Baby Chicks Get a New Lid

I was not satisfied with the top we had put on the tank which houses our new baby chicks. Quite frankly it was a mess! we had chicken wire bent around the top of the tank. Plywood on top of chicken wire with a square cut in the middle, where we put the heat lamps, and just in case something (a predator) got in, we weighted the whole mess down with 2x4's.  UGH!! Talk about a chore trying to get in and out of there!!! SHEESH!!!
So.....today, I made a trip to Lowe's. This was going to be taken care of TODAY!!!  Since Papa Bear was in the field, I figured the coast was clear for me to get a little creative, screw things up, cuss, cry, and still have everything put back in order and 'perfect' by the time he got in tonight.  Uhmmmm......no such luck. He was in the barn lot when I got home, working on filling the planter and talking to a friend that we farm with.  So all of this had to be done, under his watchful eye. I'm sure he was just waiting for me to either say, 'would you just take care of this' or 'I give up'. .....Not happening buddy, not on your life!! I am going to fix this, and it will be perfect, and effortless!!!
Here is my creation, I am sure this is not an original. But I am very satisfied with the results. AND the bonus is, I got a compliment from Papa Bear!

 Finished Project

 See where I have hinged the 2 shelves

 Here is a better picture 

 Here are the zip ties at one of the ends

 Zip ties in the middle

I took the custom shelving, using 2 shelves per tank. I used the plastic zip-ties to join the 2 shelves together and fashion a hinge. I then zip-tied the heat lamps to the shelving and they fit perfectly over the tanks.  I didn't cut the length of the shelving, just in case we get a longer tank sometime in the future.

I think we are going to leave them set up, and use them as a pen if we ever need to separate some of the hens.