Brooder/prison/quarantine area - calling for pictures, plz!

[CrazyBirdLady]

I am considering building this feature into my chicken coop and would like to see pictures of yours, if you have one. Can I assume that the 4 ft-sq rule applies for the appropriate size? Thanks!

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

I keep my quarantined birds on the other end our property not anywhere near my main coop. I keep everything separate (feed, handling, feeders, waterers, etc.) I feel like a surgeon scrubbing for surgery in between visits but it's worth it. I now only buy birds from NPIP certified sources but since I'm getting into showing, after I brought my birds back from a show, they go into the quarantine area. I have two separate buildings for this and neither are walk-in styles. They are both raised & have no runs. They are both able to get scrubbed out thoroughly with bleach, too.

 

[CrazyBirdLady]

I don't plan on having any fancy showin' chickens

. Just regular ol' egg-laying chickens. I just want to have a spot for them if one decides she wants to hatch chicks, or if one is mean or getting picked on, or a place to put new chick(en)s to introduce them to the established flock.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

I see...for my broodies, I use wire rabbit cages which are big enough for the hen to get off the nest, stretch, poo, eat/drink and brood. Once the babies are a few days old, they're moved into a larger cage. At a few weeks old, they are moved into an even larger area that they stay in until they are sold or moved into breeding pens. These are within my main coop and are completely separate from my quarantine area. As for hens that need to be separated, I also use those wire cages. I'm hoping to score a stacking layer unit at some point to use for this purpose or maybe I'll build something like I've seen on the BYC coops section for the BTW Japanese bantams. That would be nice to use as a broody area or an area for hens that need a break from the roosters.

 

[CrazyBirdLady]

Thanks Rare Feathers. Rabbit cages sounds great. My FIL (who just lost all his bunnies in a fire

) had some cages with pull out trays in the bottom so I guess they could be stacked if I needed more than one and then the chickens wouldn't be pooping on one another.

Anyone else have a set up for separation?