We sent our 4 Lavender orp chicks out to the newly remodeled coop last week. And just in time, too, as the 4 of them were out growing the Tote brooder I had made for them.
Well, it seems that my trusty enabler kathyinmo is doing what enablers do, and the DW and I will be swinging by her place on our way back from vacation early next week to pick up a few Jersey Giant chicks. These chicks are not new hatch, as they were hatching a couple of weeks ago at least when I first contacted Kathy about them. So, I knew I needed a bigger brooder since the orpington chicks were crowded at 4 weeks and these new ones are... well.... GIANTS.
I had a large wooden box that me and my grand daughter built a couple of years ago for our ice fishing ventures that won't be happening (I now live in Missouri and the ice gets 1" thick so no ice fishing). We decided to modify this and make it into a new brooder. I removed the front panel and the bottom panel, then removed the panel from the lid frame. We then attached hardware cloth to the wood frame of the box and lid. Next, using scrap pieces of 2x4 I screwed onto each corner, I raised the brooder up about 3". I then trimmed a little wood from the front panel that was removed earlier so I could slide it under the brooder to catch all the droppings on news paper.
This is almost 3 times the size of the Tote brooder and looks like a real winner. I was pretty proud of the way it turned out. Here is a couple of pics:
You can see here the light is hung on hook on one of the feet I made when not in use. It will just sit on top of the brooder at one end. Also, note the hook holding the lid open. It is heavy and I didn't want it to fall, so I mounted eye bolts in the wall and lid, then made a hook. Also, I left the Ice Fishing decal on it.
Here is the old brooder next to it. Looks larger than it really is.
Well, it seems that my trusty enabler kathyinmo is doing what enablers do, and the DW and I will be swinging by her place on our way back from vacation early next week to pick up a few Jersey Giant chicks. These chicks are not new hatch, as they were hatching a couple of weeks ago at least when I first contacted Kathy about them. So, I knew I needed a bigger brooder since the orpington chicks were crowded at 4 weeks and these new ones are... well.... GIANTS.
I had a large wooden box that me and my grand daughter built a couple of years ago for our ice fishing ventures that won't be happening (I now live in Missouri and the ice gets 1" thick so no ice fishing). We decided to modify this and make it into a new brooder. I removed the front panel and the bottom panel, then removed the panel from the lid frame. We then attached hardware cloth to the wood frame of the box and lid. Next, using scrap pieces of 2x4 I screwed onto each corner, I raised the brooder up about 3". I then trimmed a little wood from the front panel that was removed earlier so I could slide it under the brooder to catch all the droppings on news paper.
This is almost 3 times the size of the Tote brooder and looks like a real winner. I was pretty proud of the way it turned out. Here is a couple of pics:
You can see here the light is hung on hook on one of the feet I made when not in use. It will just sit on top of the brooder at one end. Also, note the hook holding the lid open. It is heavy and I didn't want it to fall, so I mounted eye bolts in the wall and lid, then made a hook. Also, I left the Ice Fishing decal on it.
Here is the old brooder next to it. Looks larger than it really is.
