After the shopping was done the last step was to prepare the brooder which was a room 12” x 15” with a metal door plus a single window for ventilation. We would have gone for an additional window but we opted to keep the door and single window open for ventilation. 

The first step was to lay-out the bricks on which the pots (where we put charcoal for heating up the room are placed), after which we poured coffee husks on the floor and placed a brown sheet of paper on top. The brown paper is to ensure that the chicks do not eat the coffee husks in their early days which may lead to choking and digestion complications since their systems are not well developed. 

The temperature for the brooder has to be kept very warm (yes we kept sweating whenever we entered) since layers unlike broilers are very sensitive to cooler temperatures.

There is a separate set of sandals at the door so that anyone entering the brooder does not bring in contaminants, obviously this is a critical issue so we will be working on it continously.

Since the room was freshly built we left the pots running overnight to keep it warm and snug for the chicks coming in the next day.

Below is a photo of the brooder with all sheeting laid out and ready to go