Fort Knox, Chick Style

In  a few days' time, the new chicks should hatch in the incubator.  Once they dry off, they need to be placed into their brooder--basically, a safe, draft free cozy home where that can stay warm and dry and safe until they get bigger and grow some feathers.  Because the temperatures are running a bit too cool to have the brooder set-up on the porch, the chicks will get to be in the house...which poses some dilemmas with possible issues with the dogs (Max loves to lick chicks, and occasionally snarfle one up in his giant maw of doom) and the indoor cat (not much of a huntress, but you never know with this particular kitty).

Luckily, a trip to the thrift shop a while back yielded an old, scratched up crib for $10.  A couple cans of spray paint later, and part of a roll of hardware cloth, and here you have it: Chicky Fort Knox.  A couple of old window screens will go over the top, and the chicks should be safe as toast in there.  They'll start in the smaller bin--it's just easier to clean and keeps the little bitties warm and from getting lost in the corners--and then they'll move out to the crib to continue growing.  With any luck, things will get seasonable fairly quickly outdoors and they can move to the large chicken pen I use for raising young chickens, before parking them in a Coop.