The Warm Floor Brooder
Some readers even younger than I may remember these units with much affection.
In those days there was no need to worry about installing electricity as the burners used were run off paraffin. Such burners are no longer in existence but providing the reader is keen enough to emulate the principal, interested smallholders will no doubt conjure up a few ideas of an alternative heat source.
The overall measurements for the warm floor brooder are 91.4cm x 60.96cm (3ft x 2ft) with a capacity for up to 75 day-old to four-week-old chicks. The following is how the system works.
The bottom tray where the heat source is situated is also the droppings tray, which can be slid out and be cleaned as and when required. The floor the chicks run about on is made from a heavy-duty 1.27cm (1/2”) galvanised mesh. The mesh floor needs to be covered with hessian for the first three to four days to protect their feet, after which time it should be removed and burnt.
Hessian is not that difficult to find and a good place to look is at local pet shops that sell peanuts which they bag or sell loose. The peanuts come in 25 - 50kg hessian bags. Below the roof is an insulating bag made up of wool or any such cloth scraps to form an insulation pad. Note that it does not extend to the edges. This allows chicks to come out from under to feed and then creep under the bag as they would under a mother hen when cold or to rest.
Read the rest of David Bland's article in the April issue