Chicks coming in April, but coop coming in June? Need ideas.

[Engteacher]

Okay, so I put the cart before the horse. Erh, I put the chicks before the coop.

Here's what happened:Last fall I was able to get the soil dug out, three loads of gravel poured, 6" of sand spread and compacted and ordered the concrete for my coop floor. Then the weather turned and the concrete guy told me that it was too late to pour. I would have to wait until spring. Meanwhile, I ordered my 25 chicks for April. Chicks are coming, but no coop to house them in.

We might be able to get the concrete in by April, but there's now way I'll have a shed raised until probably mid-June. I figured we would start them in the basement upon arrival. We have a double garage, so I suppose I could give up my parking spot and keep them in there for a few weeks. What would I need to build to keep them safe and out of mischief if they're in the garage? How big would it need to be for 25 young'uns? Is there a simple shelter I could make for them to be outside?

Do you have any advice/suggestions to give me? I'll even take some sympathy and forehead slaps at this point.

Other relevant details - I ordered Welsummers and Cochins. I live in rural MN, so May can be iffy. For example, we don't put tomatoes into the garden until May 15th because of potential frost.

 

[joedie]

I did the same thing. I kept mine in the brooder in the basement and luckily the coop was finished by the time they were 8 weeks and fully feathered. I did begin to stink though even though the brooder was cleaned frequently. I'd suggest brooding them in you garage.

 

[gsim]

I did ours in the garage. Started with one box, 2 ft x 8 ft. Ended up with one car outside and three such boxes. Couldn't wait to get them into coop. They were in coop for a week or more until I got the run done. But I recall how we had to stay after it to keep down the odor in the garage. The coop is so well vented and has poop-boards so odors are a thing of the past except in AM when I do morning coop chores.

 

[Engteacher]

So would a couple of these work?

 

[snowflake]

Those should work well, Hope the chicks don't come early!! we ordered our first chickens last year with a late April delivery date and they came in Feb. It was freezing out so we had our wee babes in the dinning room. but soon 1 box was not enough and 2 were not enough and it was still too cold to put them out. Finally before Easter they went into the basement, By now they are much bigger then I ever thought they would be in just 4 or 5 weeks and it was still too cold out side. I was so glad when it got warm enough to put them in the coop my DH took for ever to build !!!! You wouldn't believe the dust those buggers can raise. Good luck with your babes once they get there own home they are a lot of fun. I plan on ordering a few more. the problem is keeping it to just a few! Box does look very good with some pine shavings they should be very happy and it keeps the smell down. If I remember right we used news paper the first week?

 

[wildorchid053]

ours started as unexpected gifts .. so they spent a few weeks in the garden tub in the bathroom.. then when they could hop on the rim we moved them downstairs into a mini corral made out of chicken wire and 2x4s.. they were able to roost on the edges of the wire before we got the coop done but they only flew the coop once or twice.. they were too chicken, lol.. by the end of june they were out in the new coop..

 

[ashleymerka]

All you need to do is clean out your garage and keep them in there. As far as sleeping places get a giant , and i mean GINOMOUS cardboard box, fill it with hay or a towel, cut a hole in it, put a heat lamp in the hole, and wa-la!

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[Hillsvale]

Quote:
No newspaper... no paper except raised pattern paper towel on top of the litter. babies can slip and hurt their legs on paper (splayed leg I think its called?)

 

[Chicksdigit]

I have about 25, 12 week olds that I hatched out for a guy that backed out on them after they were hatched and I decided to go ahead and grow them out. I built a 3 foot by 8 foot by 2 foot tall box out of OSB and I made a simple roof that lifts up and has ventilation in the front I cut a pop door in and Viola' instant coop I then took an old roll of 2x4 welded wire and attached it to some t posts and made a square run with the little box coop in the center. It is cheap and works well Doesn't take up a lot of space and can be dismantled easily it is a great temporary coop, they get out every day and I don't have picking problems or anything.