So when me and the family first began to get our baby chix we got a 55 gal. bin made some windows in top and side which we filled with chicken wire, added a heat lamp and poof. Cheap instant brooder. Alas as we would soon learn chickens grow fast! and so did the size of our flock!. So I looked around online for brooder designs / ideas and found several made from a re purposed dresser. I love it. We are a green family or try to be as much as possible and this rang true. I even had an unused dresser in storage that was destined for a tag sale or fire pit. I also had a bunch of material kicking around that I save, collect and pillage for my projects. In the end It cost me $15 to build which was spent on the casters. Sadly I did not take pictures as I built it. But it only took me about 2 hours and was very easy. I started out removing all the drawers and followed up with a Sawzall and hammer and removed all the drawer support cross pieces which left me the 2 open compartments. I still felt it was too shallow so I took a couple of reclaimed 2 x 3's from a pallet I cut up and cut them to 28" lengths. I set 2 in each level, nailed them down and toped it with some 3/4" plywood salvaged from some make shift shelves I tore out of an old house we renovated. I then lined the bases with linoleum I procured from free section on craigslist. The sides of the extensions were made from the draw faces. I then trimmed it out with lath reclaimed from the same old house reno. I slapped together a door with some scrap pallet pieces lined it with chicken wire. I then cut a hole in the top so a heat lamp could be fit into it. I then built a little chicken cave out drawer face and drawer sides and put up a roosting bar made from a water vine I cut down. Then I bought the caster and mounted them to base so it could be easily rolled around when needed. I then used some of the left over stain I used on my deck and stained the whole thing to match. Poof instant brooder with 12 and half sq ft of space. I am debating some side extensions for top and bottom compartments for when we begin hatching our own chix. If I opt for it I will post updates. We have quickly become chicken nerds!!
