Cheap Chick House

With the cooler weather we decided it was time to get some chicks.

It is easiest if the weather is not so brutally hot, or so cold....  They arrived almost 2 weeks ago.

I  got layers and meat chickens, I am brooding them together for now, soon I will separate them out,
but not yet.




When they first arrive they're so cute! little balls of peeping fluff,  they stay that way for about 4 days, then they become less adorable, they're such stinkers!


I started them all in one cage, but they quickly outgrew it. Next  I moved them into 2 cages side by side, which lasted 2 days... they needed a permanent home!

I had to be creative.

Awhile back I  had acquired a large dog cage, it  was  in a fenced area we had used as a chicken pen
The cage was shelter but not enough...
Chicks do need to be kept  warm and dry, I needed to figure something out.









I took some empty feed bags and cut them open.












I put one end of the opened feed bags under the piece of plywood that was serving as the roof for the dog cage.








I secured it with wire attached to the cage.












Then I laid down another empty bag inside the cage and covered it with hay for comfort.

I made a hook out of wire and hung a heat lamp from it.









Finally I put in their food in a large container that the chicks won't be able to get into and soil ( nice word)











Water for the babes...

They love it!