Can this be used to brood chicks?

[Sparrowsong98]

Thanks for the advice on the shed! I'm going to go that route instead

You can find some decent coops for free, you can build them (if you are good with the many power tools that requires for drilling holes and stapling wire) but NEVER buy a pre fab one. They are expensive junk.

 

[blackdog043]

Thanks for the advice on the shed! I'm going to go that route instead

It will cost you more, but you will be much happier with this decision.

 

[azygous]

Glad you've listened to reason. Those little pre-fab coops are cute but useless over the long haul, and they waste money you could be putting toward a real coop that give both you and your chickens plenty of room in which to function and enjoy life.

Most folks miss the point of having a brooder - that it's mainly a convenient, temporary place to warm baby chicks and get them to the feathered stage (four weeks) and then moved out into the coop with the rest of the flock. It's also a safe place to keep them when you have an adult flock that might present a danger to their safety.

When you understand the purpose of a brooder, if you have no adult flock yet to be concerned about, there is absolutely no reason why you can't brood right in the coop itself. Many of us, even though we have an adult flock, skip indoor brooders all together and brood right outside in our runs.

To see how this is possible and even very advantageous, look down below this post and copy the article onto your browser that refers to outdoor brooding.

 

[debid]

I repurposed an old dog kennel for my run and now wish I hadn't. The doors aren't a snug enough fit and even with the fencing I added to the lower part, it's a piece of cake for snakes/weasels/rodents to get in. A skunk or opossum would need to climb a little and so far that's kept them out but I worry about it. If I could do it over, I'd build a framework and simple doors and attach hardware cloth over it all instead. The brooding coop is like this and nothing gets in there.