On Tuesday, I thought I had to do something quick, perhaps if I had another small 6 x 4 shed, I could separate the stressed chicks into 2 lots, but the only other shed was hubbys workshop, which is much larger, and full of his tools and workbenches etc.

So I thought perhaps if we got some more hardboard, we could make a big circle like I'd seen in the magazines and keep half of them in there, but hardboard isn't very heavy so it would need weghing down or something.

You can tell I'm not very technically minded can't you?? lol

So I was upstairs looking around, and I kept looking at the wardrobe in the spare bedroom!  I measured it, and it was 6ft tall, 4ft wide, and about 20 inches deep. Mmmmmm, interesting!  No, don't be silly I kept telling myself, you can't put chickens in a wardrobe!  But hubby had put them in the greenhouse, so was my idea any sillier?  And something HAD to be done!  Luckily hubby was out for a few hours, so I took the doors off, and the hardboard back. (Hardboard, another bonus!!!)  But I couldn't get the centre panel off.  Its an old wardrobe and I couldn't get the screws out!.  then I thought if I could only get it down the stairs before hubby gets home.  Well, although not really heavy, I couldn't get it down the stairs on my own.  I managed to get it to the top, but didn't want to risk it falling down the stairs with me possibly underneath it!  So I had to leave it there until hubby got home.  When he arrived, we took it out to his workshop, and laid it on its back.  He said to keep the centre panel in place, as it would help keep a bit of the emergency brooder dark for the chicks.  He cut 4 pieces of the hardboard and fitted them into the corners of the wardrobe so there would be no corners for the chicks to get crushed into, as when they go to sleep, they huddle together and we did lose a few to being crushed, even though there weren't any corners in any of the brooders!

I then put one of the doors over the brooder at the back to act as a roof, and hubby fitted up another pygmy bulb and a dull emitter bulb for heat as we didn't have any more infra red lamps.

In case the concrete floor was chilly, I put some ground cover membrane under the wardrobe and piled wood shavings in it, then left it to warm up a bit before putting the chicks in it.

At least with a larger area, and only 75 chicks, they've now got more room to run around and practise their flying!  I turned away to get them some chick crumbs, and when I looked round there was a chick sitting on the top of the wardrobe!  So I got some of my garden netting and covered the whole area to keep them in.  Its a very stiff netting, so they shouldn't get caught up in it if they do fly upwards.  I weighed it down around the sides with some double ended hooks and pieces of wood going across the hooks as weights.

Wow, am I a genius or what?  I know, probably the 'or what'!!!  But its working, they are happy, they love their corn on the cobs and lettuces strung up.  We still get the odd injury, but I can't think of what else it can be!