Something new this year are a few elements of the brooder setup. The brooder house itself has a new poured concrete floor, now covered with wood shavings. Everything feels a little more tidy.
Previously, a ring of sheet metal was always fastened to the dirt floor to form the outer ring of the brooder. Since that won't work anymore with the concrete floor, Farmer Rob visited the old Wooden brooder house adjacent to the farm and discovered their solution: wooden stands which hold the sheet metal in place. Farmer Rob fashioned some replicas, which are now in use in the brooder.