I spent almost 2 weeks building this one. It has hi-tech material for the walls, 3 inch hi-tensel duct tape, and the liner is made from quality news paper.....
As I am now a hatching addict, I have realized that a brooder box in the living room is going to be a continuous sight. Because I have dogs and a cat, it has to be secure. Plus, the lid needed to be easy to manage because one or all of us are constantly getting into it for snuggle time. Fortunately, I had some old wooden windows lying around and some wood bits and pieces from my first chicken coop. The only parts I had to buy were the metal screening, vinyl for the flooring (habitat for humanity) and the dimmer for the light.
The top lifts and the front is hinged as well for easy cleaning. It was a day well spent.
Here is our brooder 8'x2'(one half of it anyhow).... My chicks are now almost 2 weeks old and they have discovered that they can fly, and not sure if its normal for a week old chick.. but they have been "sand bathing" since about that age, some sooner.... (first time raising chicks)so its all new...
My first babies! I used a large Weedeater box for about 13 chicks, with a screen over the top as you can see. I'm using a small reflector with a 75 watt soft white bulb, and the temp is staying at a nice 97-98 degrees on that end of the box. I also added aluminum foil t help reflect the heat back into the box, and am using towels as insulation, which I fold back or lay down depending on the ambient temp of the room. Those are pine shavings on newspaper, with additional paper towels laid down on the warm end of the box (more poop there).
FYI, I'm in Mississippi where the temps are in the mid 70s during the day right now, and my chicks are indoors.
They are our first chicks EVER and I just realized that we are going to need a top pretty soon! I put a sweater in there for a "mommy" which they love and also an empty trash bag box they use for a house. I am going to get them a few branches as soon as we have a top.