We all know the feeling when you’ve successfully hatched a clutch of eggs and you watch your new little chicks fluffing up ready to get out of the incubator. Next step is to get them under a lamp which you haven’t set up yet so you get busy with a cardboard box and maybe some chairs and tie a lamp in between them to suspend it at just the right height so that your new chicks can be kept at the perfect temperature.
Sound familiar? I know I’ve done this plenty of times but then you get worried that maybe the lamp’s too high or too low and you end up worrying that they won’t survive the night, even more so in the colder months.
Brooding Chickens Can be Hassle Free
After years of frustration and searching a range of options from different suppliers we think we’ve got a good selection of chicken brooders here at Brookfield Poultry Equipment so that brooding chickens can be a simple and enjoyable process and doesn’t have to be such a hassle.
Our first option has proven to be by far our most popular (since electricity prices keep going up!) and is one of the easiest to set up.
Chickplate Chicken Brooders
The CHICKPLATE chicken brooder plate from OLBA BV who are a leading poultry equipment manufacturer in The Netherlands. Sometimes called the "electric hen" it's a quality made brooder that runs at up to 75% less power than the traditional ceramic heat globes. They run at a much lower wattage and so simply don’t drag the same amount of power as the globes. They are also manufactured with 2 fuses so that they are also a very safe option
The CHICKPLATE chicken brooders can be assembled in minutes with four legs that can be adjusted to suit any type of chick from quail to ducklings and simply plug into any powerpoint.
We have found them to be an extremely good option as they come in 5 different sizes so that you can brood just a few chicks under them right up to the largest model which can brood up to 55 chicks under the one plate.
All that is required is to set the correct height for the chicks and it acts like a mother hen that the chicks can move freely under whenever they need to be warm.
The second option we have is for those wanting to raise quite a few more chicks.
The Box Brooder
The Box Brooder, made in the USA from our friends at Georgia Quail Farm has been designed for up to 100 chicks per unit. These units can be stacked up to 5 high so you can raise 500 chickens in a little over 1m2!!
The beauty of the box brooders is that they're thermostatically controlled so that the elements aren’t on all the time which also makes them much more economical to run. You can set the temperature at whatever is required and they are easy to clean and maintain due to their all metal construction.
So you see setting your new chicks up in a cardboard box can be ok but there are much better options nowadays and by spending a few dollars now you can have a great set up that can be used year on year.
Head to our brooders page to see our full range and good luck with raising your next clutch from - Brookfield Poultry Equipment!