Dog Crate Brooder

Clever use of a dog crate as a brooder.

A nice brooder! Swapping the chicken wire for hardware cloth might be a good idea for people with smaller chickens, especially bantams, as they could squeeze through the chicken wire.

Very well done - and I like that you made this a project for the whole family!

I would have done it a bit differently and just put chicken wire around the sides instead of the plywood - babies like to see out and see the world around them, without feeling threatened. Having the top "open" means that any time you come near them, you're approaching them from above, which can be really scary because they innately fear predators from above. I would have put a piece of plywood on top and kept the sides uncovered albeit reinforced. Otherwise, great job!

Dog crates work great for brooders but beware chicks can fit right through the wire. Covering it with hardware cloth is a good idea.

Nice Brooder Build

What did you use on the floor to keep the shavings from falling through?
Why did you use plywood on the sides? Could the chicks fit through the slots of the sides otherwise?
Can the chicks get out through the door? I would think they would be small enough to fit through the wholes in the chicken wire.
I like that you made this into a family project! I also like that you made ledges to try to keep the shavings out of the food and water. You might have been able to rig up something so that you could hang them from the top and adjust the height as the chicks get bigger and still keep the wood shavings out of them.
Another thing I liked is that you added perches/roosts for the chicks as they got bigger.

Great, inexpensive idea (if you already have a crate on hand).

I may just steal this idea