It seems I’m always pulled away from the projects I would like to work on to instead focus on the items that need immediate attention. Tomorrow we’re expecting a straight run of Cornish cross chicks to be delivered at the post office. That means the chicken brooder NEEDS to get finished today.
I looked high and low on the internet for a brooder design that I liked, was simple to build and would last through multiple seasons. Ultimately, I settled on a hybrid plan, incorporating a little from a lot of different designs.
I ended up building a basic 4-foot square plywood box, with 2-foot tall walls. The back wall stands 4-foot tall, so there is plenty of height to raise the heat lamps as needed, and the entire brooder sits on 4-inch legs. The roof is hinged and easily held up by a 5-foot pole.
As you can see from the pictures, the only thing missing is the wire mesh sides, and a secure latch for the front. I’m also going to staple a large sheet of leftover 6-mil poly onto the roof to protect from rain. This is an outside brooder with the angled roof faces east, so the chicks will get plenty of direct sunlight during the hot summer days.
Even though I knew how I wanted to build this brooder box, I didn’t actually put anything down on paper. So, this is Brooder Box 1.0. There are definitely a few things I will do differently on the next build.
If you would like plans for this brooder, please subscribe to this site, or send me an email through the contact page and I’ll let you know when I have them finalized.
