The Making of a Brooder Box

After reading all of the websites I could find, including Blogs, Magazines, & a few good books, I was even more confused about how to build our brooder box...should it be wood, plastic, or cardboard?
How big should it be? Should we even attempt to build it or should we buy one? There are SO many opinions on how to set up, and we had never done this before, and we wanted the best for our baby chicks.

We ended up building our own out of a refer box, and it has worked better than we could have imagined!

We laid the box on its side, and cut the top off at 18" high. We made the ends the same height, then ran a layer of clear wide shipping tape around the edges. We put 2" of pine shavings in the bottom, then covered the shavings with paper towel. We read that we should do this, but took it off the first day. It was supposed to keep the chicks from trying to eat the shavings, but they're smarter than that, and it was just getting in the way. We have 25 baby chicks, so we got 2 quart sized waterers and 2 feeders. We put the feeders and waterers on a brick to raise them up enough to make it hard for the chicks to climb on top of them, and poop in the water or feed. This is an important thing to remember, and will go a long way in keeping your chicks healthy. We purchased a brooder lamp with protective face, and 2 red 250 watt bulbs for heat. You need an extra in case one burns out. You will also want a poultry thermometer. The chicks want to be in 90-95 degrees the first week, then lower the temp by 5 degrees each week, until they are ready to go outside. We attached our heat lamp to a camera tripod, and have it over one end of the box. We can easily raise or lower the lamp as needed, and we don't have to worry about the clamp coming loose & falling into the box. Get everything ready & turn on the lamp at least 1 day before the chicks come so that you can get the lamp where you need it to be, then you will have an idea of how to regulate the heat. This box is large enough for the chicks to run around, sleep, eat & drink. Since we have so many babies, I'm sure we will have to expand the box as they grow, before they go into their coop...we will probably make an identical box and attach it to the side of the current one. I think we will probably also have to put some wire over the top the last few weeks to prevent them from jumping out.

Click here for photos of our brooder box..we'll add more as we add on!