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This is a picture of the “Ohio Brooder” that I built. It is so named for the Ohio Experiment Station that came up with the design in the early 1940’s. designs such as this have been largely forgotten about since the vertical integration of the poultry industry and the demise of the small farm. It is a simple yet practical design. Notice that there is a gap of about 4 inches between the floor and the bottom of the brooder, this allows the chicks to run in and out as they need to to stay warm. Think of it like a big mother hen. When the chicks are hungry or just want to explore they can leave the brooder to get food or wander, and when the get cold they simply run underneath just as they would run under the wings off their mother. We don’t need anything fancy like a thermostat because mother nature has built one right into the chicks, and she’s been doing this for a while.
fourmaplesfarm 