How to raise Backyard Chickens: Re: [CHICKENS-101] Brooders

Oh Di - what a great idea!!!

I use an old chest freezer with a heat lamp in the top on one end and hardware cloth stretched across the opening.

Great recycling ideas!!!

Cindy

'Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.' Psalm 51:10-12

--- On Mon, 2/1/10, DBauer7998@aol.com <DBauer7998@aol.com> wrote:

This is going to sound completely insane, but somehow I acquired a large horse/cattle trough when we were up in Cincinnati. (We did not live in the country.) For the life of me, I can't remember how or why we got it, although it probably had something to do with Chris' reptiles.

The second completely insane thing is I do not for the life of me remember why I bothered to drag this humongous thing down to Florida when we moved here in 2003. It's not like I've ever had a use for it. It's been sitting top-side down near the air conditioner on the driveway and I've been using it as a potting bench and a 'hidey hole' for lizards and snakes, who crawl underneath it for protection.

Light bulb moment...... ...... what a great brooder it will make! It's about 4 to 5 feet long and the sides are about 3 1/2 feet tall, and it would be very easy to attached heat lamps and still leave a cooler end and to build a screen top to keep any curious critters out. And it only took me about 12 years to figure out a use for it!

I may not be the brightest bulb in the pack, but my brain occasionally does flicker on.

Di
Central Florida Zone 9a/b