I have found the brooder box detailed in the Fowl Ideas section 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 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. The ceiling is half inch Styrofoam, backed by wood with six inches of insulation on top of it. A drain in the southwest corner which was already present has been utilized by the addition of a sink. Shelves provide storage space for waterers, feeders, etc. A table has been placed along the south wall near the sink. Between the table and the sink is a small 1500 watt electric heater.

Sink Area Of Broodery Wire To Space Heater On Left

The brooders are placed on the north wall of the broodery. In the interest of recycling the brooders are made from puppy whelping boxes used during the 60s and early 70s when Shetland Sheepdogs were the number one tenants at Chenoa. The boxes were made to fit an opened Memphis Commercial Appeal, thus their size is roughly three feet by three feet. Three boxes are placed side by side on the north wall.

Brooders looking West

Brooders Looking East

In the photographs above, note that the brooders are attached by a drain pipe and that each box is covered with a wire top. Wire which is one half by one inch probably works best. A small white pipe also connects each brooder to supply water as needed for the tenants.

The whelping boxes were made by making a box from one by twelve shelving for the sides and a bottom of quarter inch plywood. The conversion from whelping box to brooder started by cutting a hole in the center of the bottom which was large enough to accommodate a kitchen sink drain. The drain was not mounted at this time.

One inch by two inch redwood was cut to form a square which would just slip inside the shelving box. The square is formed by nailing the two inch sides of the wood together. A very heavy plastic sheeting purchased at the hardware store is then placed over the one by two redwood square. The plastic sheeting is stapled to the outside of the square, thus creating a drum-type side on the square. The surplus plastic should be cut flush with the one by twos on the side of the square away from the drum side. The one by two square, drum side down, is pushed into the shelving box until the drum side of the one by two redwood is about an inch and one half from the bottom of the shelving box. At this time the redwood should be nailed to the sides of the shelving box.

Being very careful cut a hole in the plastic directly above the hole in the floor of what is rapidly becoming a brooder. The hole in the plastic should be slightly smaller than the hole in the wood. A bead of clear caulking should be place on the floor of the brooder box around the edge of the hole cut in the wood. Another bead of caulking should be place around the bottom edge of the lip on the sink drain. Insert the bottom of the sink drain carefully through the plastic, stretch rather than tear, then through the hole in the wood floor. At this point tighten the sink drain in place. I prefer to cut out the cross in the neck of the drain so that larger pieces of waste can pass through. At this point the drain pipe should be connected.

A second square of redwood the exact size of the first should now be constructed. It is probably a good idea to make at least one brace across the frame this time. Place the new frame on a solid surface and attach one quarter inch hardware cloth onto the square as you fastened the plastic previously. Hardware cloth of the half inch variety lets too many legs slide through then be caught. Cut the wire as close to the redwood as possible. With the wire side up the square can now be slipped down in the brooder until it comes in contact with the redwood frame on which the plastic is fastened. Your brooder now has a floor.

Brooder Showing Wire Floor, Floor Brace, And Sink Drain

Close up heat is provided by hanging two patio lights with 100 watt bulbs in each brooder. The space heater referred to above keeps the room between 75 and 80 degrees.

Food and water can be provided in a number of ways. I elect to use long chick feeders to provide food such as those shown in the previous photograph. Water bottles like those shown in the brooder box can also be used.

Two Types Of Water Bottles

I wanted water for drinking and water for clean up. Thus I brought a water line to the brooders. The washing system involved using a short garden hose and a cut off. Each brooder can be washed as needed with the waste water leaving by way of the sink drain and drain pipe.

The drinking system was something else. With my schedule I needed to have a drinking system that provided plenty of water without depending on me. So two holes were bored in each brooder, so that all six holes would be on the same level. CPVC pipe was then engineered to service each of the openings. The blue water cups pictured are really caps from deodorant cans that have been plumbed to fit the pipe system, but not glued to the system. This allows the caps to be removed for cleaning. The pipe is then attached by flexible tubing to a refrigerator pitcher that hangs on a weight activated water control. This unit is placed at a height so that it activates allowing water to enter the pitcher and then the blue cups as the waterfowl drink from the blue cups. As water leaves the pitcher, it becomes lighter, rises and water enters the pitcher until once again it is heavy enough to turn the water off. A gravity flow system can also be built with a toilet tank float system in a five gallon bucket, but that is another story.

Water System

All brooderies are hot, wet, and have an unmatchable aroma. This system at least helps on the latter.

This file was placed in service 03/18/1998.

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

Last Modified Saturday, 26-Apr-2008 13:04:50 CDT