I am officially obsessing now....

[soldieratheart]

You know, this brooder was actually very fast and easy to make (comparatively speaking... I, of course, take 2 hours just to make a square). The base and the top are made of 2"x2"s, which are often sold in 42" lengths for less than $1. So 5 for each the top and bottom, which is 10 total. Then make posts for the corners, mine are about 24" tall I think - whatever measurement makes it easy to staple the 24" hardware cloth to the sides. So that would be another 4 peices of 2"x2"s. Use whatever scrap you have to reinforce each side, and use more scrap to make roosts. The top is cheap screening held together by 1"x2"s, with only about half the top hinged to open. Then I got all fancy and put casters on the bottom, but you could just as well make "legs" out of more scrap. Some screws, angle brackets, and two hinges, and voila! DH did it in about 3 hours with me stapling all the cloth and adding the roosts.

 

[becky3086]

Yes, all joking aside, I showed your brooder to Phil. I like to keep these good ideas in his head so that I can eventually get him to make some of them for me. Yours really does look great and I would love to have one.

 

[SJMike]

Wouldn't say that I'm completely obsessed... but neither would I say I'm very far away either. I'm in at city of about 120,000 and on maybe a 1/2 acre or a bit smaller... have four layers (generally hens are OK in the city but not roos) and just went to a "feathers & wiskers" show today in Petitcodiac, New Brunswick. It's basically a birds & livestock show/swap/sale... First we walked around the arena looking at all the very cool birds (pidgeons, geese, quail, ducks, hens....). My eyes landed on some Black Rosecombs - first time I'd ever seen them ... live or even on the web. As we walked over to the swap & sale section... there was a breeder there from Prince Edward Island with... wait for it... black rosecombs - one cage had a trio of 1 roo & 2 pullets.

O my goodness... borrow money from the 9yr-old daughter with a disapproving look from my wife. The kids of course are thrilled... dad's thrilled, but Mom is the one with a tighter grip on reality!!!

Now they are in our basement, in a rabbit cage while I finish the new cage for these guys (the main coop is a little small for 3 more... plus I don't want them to get "henpecked" by the much bigger birds out there....

Supposed to go to see some more on Tues. (a variety of beautiful birds imported from TX and VERY tame)... HELP...

Save me from myself!!!

 

[soldieratheart]

OMG I about died at the part when you borrowed from the 9 year-old.... Yes, I would say that qualifies as "obsessed"

I have to stop myself clicking around BYC and outside poultry websites... now I am thinking that BLRW (Blue Laced Red Wyandottes) are just beautiful, as are so many other breeds. Luckily it is also a lot of fun to plan out dozens of chicken projects so I can then pare them down to more manageable ideas. So far I am ONLY thinking of 4 separate projects with a couple dozen birds each!