Don't know what it is, but im gonna use it! Ideas?

I was given this by my dad, it is 8ft long, 4ft wide, and a foot tall. I do not know what it is but I thought it would be useful, his work used it to sift corn or something. It has a bottom on it that is expanded steel and the lid is steel with a couple holes in it.

I considered doing some modifications to it to make a brooder, or maybe set it on its side and build cages in it for my Coturnix, maybe a run for coturnix that is outta the weather, heck I dont know, any ideas?

 

Yeah I had thought that too, since its 4x8 a sheet of plywood would work much better, if I did make it a brooder I would probably make a sloped roof out of plywood that had welded mesh under it so I could open it up on nice days and to work in it.