Pet Taxi Brooder

•  Pet Taxi small size(19" x12.5" x 10.75") (from Wal-Mart, cost $12.97)all the item used were purchased at Wal-Mart.
• 1 electrical light fixture with porcelain base 
• 1 25, 40 or 60 watt red light bulb
• 1 screw in light dimmer control
• 1 6 ft. extention cord 
• 1 indoor/outdoor thermometer that also checks humidity
• glass container to put water in for humidity control (I use a clean pint sized mayonaise jar with holes punched in the plastic lid) make sure it is placed where the babies can't knock it over.
• piece of clear acrylic 1/16 to 1/8 inch thick to cover inside of door and holes on sides of pet taxi. (I used a piece that came from a poster frame. It was the perfect thickness and easy to cut).
• Container to keep your babies in. I line it with a wash cloth, then layers of paper towels, which I can change after every feeding.
• Small nuts and bolts to mount plastic to insides of taxi, and inside of door.
• Tools needed: Tile cutter to cut acrylic; screw driver; wire stripper; and a drill for making holes (I have a cordless Dremil and I love it).

All the items needed to build a "Pet Taxi Brooder" are pictured below.

Pet Taxi	Porcelain Lampholder	6' extension cord	Screw in Dimmer
Red Bulb	Thermometer	Glass Jar	Baby Container

Step 2: 
         Drill holes in the back of the top half  for attaching the light fixture. Make sure the center hole is big enough to pull your 
         cord through.

Step 3: 
        Cut the outlet end off the extention cord (not the end that plugs into the wall). After cutting, strip the wire back about 1
        inch.  Push the cut end of the wire through from the outside of the brooder to the inside and attach it to the light fixture. 

Step 4: 
        Attach the light fixture to the brooder using the nuts and bolts which came with it.

Step 5: 
       Attach the thermometer and humidty guage on the bottom half of the brooder about halfway between the bottom of the
       brooder and where the bottom and top halves are connected and about halfway back in the brooder.

Step 6: 
        Screw the dimmer control into the light socket and the light bulb into the dimmer control.

Step 7: 
        Place the jar you filled with water in the brooder in a corner so it can't be knocked over.

Step 8: 
         Line the container with a wash cloth, then layers of paper towels. Place the container inside the brooder.

Step 9: 
         Get the brooder to the correct temperature for the chicks you are brooding in it. To adjust the temperature, 
         just turn the dimmer dial up or down. 

Step 10: 
         Run the brooder day and night for at least a week before putting babies in it. That way you can be sure the 
         temperature will stay constant and you will be sure it is working properly.

Step 12: 
         Be sure to email me pictures of your own "Pet Taxi Brooder" after you make one. Also send me pictures of the 
         babies you raise in it, so I can add them to the bottom of this page. 
         Have fun building your brooder and raising your babies.