Anyone else behind on coop construction? Temp housing suggestions?

[kaddidle]

I'd planned to have a small coop built in my suburban backyard about two weeks ago. I'd tried to be realistic about how much I could do by myself, so I had enlisted the help of some of my most capable friends for work weekends on the project. Then one of them suffered a broken ankle, and the next weekend the other suffered a broken finger. I'm beginning to think that anyone who volunteers to work on this project with me will inevitably break something!

So, I now have three chickens who are rapidly outgrowing their brooder and it will be at least two weeks before I am able to finish their coop. Does anyone have any good suggestions for temporary housing? I'm thinking of trying to keep them in a large dog crate outside but I'm worried about predators being able to reach inside. I have seen raccoons and hawks in our neighborhood.

 

[Zahboo]

Either make a quick hoophouse or screw plywood together to make a box and a small wire run. I think a tractor would be a quick solution. Just make it covered with a 4x8 sheet of plywood and a place to block wind. Could probably do it for under $50.

 

[kaddidle]

A chicken tractor would probably work well for me because then I could let them use it to range in other parts of the yard even after the run is built. What would be about the smallest size that you think would still keep them safe from predators?

 

[midget_farms]

You could put them in the neighbors minivan.

I never did like minivan's

 

[Zahboo]

For 3 chickens I think a 4x8 tractor (easiest to build bc it's the size of and OSB/Plywood sheet) would be good. All you need to do is build a frame of it with maybe 2x4s or even pvc pipe and put wire around it. I would sugges hardware cloth.

 

[Zahboo]

This is what I mean. Real simple but protects them. You can just slide it across the yard. Maybe if you made it big enough you could use it as a run and make it detachable to be a tractor (saves time, space, and money

)

This one and tons more on this site
http://home.centurytel.net/thecitychicken/tractors.html

 

[kaddidle]

I got really creative with it and decided to go with some materials I already had. I took a large dog crate that had several pieces of wire missing from the side and wrapped it in chicken wire. I then took a smaller dog crate, removed the back panel, and wrapped it, and then zip tied it to the larger crate and covered it with a tarp. Now the large crate is an outdoor run and the smaller dog crate is used for roosting. I put them in and they figured it out quickly. I don't think it's large enough to house adult birds permanently but I think it'll get me through the next couple of weeks until I get the big pen built.

 

[Zahboo]

Way to make it work. Improvising is a major skill needed for poultry

 

[dumb_cluck]

Beauty ! Two dog cages. I thought I was the only one who used them for other than dog cages. Good for you!

 

[kaddidle]

The only bad thing was that they weren't very weather proof since neither part was elevated. And we had a thunderstorm tonight. /Doh!

I just moved three scared, wet birds back inside in the dark during a thunderstorm and also lost all the food that was in their feeder because I'd stupidly put it in a part of the cage that wasn't covered.

I'd assumed that they'd know to hang out in the part of the cage that was tarped, but when I went outside to check on them after the thunder woke me up the poor babies were all huddled in the rain in the open part!