Improved Cardboard Box Brooder with Lid
From Roger in Spokane, WA; January 2010
This 10 square-foot brooder serves about 20 chicks for 4 weeks, 15 chicks for 6 weeks, or 10 chicks for 8 weeks. The costs shown are for all new materials. Improvise to save more.
Brooder for less than $12
Tape the bottoms of two extra large moving boxes (2 x 2 x 18 from U-Haul). Insert the open flaps of one top into the other top until the flaps just overlap. Tape all seams of these flaps, inside and out, on the 2 wide bottom and 18 sides [A]. Remove the remaining top flaps. Combined, the box is now 2 wide, 18 deep and 4-10 long. Cut away the top of the box, leaving a 4-inch wide perimeter [B]. Line the bottom with paper towels for traction and extra absorbance then add 2 of non-aromatic (dried pine or aspen) wood shavings. Set the water and food dispensers (add about $10) on a patio blocks at one end of the box [C]. Center a heat lamp (another $10) over the other end, suspending it so that it doesnt touch anything flammable and the height can be adjusted to regulate temperature in the box [D].
Lid for less than $10
Keep the chicks in and cats out of the brooder with this simple lid made of a ½ hardware cloth (2 x 5) and two pine boards (1 x 2 x 8). From each board, cut one 5 length and one 2 length. Make a rectangle of the boards, resting the wide ends of each long piece on the narrow edge of each short piece. Drill pilot holes to prevent splitting and secure the boards with screws. Staple the hardware cloth to the top of the frame. (For extra strength, add an optional 2 brace across the top-center.) The length of the finished frame will rest on top of the box and the width will just overhang the edge, helping to keep it in place [D].
