My First Brooder! (dog crate remodel)

[Chatty Chicky]

Thank you!

 

[14aviles]

That's great! How much did you spend out of pocket.

 

[Chatty Chicky]

That's great! How much did you spend out of pocket.

Well, 14aviles, even I don't want to know the answer to that question. Doh! I am stacking all my receipts in a pile, and after I have finished the coop and have fed the hens 'til I get my first egg, , then I will make a rough estimate of how many premium eggs they need to produce to earn their room and board. Pretty sure, though, at the rate I'm going, it will always be like I'm a crime boss and they're the undercompensated local merchant, constantly stuffing an underfunded envelope of cash just so they don't get culled, lol!

Naw, honestly, the girls will be my pets...and that being said, they will be waaaay ahead of the dogs and the useless kitten...all of whom I love with all my heart, but all of whom are financial money pits!

Seriously, though, IDK. The crate was in storage since I lost my best dog ever, my senior female GSD, last summer. She didn't need the crate, but all my dogs use the crates as their beds, so she had one. So, that was free. The puppy pads underneath the paper towels are also free, left over from some I bought when one of my girls was sick...

The paper towels I buy in bulk so again idk...

The water bottles are leftover from on the road purchases on our 4-hour weekly round trip to the club for dog training, so I don't count those, either.

The mason jars in the feeders were part of a set I will end up using to can my veggies this summer, so I don't count those. The bases e bases were, I think, $3.99 each at Tractor Supply.

The Brinsea, well, that was Expensive.... But, I am absolutely *paranoid* of losing my dogs in a house fire -- and I mean *Paranoid* even without a brooder in my attached garage -- and can't practically afford to replace them at $1200 a pop, plus all the competition training I've put in, so I tallied that up to insurance costs.

And I gave my Ma all my power tools about five years ago when I went to work on the road, so I had to buy a new circular saw and sawhorses and clamps... and that set me back... but I need those to build the coop as well. And when I gave them to my Ma I knew I would eventually need to replace them, so can't blame that on the chicks So I can't really factor that.

So the chicken watering nipples cost me about $5, and the dowels for roosting poles cost me a buck fifty, and the wooden panels cost about $8 each (too much!), but that plexi!! Well, that was over $20, I am ashamed to admit. Another BUT!, But I do think it will be worth it.

I own working dogs, high prey drive dogs. So, I HAVE to be able to put my dogs in a down stay outside the brooder on a daily basis, for extended periods, and let them chill and get used to watching the birds. This way, when the chicks are feathered out and ready to harden off, we can all walk outside together and the dogs will totally be like, "Birds?!? Again?!? MEH. Soo boring... Where are those pesky Squirrels, Mama!"

Out of pocket, for things I didn't have at hand and wouldn't have had to purchase otherwise... The plexi, the nipples, the feeder bases, the Brinsea, and the dowels.... about $140. Dang it.. That's a LOTTA eggs. They better be awful sweet hens, that's all I'm sayin

 

[Chatty Chicky]

My cousin is giving me all kinds of grief. He used a cardboard box and a $19.99 starter kit and didn't lose a single chick. But then, he has always been waay smarter than I!

 

[Chatty Chicky]

If I didn't own the dogs I own, I probably would have spent $35-45, TOPS. It's one thing to own chickens....it's something altogether different to introduce birds into a working dog pack.

 

[clankeyes]

I will be setting something up like this as well. I have a crate ( same as yours) . I will post pictures when I have it put together.

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC and to poultry keeping/raising.

 

[Chatty Chicky]

I will be setting something up like this as well. I have a crate ( same as yours) . I will post pictures when I have it put together.

Cool!! I'm looking forward to seeing your version

 

[Chatty Chicky]

Welcome to BYC and to poultry keeping/raising.

Thank you! I am having a BLAST so far!

 

[Chatty Chicky]

My girls arrived a week ago today. I have some shots from day 1 and Day 5. And I gotta say, they are SUPER fun to have around....and yes, they quickly moved from "In my Garage" to "Totally In My Kitchen" status, lol!! They are just TOO cute to leave out there

DAY 1 - The girls have ARRIVED!



DAY 5 - The girls have graduated to pine shavings, and moved indoors with the rest of the pets



The dogs are finally like, chickens....Meh! Take MY picture, Ma! They are camera Hams, the both of 'em, doh!




The girls LOVE snuggling under their Brinsea



Jack is keeping an eye on "his" flock of peeps! That's my Lillian in the background, keeping her distance. She still kinda wants them as a snack, so is keeping her distance...cause I made it clear that eating the Peeps is Not allowed



Henna and Pepper "free ranging" in the living room on Jack's bed. Poor dog is like, really, Ma!?! I'm supposed to sit STILL for this?? LOL. He was antsy, but preciously patient while I snapped this pic, lol.