who coined the phrase that "baby ducks and geese are cute" most assuredly saw the individuals described shortly after hatching and certainly before eating and drinking.

My original broodery is one of two rooms comprising a very old well house. Each room is approximately eight feet square. One room still functions as a well house, while the other was renovated to make the broodery. The walls are made of concrete blocks and the floor is concrete which allows for an occasional hosing down. The ceiling is half inch Styrofoam, backed by wood with six inches of insulation on top of it. Near the sink is a small 1500 watt electric heater. Although the three brooders located in the space work great for young fowl small in number and particularly those that need heat, increasing numbers of birds led me to consider expansion.

Prior to use as a broodery the area was used as a small kennel. In addition to the two rooms already described a seven foot wide concrete apron placed on the south, west, and north sides making a "U" around the building. At one point a metal roof was placed over the apron. At a later time the whole building (well house and apron) was roofed and walls of concrete blocks and fiberglass were installed on the outside edge of the apron. Thus, expansion of the broodery involved the placing of two large, two compartment, brooders along with the necessary electrical and plumbing changes on the apron area.

One of the first problems to solve is the support of the brooder. I elected to use the plastic saw horses pictured. The were rated to easily support the weight and they were made of plastic which made them ideal for places that need to be washed at times with a garden hose. A real benefit is that the top of the saw horse is slotted to fit a 2" by 4" inch board. This makes possible side to side leveling by simply cutting the board to the appropriate slant to balance the brooder. Choosing a consistent board height establishes a desired level for all brooders and enclosures makes possible the use of a gravity flow water system.

Saw Horses For Brooder Support

Since wood will play a major role in constructing the brooder, some opening remarks are appropriate. It should be pointed out that no nails were used anywhere in the brooder. All fastening was done with deck screws of 1 and 1/4 inches, 1 and 5/8 inches, or 2 inches in length. All of the wood pieces were treated with a clear wood preservative prior to assembly.

The beginning structure was a box made of 1" by 12" shelving which is eight feet long. The box is eventually going to need to accommodate hardware cloth and also 1/2" by 1" welded wire which is three feet wide. Thus the outside dimensions for the box are eight feet by 37 and 1/2 inches which allows for the 36 inch inside width that will be needed. The floor is made of 3/8 inch plywood cut to fit the outside measurements of the box. Holes have been cut in the middle of each side to accommodate a kitchen sink drain. Note that two six inch 1" by 2" pieces of wood have been mounted on the ends and sides of each compartment. These will be used to keep the drain panels the desired distance from the floor.

Brooder Box

Plastic drains were constructed by covering 1" by 2" frames made to slide down in the compartments with two thicknesses of 6 mil clear plastic. A shower curtain will work just as well. While lying on a flat surface the plastic was pulled reasonably tight up to the sides of the frame and stapled. Excess at the corners and sticking up on the off side of the frame was trimmed off.

Plastic Drain Panels For Brooder

The plastic drain panel was pushed to place until it rested on the blocks shown in a previous photograph. The frame was then fastened to the side of the box with screws. The hole cut for the kitchen sink drain is visible through the plastic. Push the plastic gently toward the hole until you have located the center of the hole. Using a pair of scissors cut a hole in the plastic that is about half the size of the hole in the wood. Be care to not leave any more jagged edges on your cut than necessary.

Prepare the sink drain by cutting the metal cross out of the drain and polishing the rough edges or if possible simply pop it out of the drain. Take the sink drain and gently push it through the hole you cut in the plastic. After positioning it in the hole in the floor slip the drain out of the plastic and put a sizable bead of clear outdoor caulking on the lower side of the drain rim. Reinsert the drain, push into position and tighten the locking nut on the lower side. Wipe off any excess caulking that pushes out from under the drain rim.

Plastic Drain Panels Mounted With Sink Drain

Like the drain panels, the floor panels were constructed from 1" by 2" lumber. The frame was constructed slightly smaller than the space in which it will be inserted. The 1/4 inch hardware cloth three feet in width was cut to fit the floor panel frame. The wire was attached using number 5 staples, but a staple gun might well have been used.

Hardware Cloth Floor Panels for Brooder

The floor panel which will fit tightly because of the wire width is pushed down until it is flush with the top of the drain panel. It is unnecessary to attach the panels to the brooder. If and when the plastic fatigues the floor panels may be removed to replace the plastic.

