close

Baby Chickens for Sale in Sweet Home, Texas

Baby Chickens for Sale in Sweet Home, Texas

Easy DIY Chicken Brooder Box

Easy DIY Chicken Brooder Box

Posted on

We’re getting our first chickens this spring (!!) and over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing our experiences along the way. Be sure to subscribe via or to keep up with our latest posts! 

Chicken brooder boxes come in all shapes and sizes. They can be small and simple as a cardboard box or kiddie-pool, or a large, complex custom-build. For our booder box, these were my concerns:

  • Sturdy. With curious pets and kids in the house, I wanted something more sturdy than a cardboard box.
  • Safe. Again, the pets (specifically our cat, Stuart) was my main concern. I wanted to make sure the baby chiks would be safe from any “investigating” he might want to do.
  • Easy & inexpensive to build. I’m relatively handy, but I’m no builder. I wanted something I could build quickly and easily with the basic tools I have on hand.

So here’s what I came up with…

Materials

  • 50-gallon Sterilite tote ($16, WalMart)
  • Chicken wire, 25′ roll ($9.99, Tractor Supply)
  • Plastic zip ties ($1.59, Dollar General)

Tools

  • Cordless drill (I have a Black & Decker , part of their 20V system.)
  • 1/4″ drill bit
  • Jig saw
  • Wire cutters

How to Build Your Brooder Box

1. First we’ll cut away the hole in the lid for the chicken wire: Using your cordless drill and 1/4″ drill bit, drill a hole near the corner of the lid, about 3″ or 4″ in from the edge. This will be the pilot hole for your saw blade.

 

2. Using your jig saw, insert the blade into the hole you just drilled, then cut out the center section of the lid, leaving a 3-4″ border around the rim of the lid to keep rigidity.

3. Next, drill holes around the perimeter of the hole you just cut. You want to make them close enough to the edge that the zip ties will work, but not so close to the edge that they crack and break through.

 

4. Flip your lid upside down and unroll your chicken wire on top of it. Use your wire cutters (I actually borrowed Mike’s guitar string cutter tool) to trim the chicken wire to size. Thread zip ties through the holes drilled in the lid and use them to secure the chicken wire in place.

5. Once the chicken wire is secured, you can trim the zip ties so they don’t hang down into the brooder.

6. Release your toddler (and/or pets) for testing…

Hooray! It’s Myles-approved!

Related

Baby Chickens for Sale in Sweet Home 
TX

Baby Chickens Sale in Sweet Home, Texas

We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in Sweet Home Texas, including Sussex Chickens, Welsummer Chickens, Turken Chickens and more. Be sure to check out the Bargain Specials, as you can combine different egg layers in smaller amounts and buy as an assortment. Sweet Home Texas also has poultry equipment for sale, game chickens for sale in Sweet Home Texas, bantams for sale, ducks for sale, geese for sale, turkeys for sale, guinea for sale, peafowl for sale, pheasant for sale, chukar partridge for sale, bobwhite for sale, many different breeds of baby chicks for sale in Sweet Home TX.

Baby Chickens Hatchery in Sweet Home, Texas

Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Sweet Home Texas catalog is a yearly traditions in many houses. My kids and I eagerly await the Murray McMurray Hatchery catalog. We love looking at all the cool and different chicken breeds available. Catalogs are free so head on over to their site and request one if you are interested. Baby Chickens for Sale in Sweet Home 
TXTypically hatcheries online offer both standard breeds and bantams. Bantams are fun hardy little chickens, they lay tiny eggs that kids especially love collecting. Bantams typically weigh less than 2 pounds when full grown. Just like ordering anything online there are pros and cons to ordering baby chicks online. Pros of buying baby chicks in Sweet Home Texas * Big Selection - If you are wanting a large variety of different chicken breeds and egg colors, you will find the best selection at an online hatchery. * Both Bantams and full sized chickens available * You get to choose what sex you want. If you want a mixture of both male and female then choosing a "straight run" will save you money and you will get a mixture of male and female chicks. You can also choose all males or all females too. * Weekly specials. Hatcheries have sales on chicks, you are likely to get a good deal if you are flexible with the breeds you are wanting. Cons of buying baby chicks in Sweet Home Texas * Order early to get the best selection. Certain breeds sell out fast, sometimes as early as 6 months in advance of shipping! If you are wanting a certain breed it's best to order your chicks in the fall before their orders sell out.

