DIY Thread - Let's see your "Inventions".

[HippiAiti]

I have a small brooder box that works for chicks for the first few weeks, but then they get too big for it. So this is what they graduate to next...

It's cat proof (one of my cats likes to sleep on top of it), the dogs stay back from it because of the fence around it and they seem happy in there.

Also, it's all stuff I got for free or already had lying around. Craigslist is great for free old playpens. This one was missing the bottom board so we used a couple flattened cardboard boxes. The baby gate is broken, so I used a clamp to hold it together. I covered my bookcase in the back with a tablecloth. Bungees and rope hold the top. The left front side of the rope I now have tied a bit differently but it unties quickly so I can reach on there but is still sturdy enough that the cat doesn't fall in. On cold nights I cover half of it with a heavy sheet. The chicks in here are now 3 and 5 weeks old. I have the 1 week old chicks in the smaller brooder box.






I had to put a brick over the front middle leg since the lack of bottom board and the bungee cords together were causing a problem. The brick seems to hold it down well enough and gives the chicks something else to stand on:



After reading the chick toy thread I added this "ladder" that came from an old wooden dish drying rack:

 

[HippiAiti]

4x4 scraps would probably work great for the bigger chicks. I was considering putting their waterer on an upside down terra cotta pot. They get it so messy so fast!

 

[LightningTFarm]

I have a small brooder box that works for chicks for the first few weeks, but then they get too big for it. So this is what they graduate to next...

It's cat proof (one of my cats likes to sleep on top of it), the dogs stay back from it because of the fence around it and they seem happy in there.

Also, it's all stuff I got for free or already had lying around. Craigslist is great for free old playpens. This one was missing the bottom board so we used a couple flattened cardboard boxes. The baby gate is broken, so I used a clamp to hold it together. I covered my bookcase in the back with a tablecloth. Bungees and rope hold the top. The left front side of the rope I now have tied a bit differently but it unties quickly so I can reach on there but is still sturdy enough that the cat doesn't fall in. On cold nights I cover half of it with a heavy sheet. The chicks in here are now 3 and 5 weeks old. I have the 1 week old chicks in the smaller brooder box.






I had to put a brick over the front middle leg since the lack of bottom board and the bungee cords together were causing a problem. The brick seems to hold it down well enough and gives the chicks something else to stand on:



After reading the chick toy thread I added this "ladder" that came from an old wooden dish drying rack:

I love this idea for a brooder in the house! I am thinking of making a small hoop coop on top of a half sheet of plywood, covered with plastic tarp, that I can use outside. But if it were too cold, this would be a great idea. I am going to look on CraigsList for one of these!

 

[mlowen]

I finished part of my chicken tunnel project, today. (Chunnels?) I'm so excited! I have another 35 or 40 feet to build and then just set up the "portable paddock" in the front yard and they can "cheap range" (because they are not really FREE.) The ones I finished today go to the chicken tractor that is set up over a spot that was crawling with grasshoppers, last year. When finished, they'll exit the tractor at the other end and go on into the front yard.

 

[LindaB220]

This is something I invented a while back for my brooder box. I took these pics while I was cleaning, so they're still a bit dirty. Its scrap 2x4 cut to fit in the corner of the box with a plastic hummus lid screwed to the top. Keeps the chick waterer up a little higher and the lid holds it in place.

Cool, my chicks kept knocking the whole thing over off my board. Thank goodness, I got them outside YESTERDAY.

 

[Bens-Hens]

.... set up the "portable paddock" in the front yard and they can "cheap range" (because they are not really FREE.)

Love it, cheap ranging!

 

[rojororeo]

I finished part of my chicken tunnel project, today. (Chunnels?) I'm so excited! I have another 35 or 40 feet to build and then just set up the "portable paddock" in the front yard and they can "cheap range" (because they are not really FREE.) The ones I finished today go to the chicken tractor that is set up over a spot that was crawling with grasshoppers, last year. When finished, they'll exit the tractor at the other end and go on into the front yard.

Okay, so one of the coolest things I have ever seen! Do the neighbors think that the chicken train is a bit odd?!

 

[ozexpat]

I finished part of my chicken tunnel project, today. (Chunnels?) I'm so excited! I have another 35 or 40 feet to build and then just set up the "portable paddock" in the front yard and they can "cheap range" (because they are not really FREE.) The ones I finished today go to the chicken tractor that is set up over a spot that was crawling with grasshoppers, last year. When finished, they'll exit the tractor at the other end and go on into the front yard.

Just watch the boss hen on the pecking order does not set up a toll booth

 

[mlowen]

Okay, so one of the coolest things I have ever seen! Do the neighbors think that the chicken train is a bit odd?!

They think I'm a bit odd...but overall, I have very positive & approving neighbors. Although my lot is small, it's too expensive for me to fence the whole thing (which I would have preferred, too.) So running tunnels to the yard is the next best thing. I laughed yesterday...they were walking all the way to the coop and then back to the yard, then back to the coop. It is like having a toy train set that makes itself "go," instead of having to turn on the switch.

 

[aart]

I finished part of my chicken tunnel project, today. (Chunnels?) I'm so excited! I have another 35 or 40 feet to build and then just set up the "portable paddock" in the front yard and they can "cheap range" (because they are not really FREE.) The ones I finished today go to the chicken tractor that is set up over a spot that was crawling with grasshoppers, last year. When finished, they'll exit the tractor at the other end and go on into the front yard.

OMGosh!!! That's ALOT of chunnel!!
What are the dimensions?
Did you use 2x2's for lumber?
Are those birds full grown large fowl?