Raised Bed for Brooder?

[JlovesPHXtheGSD]

What are thoughts on using a metal raised bed as a brooder? I'm struggling to find something affordable for 22 chicks. We are in Michigan so it is still pretty cold and my husband is in the process of building a coop that he will run electricity to. We do not have a garage and only a finished basement. I was thinking of buying a 8x4x2 ft metal raised garden planter off Amazon and putting hardware cloth over the top to accommodate them all. Thoughts? I had found a used 8x4x2 stock tank on Facebook but of course it sold before I could look at it. That size is 329$ brand new around here. Just thought I could use the raised bed outside then after we were done. Plus having a 4ft side we can get it in and out of the house.

 

[SchwartzLakeFarmNC]

I think that 's a great idea, the chicks won't care as long as you have enough room for them to migrate from the cool zone to the warm zone and plenty of space. We built a raised bed out of 2x4's and metal roofing for our brooder and it worked just fine. Use what you can but 22 chicks will grow fast so make sure it's plenty big until you can get to another coop or area for the amount of chicks you will have.

 

[Penpal]

That's what TSC uses for their chicks.