Low-Cost Tips For Raising Backyard Chickens

Low-Cost Tips For Raising Backyard Chickens 28-6-7 "I had an old cooler without a lid which I converted into a mini brood pen for baby chicks," says Bill Ritz, Burkesville, Ky. To create a lid, he cut a 55-gal. plastic drum in half lengthwise. The drum lays over the cooler on a wooden frame that extends out. Ritz then cut a 4 by 6 in. hole in one end of the cooler for a door made out of scrap wood and wire. A rope attached on each side to a wooden base holds the whole thing together. A lamp on a dimmer switch and a $3 thermometer make it easy to regulate the temperature inside. "I can raise 30 chicks inside and keep it at 95 degrees F when it's 30 degrees F outside." For layer hens, Ritz created egg-laying boxes out of 5-gal. buckets set on their sides on short lengths of 2 by 4's. "I just throw in a little straw or wood chips for bedding," he says. He cuts a hole in the bottom of each bucket just big enough to grab the eggs. A hinged wood door covers the hole. Ritz also drilled four 1/4-in. holes in the bottom of each egg-laying bucket for ventilation and drainage. He has about 60 buckets set up for his 300 chickens. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Bill Ritz, 1300 Carter Branch Road, Burkesville, Ky. 42717.

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.