Wire Floor mounted Over Drain Panel

Water cups were fashioned by boring a hole in the lower part of the back of a purchased plastic watering cup, then using a cpvc male adapter, electrical lock nut, garden hose washer, and electrical bushing the cup was adapted for this system. This construction allows for the easy connection and removal of the cups for cleaning and for flushing the supply pipes.

Assembly Of Water Cup

The completed cup is attached to the supply pipe which sticks through a 5/8 inch hole in the side of the brooder. Note that the cup fits fairly close to the side of the brooder which helps to keep it from being knocked loose and sits on the wire floor panel of the brooder which also helps to stabilize the cup.

Water Cup Mounted On Brooder

The supply line for the brooder was constructed from 1/2 inch cpvc water pipe. Holes were bored for connecting with the water cups as described above. Eventually the supply pipe was stabilized by using 1/2 inch supports to affix the pipe to the brooder.

Brooder Box Showing Supply Line Plumbing

This photograph shows the supply pipe connected to the water cups. In this case two cups were placed close together at one end of each side of the brooder and the third cup was placed at the other end. There is magic spacing for the water cups, however it was elected to not place a water cup over any of the three floor panel supports.

Supply line With Water Cups Mounted

The initial construction of the brooder top involve the building of a 1" by 2" wood frame that will fit exactly on top of the brooder edges, including the center partition.

Frame For Top Of Brooder

Upon completion of the brooder top, a second layer of 1" by 2" wood was placed on the outside of the brooder top at a level of 3/4 inch below its top. Note that the final board has maximum length on the ends where the initial structure was made using the sides at maximum length. This adds strength at the corners. The resulting structure becomes a cap that will slip over the sides of the brooder edges that can neither slide backward or forward or from one side to the other. Eventually it will be held in place with screws that will secure it to the brooder.

Corner Construction Of Brooder Top

The corner construction can also be seen in the following photograph. A wire cap was constructed for attachment to the brooder top. The wire used was 1" by 2" welded wire. Initially a piece of 1" by 2" wire three feet in width was cut to fit the opening in the brooder top. This was followed by using 1" by 2" inch welded wire which was 2 feet in width to make the sides and ends. Two sides should be cut the same length as the side of the three foot wire cut earlier, followed by two ends cut three feet in length. At this point the sides and ends should be attached to the top with J clamps. Next the ends and sides should be brought together and J clamped. Finally the open side of the wire box that has been created should be stapled to the inside edge of the brooder top.

Wood and Wire Construction of Brooder Top

The completed wire top mounted on the brooder is pictured below. Also note that the sink drains have now been connected in preparation for completing the drain system.

Completed Wire Top For Brooder Showing Supply And Relief Plumbing

The brooder box is shown in place in the broodery. Also notice that patio lights with porcelain receptacles have been mounted and equipped with 100 watt bulbs. There are two light units in each side of the brooder and they are controlled by a thermostat. A bucket hangs to the end of the brooder which has a toilet float mounted inside. Note the bucket is being supplied by the black pipe mounted on the wall.

Water Supply Bucket From The East

After setting the desired water level in the bucket by adjusting the toilet float, the height of the bucket is raised or lowered to establish the desire water level in the cups. Note that one outlet from the bucket feeds the brooder pictured. A second outlet feeds the black plastic pipe along the wall which feeds a second brooder and a number of wire pens in the building. Also note the minnow net hanging on the end of the brooder which is ideal for catching in the rather wide brooder.

Water Supply Bucket From The North

Shown is the end of the second brooder. Note the water supply coming from the black plastic pipe and the drain connection. The heater used in a former world is no longer safe in that position and will be removed.

Supply and Drain Connections For Brooder

The completed brooder with lights, cups, and drains is shown.

Top and Side View of Completed Brooder

A final shot showing both brooders mounted in the broodery appears below. The initial broodery described at the beginning of this page is behind a closed door immediately behind the green chair. With a full case of arthritis and two hip replacements there are a lot of green chairs sitting around Chenoa.

East To West View of Broodery Expansion

This file was placed in service 07/20/2004.

The University of Tennessee at Martin is not responsible for the information or views expressed here.

Last Modified Saturday, 26-Apr-2008 13:05:56 CDT