Brooding Outdoors?

[V-NH]

Hello my finely feathered friends!

I've brooded several groups of chickens in my garage in large galvanized stock tanks. It has become necessary to brood another couple of batches outside. I'm sure that the temperature outside is fine right now, plus I can plug the heat lamp in outside. I am going to be brooding them underneath a sun porch in the stock tanks, so they won't be affected by rain or anything. The sun porch will be their roof!

Here is my dilemma. I need to cover the top of the stock tanks with someone secure enough to keep predators out. We do have a coyote problem. They wiped out my neighbor's free range flock and killed one of my turkeys. However, they have never tested either my of chicken pens, which are constructed out of 2x4s and poultry netting. I have also never seen one of them close to the house, and these brooding tanks will literally be against the wall of my house about 5 feet from my bedroom.

What would you use to cover the stock tanks? I am considering poultry netting and clamps. It needs to be a relatively cheap option only because I have spent like $1,000 on chickens and chicken supplies so far this season and it is getting out of control!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

 

[Righteous Rstr]

I hear ya loud and clear ! To answer your question dog crates made of steel wire made so they can be collapsed
by removing corner rods. They are awesome as we have coyotes and Racoons galore in FL,shelters and kennels
don't generally use them after they get surface rust(snobby types) they are readily available and can be had for $5
or less. Tip ask your local pound and donate ten bucks if they give you any. They come apart in common sized
panels 18"-24"-36"-48" and they cut easy with a grinder or sawzall. Use u shaped fence nails to attach to wood or
wire or zip ties to metal, drill small holes if needed. Also everyone has a hinged door with multiple latches to keep
Cujo from squeezing out, they almost always baffle coons and opossums. The rust won't hurt your birds but you'll
want to scrub them with bleach for dog ailments.Note watch yard sales or trash days, Good luck. RR

 

[mithious]

I got some hardware cloth and wire, cut and stitched the sheets together for the top of my brooder box...4' by 4 ' by 2' high...had it hang over the sides so I could have something to attach it with to the brooder. My brooder was made out of OSB board though...so was a bit easier to attach...I only paid about $10.00 for the hardware cloth though...got the two feet by 25 foot and was enough to cover the top of the brooder.

My kitties, a Bengal, could NOT get in no matter how hard she tried

She could even walk across the top, till I caught her and she went running with "the stare" from me, LOL

 

[NC Chick Man82]

you could get a piece of plexie glass and drill bunch of holes in top for venting or use plywood with same hole design or use chicken wire the welded kind and double or triple it to make it strong... I guess anything that could take a beating and still let air in would do fine