hintayin ko yan sir :thanks: i made one last year for the purpose of eggs and manure lang, then just last month parang nasayangan ako sa itlog, so pinabayaan ko sya and nag i start na syang maglimlim this past weeks. im curious about this cage that separates the hen from the chicks, baka kailanganin ko rin 😀

some photos of the simple project i made ...

some photos of the simple project i made ...

last photo ...

below are some of my notes on how to make the project ...

1. the first thing you do is to do an inventory of the scrap materials that you have on hand. take note of the sizes (e.g. length and width) of the coco lumber that you have and its quality (e.g. not yet rotten) if its reusable or not. to make it easier for you to visualize your stock of scrap material, pile them into different groups.

2. draw a simple plan/design of the project that you want to make base on the scrap. materials that you have on hand. example, for a simple cage frame, you need 4 vertical post and 8 horizontal post to make a frame.
for my case, i wanted to make a rectangular frame that:
(a) can accommodate 2 cages of 1 sqm each
(b) and for added flexibility, have an option for each of the cage to be divided into 2 parts if needed so that i will have a max of 4 cages in case a lot of hens have chicks.
for the above, it will need 6 vertical post and 8 horizontal post to make the frame.

3. start making one side (back) with measurement from the middle going out to both ends.
as what my foreman said, when working with scrap material, the measurement should start from the middle going out and in doing the other sides, always reference it's measurement to a common primary side of your frame.
why the middle for all measurement? because using scrap wood means that, most likely, the wood your using will have different sizes and getting the measurement from the middle will ensure that both sides will have the same measurement (with respect to the middle) regardless of the size of wood that you use.
for may case:
(a) i decided to use the back side of the frame as my reference side. this was the first side i need to make.
(b) the middle vertical post of the back side will serve as the mid point for all measurement - mark it properly.
(c) cut the horizontal (top and bottom) post into 2 parts so that you can place the vertical post in between them and fix it with a lap joint using some scrap wood of the same width. at this point, the middle portion of the back side (top/bottom) is complete. note, all joints are done from the inside of the back side frame, and all measurement are done from the outside part of the back side frame.
(d) do each vertical side post of the back side frame making sure to take the measurement from the middle of the vertical post. once both sides is done, you should have the back side frame completed.
(e) do the front side frame, same as above (#b to #d). make sure that the scrap wood you use for the middle vertical post (front) is the same size you use for the back. if not, you need to adjust your measurement to make sure that one side of the vertical post (front and back) is properly aligned to each other.
(f) at this point, you should have completed the back side frame and the front side frame of the cage. also, if your measurement is done properly, the outside part of the vertical side post of the 2 frames (back and front) will be properly aligned to each other regardless of the size of the scrap wood you use.
(g) whats only needed now is to connect the 2 frames on their side to make the complete frame of the cage.

4. put the bamboo sticks to the middle portion of the frame to divide the area into 2 cages. this is the reason why one side of the middle vertical post must be properly aligned. the sticks will also add some rigidity to the frame while your completing it.

5. the next thing i did for my case is to do the removable partition for each side of the cage. i just use bamboo sticks to make the slots where the partition will be located.
as for the partition, i use the metal frame of a broken nylon folding bed that i kept for some time. as for the nylon sheet of the folding bed, i use it to cover the whole back side of the cage :-).

8. the only thing left to do is to cover the rest of the frame with whatever material that you have on hand. for my case, i just use bamboo sticks for all the other sides. the whole top portion will be the doors for each of the 4 areas of the cage. the bottom portion of the cage will be open as the it (cage) will be place at ground level as my wife prefers it that way :-).

cheers

Boo!
DIYers Innovate ...

from my understanding of the things i have read in the internet on how to raise native chickens, once the eggs hatch, the hen with her chicks should be put in a cage to protect the chicks from harm (predators and sickness).
the hen should be with the chicks for the first 3-weeks of the chicks. after that, remove the hen from the cage and set it free.
the chicks should still be caged for the next 3 weeks until they are big enough to roam on their own.
for the 6 weeks that the chicks are caged, they must be fed with a high protein diet (e.g. integra 1000) to maximize their growth and hindi sila ma bansot 🙂 ... according to some research i have read, the maximum growth of a chick (either native or broiler) happens in its first 6-weeks. after that, the growth rate will already start to decrease as the chicken gets older ... cheers

Boo!
DIYers Innovate ...

this past weeks. im curious about this cage that separates the hen from the chicks, here baka kailanganin ko rin 😀

In case you don`t want to do it by yourself, you can buy it. As for chicken coops, look there - https://bestyardproducts.com/best-pond-filters/ . You can find some articles, reviews and read all the advantages and disadvantages of them as well. It helped me to buy one coop already.