Chick Brooder - 1 Layer H: 9.5"

So Guinea fowl are pretty different than chickens, and their wee ones even more so. This is a review for you guinea mamas wondering if this is adaptable.
Needed to make a few adjustments to the brooder for it to suit our initial (week 1) needs.

(1) Drinkers - Loved the automated drinkers attached to tubing, but mine simply climbed on them, spilling them (and of course it was constantly refilling - what a mess!) Could not take advantage of this set up now, but will as they get older.
The separate drinkers for Week 1 have been perfect.

(2) External Feed Tray
Initially, I left the feed tray on the outside as it came standard, but for Week 1 it was just too easy for mine to crawl under and get trapped or even potentially escape (daredevils!). A slat of cardboard (see pic) took care of that until they were larger.
Now feeder is attached and they are figuring it out - though some are still using it as a tunnel between brooder sections.
Again, the additional plastic feed troughs were excellent to supplant this temporary need.
(3) Door handles - our keets love trying to peck at the door handle (they love bugs, handle is green) - handle comes apart a bit easily but snaps together just as easily.
(4) Light bulb- guineas are night blind. We bought a lower wattage bulb, unscrew it at night and supplement with a night light so they can still see waterer, etc.
It's my first time using Hatching Time and what I love about them is that they not only think of, but include, the options needed as the little ones grow and their needs evolve.

I am actually on here buying more product to support our flock...look for another review soon ;-P

This product is by far the best overall system you can purchase for rearing Quail from hatch to process. You can have a brooder, grow-out and breeder setup all in the same rack with a very small foot print. The brooder is my favorite as the automatic heater makes caring for hatchlings a breeze. For the 1st week I've had around 50 quail chicks in one layer without issue. Cleaning is also very easy, no rust or rotting wood to worry about. The initial investment is worth it as these cages will last me a very long time. Hatching time customer service is also on point. If its in stock, they will ship it to you immediately, unlike the competition which could take weeks. Overall I'm very very pleased with my purchases.

This was the first purchase in a now long line of Hatching Time products and I'm hooked! Once you go Hatching Time, you can never go back to any other system! I now have 3 different layers (this one, 15" brooder, and 15" grow-out pen) and many more accessories. They have truly thought of EVERYTHING! Even though this 9.5" layer is meant for smaller birds (and I will be raising quail down the line), I actually loved and preferred having it for the first week of life for just a few chicks. I started 3 day old baby chicks in this layer and only kept them in here about a week, but it really worked out for the best because I already had older chicks in my 15" layer, and we actually had a freak Spring snow storm while my girls were in here. My brooder system is kept in an uninsulated workshop...so even though it is free from drafts, when the temperature outside drips down into the 20s, it really helped to have this shorter layer to easily keep my youngest chicks warm in the cold shop. I just moved them to the 15" brooder layer yesterday and they are happy to have the extra tall space, but for the first week of life in cold overnight temps, this 9.5 layer was a savior!

So far so good. When I received the brooder I was pleasantly surprised at the packaging. I watched the assembly video prior to putting it together, and will say if I hadn’t it would have been difficult to assemble by the instructions along. Watch the assembly video!!!! Besides this no problem, meet my expectations and is as advertised.

My brooder arrived quickly and just before my chicken order did. This is my first time for raising chickens and the Hatching Time Chick Brooder made the process so much easier. Initially I was concerned about the high price tag but when I received it and put it together, I realized it was worth every single penny. This kit has every thing you need to get started and is much better than anything else I came across in my research. My chicks are happy about my purchase too.

Really happy with this. Tested it out, temperature is accurate and very capable of going hotter if needed. Build quality is great. I see a lot of comments from people on YouTube that "its just plastic". Well, its strong ABS plastic, the pieces fit well and tight into each other and its very well thought out. Well worth the money.

This single-layer quail brooder is exactly what I needed. Simple but effective—keeps the chicks safe and comfy. Ventilation is great, cleaning is easy, and they even include mats for when chicks first hatch—no tiny feet falling through

This is a pain to put together. The instructions were misleading which lead to a lot of rework.

Best brooder i have ever used lightweight easy to move and easy to clean!

This thing is awsome i love it. Wish i would have gotton it earlier

As we are growing, we needed more space for our freshly hatched chicks. We are so pleased with our other units, we came back to add another unit to our collection. These save us so much time, are easy to clean and we love the feature of the floor pads. The heating unit is reliable and we have zero complaints.

Great unit for brooding chicks.

This brooder kit was easy to assemble once I got the hang of how the pieces fit together. It took me about 30-45 minutes, but I’m old and move slower these days. The only thing I added was a digital thermometer so I can easily monitor the temperature in the brooder. I like how easy it is to move around and clean! I can’t think of any improvements needed and will be buying more to expand capacity.

Its been great. I wish it easier to clean. But other than that it is a good brooder.

Love this product and so do my chicks!

Not as easy as it looked to put together, once we figured it out it was great. Now to get the eggs hatched so we can watch the babies in this .

Beautiful, is so nice, just set it up wait for 21 days and ready chicks are ready. I love it

This is our second one and we love it!

I’ve had the 9.5” brooder for about a year now & still think it’s a great brooder. Just don’t overload it. I raise silkies & probably had too many in there at once & experienced coccidiosis for the first time in years of raising chicks. I’ve since learned from my mistake & am adding another layer to the system for that reason. When it’s freezing temperatures outside, I can totally rely on this brooder to keep all the chicks safe & warm.

Very well manufactured and packaged.

Very well made and packaged.

This unit is super easy to clean when they move out. You can hose the thing down. While they are in there though, it's not so easy. Doors are small. Have to scrub the **** between the grids of the floors because it doesn't fall through. **** ends up on the floor no matter how I place the tray. Quail couldn't figure out the drinkers so I had to keep using the waterers. They like to sit on top of the waterers and **** in their water. Wish there was a cone top or something so they couldn't sit on top. Once they were big enough I do love the feeder. Heater worked great. Love the unit. Hate cleaning it.

I have had chickens for a long time, but just decided to start hatching my own. So please with this brooder that now I’m buying the grow out! Super easy to clean & my chicks are the happiest chicks I have hatched to date. It’s been a game changer for me. I do have to give a huge shout out to Customer Service. I had questions & they were always very quick to help!! 100 percent recommend this brooder.

It’s cheaply made - doesn’t stay warm enough to use as a brooder until week 2 - waste of money

I ordered a 1 layer brooder just to try this interesting system out. I am so impressed after just one hatch in this brooder that I will be ordering more! This is the easiest brooder system I’ve ever owned and I am kicking myself for not finding this company sooner! Everything is as advertised and easy. I will say there are two things to be aware of:

1. Watch the videos on how to set up the unit. It was far easier to watch than look at the instructions for some details.

2. Your birds will play with the automatic waterer and can sometimes push the plunger down too much causing water to over flow. We’ve had this twice. Once, I fixed it. The second time, another bird kept pecking at it until it stopped overflowing apparently. I don’t find this too annoying or cumbersome. Just something to watch out for.

This set up gets 6 out of 5 stars from me 😁