Build a Low-Cost Mobile Brooder Box
Illustration By Elayne Sears
We’ve designed a secure, lightweight brooder box that is relatively easy and inexpensive to make for indoor and outdoor use. You can house a broody hen on her eggs, or use the box to raise mail-order chicks from a hatchery.
The frameless wire cage is made from 1-by-2-inch welded wire (not poultry netting) and is about 3 feet wide by 4 to 5 feet long by 2 feet high. The wire sections are attached using J-clips. The lid has folded-down, 4-inch sides for added security. A large plastic tub set inside the cage serves as a weatherproof, easy-to-clean shelter, with a low-cut door for the mother hen and her chicks to go in and out. To raise chicks without a broody hen, secure an electric light bulb inside the tub (be sure you use a bulb size and placement that won’t melt the plastic tub).
Read more: Raise Your Best Flock Using Broody Hens
Related Content
MOTHER EARTH NEWS FAIR
Next: September 14-16, 2018
Seven Springs, PA
Whether you want to learn how to grow and raise your own food, build your own root cellar, or create a green dream home, come out and learn everything you need to know — and then some!
LEARN MOREMoney-Saving Tips in Every Issue!
At MOTHER EARTH NEWS, we are dedicated to conserving our planet's natural resources while helping you conserve your financial resources. You'll find tips for slashing heating bills, growing fresh, natural produce at home, and more. That's why we want you to save money and trees by subscribing through our earth-friendly automatic renewal savings plan. By paying with a credit card, you save an additional $5 and get 6 issues of MOTHER EARTH NEWS for only $12.95 (USA only).
You may also use the Bill Me option and pay $17.95 for 6 issues.
Canadian Subscribers - Click Here
International Subscribers - Click Here
Canadian subscriptions: 1 year (includes postage & GST).
Thanks jean. I was wondering why they didn't suggest a floor but your idea of cardboard is great. I had thought of wood but cardboard is sturdy, lightweight, compostable, and it can be a great way to recycle.
Be sure to cover the floor with something like cardboard or newspaper to keep tiny chick feet from going through the holes -- especially if you ever plan to pick the cage up and move it with the chicks loose inside it, or even slide it a few inches sideways. Tiny legs and toes break very easily if caught under the floor wire. You'll save yourself heartache and weeks of splinting tiny feet with tape and matchsticks..and feeling like a heel.