Baby Chicks Care in Sweet Home, Texas

Quantity - you must order a certain number of chicks. Typically hatcheries will require you buy a minimum of 25 chicks at a time. The number is necessary for the chicks survival during shipping. All 25 chicks are put in one small box without heat. They are crowded in the box and produce enough body heat to arrive in good shape. * The wait - If you choose to buy chicks from a feed store you will have them the same day but if you choose to go with a hatchery you have to wait until they are ready to ship and then wait for the chicks to arrive. Ordering baby chicks online in Sweet Home Texas is easy and has always been a very pleasant experience of me. It can be a little frustrating waiting for the chicks but it's so worth the wait. When the post office calls and you hear all those little "cheeps" or "chirps" in the background you'll know the wait was worth it! How to Care for your new baby chickens in Sweet Home, Texas Baby chicks are quite charming as well as challenging to resist, but it's best to plan for their arrival before you get them. Prepare first by collecting not just the proper materials, yet likewise the proper knowledge to look after them. Raising baby chicks is fairly simple, you just have to offer them with the following: A clean and also warm environment A lot of food and also water Attention and also love Habitat Your habitat can be an easy box, aquarium, feline service provider, or guinea porker cage. Line it with old towels and also coverings (without any loosened strings!) to start, and after a couple of weeks use straw over paper. Keep in mind: Avoid making use of only paper or various other sandal surface areas-- or your chicks legs could expand misshapen. You additionally need something to dish out food as well as water in, such as a chicken feeder and water recipe from the feed store, or a pickle container cover for food and a pet bird water dispenser from an animal store. Also, as the chicks grow older you could present a perch into the environment to obtain them trained on setting down. Warmth To keep your chicks warm you should offer them with a heat source. This could be as simple as a 100 watt light bulb in a reflective clamp style light from a hardware store, or an infrared reptile heat light bulb likewise function effectively (my suggestion). Chicks require this heat 24/7 till their downy fluff is changed with feathers (which can take up to two months). The freshly hatched require a temperature in between 90 and 100 levels, as well as each week this could be decreased by around 5 degrees or so. The warmth source need to get on merely one side of the cage to allow chicks a variety of temperatures. The chicks are your ideal thermostat- if they are hiding in the opposite edge of your heat light, you should reduce the temperature. If they are smothering each various other under the warmth (not just snuggling), you have to include some warmth. House cleaning Sanitation is key and also it maintains your chicks healthy and balanced. Be sure to change the bed linen typically and consistently supply clean food as well as water Food as well as water. Chicks grow quite quickly which needs plenty of clean food and also water. Supply enough in any way times as well as check often to avoid thirsty and starving chicks. Chick food is different compared to grown-up chicken food, as well as it can be found in both medicated and non-medicated varieties. Feed chick food for the first two months, then switch to a raiser food (~ 17 % healthy protein) for an additional 2 months, then to a somewhat reduced protein feed or a layer feed (if you have layers). Dirt Some chicks want to obtain a head start on taking dust bathrooms, while others will not take up that activity up until they are older. If you have the space in your chick enclosure, introduce a tray of sand or filth for them to bathe in. Focus as well as love There are a few advantages to hanging out with your chicks. Firstly, they will certainly probably bond with you as well as not flee as grownups. Second, if you analyze your chicks daily and watch their habits, you can catch illness or other problems previously. Watch out for hissing, limping, or various other undesirable indicators. Be sure to likewise check out their poop, as diarrhea could lead to matted feathers as well as obstructed cloaca. Lastly, it is essential to keep an eye out for social problems, such as the smallest chick obtaining badgered. Empty nest syndrome So your chicks are now fully feathered as well as its time for them to leave the safety of your house and also relocate outside right into a coop. Look into our area on chicken cages to find out more concerning cages and also appropriate cage habitats.
Baby Chicks House     Baby Chicks Price
More Posts
Baby Chickens for Sale in Briggs, Texas
Baby Chickens for Sale in Amarillo, Texas
Baby Chickens for Sale in Maud, Texas
Baby Chickens for Sale in Pilot Point, Texas
Baby Chickens for Sale in Raywood, Texas