Tiphayes Farm

Home Made Brooder Chest Project 1

How to re-cycle an old Chest Freezer into a superb brooder for next to nothing!

I had just successfully hatched out a brood of chicks and so concerned, was I, for the welfare of my 37 new babies that my attention was focused almost obsessively on their welfare. I had copied a design for a brooder from a book on keeping chickens, the design was constructed from hardboard and had one major shortfall, it was not proof against RATS. In my previous life with poultry (80’s) we had reared some chicks under a broody hen and I can still remember, with horror witnessing, by torchlight, a RAT pulling a chick from under its mother in the dark so something had to be done.

The brooder was to be housed in an old Victorian Cow Shippen that whilst clean and dry was certainly not vermin proof and never would be. So my thinking was that I needed a steel box that was fully insulated to keep them safe and warm and at that precise moment my eyes fell on the old chest freezer that had not been used since the ravenous kids had left home, the very same one that we had kept our surplus home reared Pork and Lamb in all those years ago and had now been retired to the Shippen awaiting a run to the recycling centre.

I pulled out the old freezer and decided that with a small amount of modification it would make the ideal brooder. The only thing needed was to provide ventilation and a method of suspending a couple of brooder lamps within, to provide heat.

I decided on two square ventilation holes in the lid and set about marking them out with masking tape, as the outer shell of the freezer is made from steel it would need to be cut with an angle grinder. The cuts were made as neatly as possible by drilling the corners first and then grinding in between. Four holes were drilled through the plastic skin underneath and then the insulation was cut out with a jig saw. All the rough edges were removed but the top still looked rather untidy so a wooden frame was made up plus a couple of handles and these were glued and screwed in place over a square of weldmesh.

The inside is easily cleanable as it is made from aluminium and even has a drain hole in the bottom so it can be washed out hygienically between uses. I use two lamps, one with an 80w floodlight bulb and the other with a 50w ceramic heat bulb and can adjust the temperature to perfection by raising or lowering them from outside the chest.A layer of shredded paper, a feeder of chick crumbs and a water drinker and you have some very safe and happy chicks.I have now built a second Chest Brooder and have raised several broods in each and have found it very, very successful.

Full instructions and pictures can be found below.

Mouse over the pics for details

 

Acquire a large chest freezer Decide which lamp holder to use and measure its size Mark out the ventilation holes above the lamps aiming for around 300mm x 300mm for each hole and spacing the lamps evenly. Drill the corners of the ventilation squares to give a cutting guide.

 

Using an angle grinder cut out between the drillholes taking care to use protective goggles and remove the steel squares. Following the outline of the cut with a jig saw cut through the insulation material and the plastic "roof lining" removing the insulation to open out the vent.

The angle grinding leaves a fairly rough edge so file off the swarf as best you can and then make up a small woodeen frame to fit around the hole. Add a handle accross the centre of the frame  to suspend the lamps from To prevent vermin entering via the vent holes fix a square of fine weldmesh with holes of .5 inch square under the frame, glueing and screwing the frame in place with the handle bar fixed from above

The lamps are fixed by suspending on garden wire or chain through the weldmesh and fixed to the handle bar above When the lid is closed you can adjust the height of the lamps to regulate the temperature at floor level. A thermometer fixed to the side of the chest at "chick height" will help eith this. I add a ramp up to th shelf above the freezer pump to add interest and shelter and shade beneath. My chicks have thrived in these brooders and I have had no problems with condensation at all due to the inbuilt excellent levels of insulation. I hope this idea is helpful to you and I would appreciate any feed-back or comments you may have.

Make a Nestbox - Project 2

How to Re-Cycle a 20 Litre Drum into a Superb, Hygienic and Cosy Nestbox

The first job is to acquire a number of 20lt or 25lt Plastic Drums, most farms have to pay to have plastic waste removed so you should be able to get hold of some free of charge.

Rinse them out thoroughly and if they have been used for strong chemicals such as Hyperchloride I recommend you fill them to overflowing with clean cold water and leave them to stand for a week or more to expel any fumes. Re rinse them before commencing.

 I usually cut the hole in the narrow side if the drum is triangular as this leaves it stronger.

I have found that a 7" wide by 8" high hole is about right with a 4" lip left at the bottom to contain some ballast.

 Mark the hole with masking tape for an accurate cut.

Then drill a hole in each corner to allow access for a jig-saw blade.

Carefully cut out the hole using the side of the masking tape as a guide

It's a good idea to get quality control to inspect at this stage!

Add a couple of inches of sand or ballast to weight the drum down otherwise the hens will knock it over causing great consternation!

Put in some bedding of your choice, I use wood shavings and top it off with some straw or hay when I have any. I also dust the bedding with Diatomaceous Powder to keep it free of insects.

Position the Nestboxes in your Chook house so that they are easy to reach for collecting. My hens love these nestboxes, they love to be enclosed, secret and private whilst laying and having a roof is an added bonus as it helps keep them clean. Routine maintenance is a doddle as cleaning them couldn't be easier, being made of strong plastic they can be scrubbed out and kept hygienic, mites and bugs hate them!

Simple Low Cost Drinker System - Project 3

How to set up a simple reliable fresh water supply for your chooks

Coming Soon!