How to Build a Chicken Growing House

Many people who feel concerned about commercial farming practices are now taking up the craft of raising chickens. Raising your chickens for food is not difficult, but for healthy growth, chicks must be kept in a controlled and heated environment. Also called chicken brooders, warm houses for chicks are to be used for the first two months of a chicken's life, after which time chickens can be moved into a coop.

Things You'll Need

  • Plywood
  • Saw
  • Wood glue
  • Nails
  • 2-by-2-inch board
  • 8 boards, 1-by-2-inch
  • Screening material
  • Staple gun
  • Brooder lamp
  • 2 hinges
  • Drill
  • Chick waterer
  • Chick feeder
  • Pine shavings
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Instructions

    • 1

      Plan the dimensions of your brooder. Brooders can be square or oblong, but should be 2 feet square for every 10 chicks being raised. Make the brooder 1-foot-deep to keep the chicks from escaping.

    • 2

      Use a saw (such as a table, circular or jig saw) to cut the sides and bottom of the brooder. For a 10-chick, square brooder, cut the bottom 2-by-2 feet and the sides 2-by-1-foot. These sizes can be enlarged for more chicks.

    • 3

      Assemble the sides and bottom with wood glue and nails. Lay the bottom section flat. Run a bead of glue along the short edges and one long edge of the side boards. Fit the sections together to form a box. Stick the long edges with glue to the edges of the bottom section. Fit the short edges with glue to each other to form the corners of the box. Hammer nails along each edge, through one board into the adjacent board, to secure the box.

    • 4

      Cut a 2 foot long, 2-by-2 board. Glue and nail the board on the floor of the box so it runs straight down the middle. Run a bead of glue down one edge of the board. Press it to the floor of the box and drive nails through the board, into the box, to secure it in place. This will provide a perching area for the chicks.

    • 5

      Cut four 1-by-2 boards to fit around the inside, top perimeter of the brooder. Cut two boards to be 2 feet long and two boards to be 1-foot, 10-inches long. Glue and nail the longer boards to two opposing top edges, inside the brooder. Run a bead of glue along one flat side of each board then press the glued sides to the inside, top edges, aligning the top edge of the board with the top edge of the box. Hammer nails through the outside of the box, into the boards. Glue and nail the shorter boards between the long boards, running along the top, inside edge of the two other sides. Glue and nail the short boards in the same manner as the long boards. This will reinforce the opening and create a support for the brooder lid.

    • 6

      Create a frame for the lid out of 1-by-2 boards. Cut two boards to be 2 feet long and two boards to be 1-foot, 8-inches long. Lay them flat and arrange them into a square with the shorter boards inside and perpendicular to the longer boards. Put a dab of glue at each joint and drive nails at the corners to secure the frame together.

    • 7

      Cut a section of screening material the same dimensions as the frame.

    • 8

      Use a staple gun to affix the screening material to the frame.

    • 9

      Attach the lid to the brooder, screen side down, with two hinges on one side of the box. This will keep the lid in place and allow for easy opening. Place the hinges 16 to 18 inches apart from the center of the side of the box. Line up the middle of the hinges with the seam between the top edge of the box and the bottom edge of the lid. Drill the screws that came with the hinges through the holes in the hinges and into the wood.

    • 10

      Line the floor with pine shavings.

    • 11

      Hang a brooder lamp over one corner to provide warmth. Chicken brooder lamps should have a wire cage over the bulb to prevent the bulb from coming into contact with anything.

    • 12

      Place a chick waterer and a chick feeder in the brooder.