Hi All,
Post #3 for me. This site has been a great resource for me while researching the finer details of chook raising. We had them when I was younger, and I'm kind of what you would call a prepper, so getting some bug-to-egg converters was high on my priority list.
I wanted to do this on the cheap, as I know ROI is a lot harder when there is a lot of I.
In my years surfing the interwebs, I've seen a darn lot of uses for food grade barrels... but in my chicken research have not found anything solid on a barrel coop. I know barrel coops are something a lot of people have interest in, as when searching in a plan for one you see a lot of threads from every corner of the net ending without a desired result.
Today, there was a great opportunity to adopt some ISA browns the next town over. So I took one of the barrels I used to use for compost and potato growing (used to live in an apartment, had a community garden, also get the barrels free at work), and hacked at it with some scrap wood and an old circular saw someone gave me.
I'm posting this pics for folks looking for ideas, as few seem to be out there, but also looking for feedback on what could be improved with a 2.0 version, or challenges that I will come across at some point I haven't thought of.
I apologize for how "unpretty" it is, there was a lot of trial and error on this being my first one, and done in 2 hours, also I'm relatively inexperienced with tools. You can also see how my plunge cuts and incision sketches aren't exactly.. uhh.. professional. If it doesn't look like the ISA Browns I got will outgrow it, i'll try to do a 2.0 version which will be a lot prettier.
This is a 55 gallon PE barrel with removable latching lid. Hardware
Post #3 for me. This site has been a great resource for me while researching the finer details of chook raising. We had them when I was younger, and I'm kind of what you would call a prepper, so getting some bug-to-egg converters was high on my priority list.
I wanted to do this on the cheap, as I know ROI is a lot harder when there is a lot of I.
In my years surfing the interwebs, I've seen a darn lot of uses for food grade barrels... but in my chicken research have not found anything solid on a barrel coop. I know barrel coops are something a lot of people have interest in, as when searching in a plan for one you see a lot of threads from every corner of the net ending without a desired result.
Today, there was a great opportunity to adopt some ISA browns the next town over. So I took one of the barrels I used to use for compost and potato growing (used to live in an apartment, had a community garden, also get the barrels free at work), and hacked at it with some scrap wood and an old circular saw someone gave me.
I'm posting this pics for folks looking for ideas, as few seem to be out there, but also looking for feedback on what could be improved with a 2.0 version, or challenges that I will come across at some point I haven't thought of.
I apologize for how "unpretty" it is, there was a lot of trial and error on this being my first one, and done in 2 hours, also I'm relatively inexperienced with tools. You can also see how my plunge cuts and incision sketches aren't exactly.. uhh.. professional. If it doesn't look like the ISA Browns I got will outgrow it, i'll try to do a 2.0 version which will be a lot prettier.
This is a 55 gallon PE barrel with removable latching lid. Hardware
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