Inexpensive Brooder You Can Make

[L in Ontario]

Looks pretty good to me, Gary!

[joni0215]

Wow! Thanks!! Great and brilliant ideas! I'd love to see a picture of that bowl setup, if you have one. I'm not the best "written instruction" follower on the planet. I was also looking at that "water nanny" that Deb has on her website. that's an interesting setup too.

[ac12]

Here are more pix of my setup.

Special note on the dimmer. It is a Leviton cord dimmer from Home Depot, part number TB103. About $10 USD. This is a "resistance" dimmer. All it does it reduce the voltage going to the device. Some dimmers are more fancy and do the dimming electronically. Those will not work for the power supply. So in this case, the simple dimmer is the correct dimmer to use.

[Sally]

Looks like a great setup to me! I think I'm going to get one of those Munchkin warmers--I like the idea of the heat coming from the top.

[ac12]

Sally
That blue plastic on the front of the warmer is a window, you can peak on the little guys. And there is a small lamp that you can turn on to light up (a little) so you can see them. But the blue plastic is not real clear and the shape distorts the image some. But it is nice to be able to check on them w/o opening the top, and letting the heat out.

[Sally]

A window for checking up on them! That's it, I'm dumping my Prince Lionheart warmer for a Munchkin warmer!

[moonrise]

Y'all are enablers! I just got one of the Munchkin warmers. Figured it would be good to have onhand.

The glass aquarium thermometer I found has a suction cup on it, and I was able to stick it just inside the window of the warmer. It's readable without having to open the lid.

I plugged it in a few minutes ago, and am testing it as we speak. 84 degrees and rising.

I'll ask Hubby about the dimmer switch.

[ac12]

moonrise
I was thinking about the brooder for a long while.
Then I got 2 tosslings that I had to keep warm...
EMERGENCY need to make the brooder NOW.

Yes, it is much better to have it on hand BEFORE you need it. Lot less stressful than trying to buy the stuff and put it all together when you need it. And it takes a little while to get the dimmer adjusted to the right temp.

[CandoAviary]

Brilliant idea adding the dimmer/cooler control

[ac12]

I just thought of something to be aware of.

The Munchkin warmer has its heater in the cover. That means you MUST use a dimmer to control the temp. And I don't know if you could use this warmer in the car,
#1 the output of the power adapter is 12vAC not 12vDC. Car is 12vDC.
#2 Even if DC is not a problem, you don't have a dimmer, so the warmer would be running full temp. The only way I can think of lowering the temp is to open the cover a small amount to let some heat out.

The warmers with the heater below the compartment, you can use towels to reduce the heat to the chicks. Also I "think" you can use these in the car with the appropriate car adapter.

[ac12]

Follow on question.
At what point should I plan to transfer the birds from the brooder to something else, like a cage. Or can I keep them in the brooder until they feather up and don't need the heat of the brooder?

[debbie276]

This is a picture of my homemade brooder. I can leave them in there till they are fully feathered then they go into a cage or aviary.

[CandoAviary]

Nice brooder Debbie Heating via water solves the humidity issue also...smart thinking there

[debbie276]

Thank you, and the submersible aquarium heater allows me to set the temperature perfectly.

[ac12]

That HUGE water bath is more temperature stable than the little baby wipe warmer. I was watching the temp in the brooder go up and down on the digital thermometer.