Setting up a makeshift brooder

[RollinWithTheStones]

I have a Brinsea incubator and heat plate with 12 Coturnix sex link eggs. I'm doing a children's hatching program at work and was wondering if I could use a Sterilite Tote 24" L x 16" W x 13 7/8" H (66qt) for a brooder? I cannot have a soft sided brooder as we have a cat who is left unattended for long stretches. Chicks will only be in public location for 72 hours before moving home with me.

I was planning on putting more ventilation in the sides of the tote by making rectangle holes and covering with screen and then make a wooden screened frame to cover it. Also, bedding wood shavings or hemp bedding?

 

[catesquire]

That's the exact one I use for brooding, works just fine once you put in the (cat proof) covered air vents. I personally do mine in the lid (no need to make a separate lid, you can just cut a hole in the one it comes with and zip-tie on some hardware cloth) since I don't want to affect the structural stability of the actual container. Pine shavings work just fine, never used hemp myself so can't say either way.

 

[Debbie292d]

Here's something similar that @thecatumbrella posted in her contest:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-byc-easter-hatch-along.1684586/post-29043366

When you get yours done, consider entering it there!

 

[RollinWithTheStones]

Thanks