Outdoor Brooder/Follow-up Silkie Coop

So I currently have a lot of chicks in my house, one week old. It isn't going well to say the least. Even with everyday changes, the basement stinks! So I decided to build an outdoor brooder that can then be used as a silkie coop later on. (Since silkies tend to nest vs roost I don't have to have as tall of a building. I am still working on the coop, but this weekend we built a 3 x 3 brooder with a removable roof. I am going to use blackjack #57 on it tonight and move them out in the next few days with a heat lamp.



Ta-da! The base. (Sorry, had to include this oh so thrilling photo!)



This was my stopping point one evening. I then undid the sides so I could add windows and openings.



I still need to add eye hooks and a rope for the door (to the right of my son). The large door behind him is for cleaning out the box. (Yes, I realize I put it on upside down. If I had done it right the lines would all match on the siding, but at this point I was like "the heck with it!"

On the other side opposite the door and window is a large long screened opening with a board to close it if it is cold. The window next to the door is just a screen in this picture, but I built a window out of plexi and trim.

All in all it took a good 8 hours or so, plus still needs paint and some more trim, but should work well for the intended purpose of getting the babies out of the house before the coop is ready! My plan this week is to add a small run off the door so they can start exploring on nice days.

Do you need to paint it to use it? Get them out of your house, build the coop, then go back and paint it. You'll probably need to sand it to get it clean enough to paint on the floor, but it may be worth it to you to get them out of the house now.

Ridgerunner said:

Do you need to paint it to use it? Get them out of your house, build the coop, then go back and paint it. You'll probably need to sand it to get it clean enough to paint on the floor, but it may be worth it to you to get them out of the house now.

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Well the blackjack is a rubber roofing mix that will seal the floor. Since I want this to last for the silkies, I figure holding off a day or two to make sure it is sealed would be best. The outside paint will wait for them to move to the coop before I get to that though. I wonder how long after painting the exterior before you can use the coop?

If they are using the brooder you should not be under a lot of pressure to move them. At least that is working to your advantage.

It’s hard to say how long. It’s going to depend on your type of paint and how well the area and the coop itself is ventilated. Just painting the outside isn’t too bad. I’d wait until I could not smell the fresh paint smell and then at least another full day and two nights.