Converting Rabbit Hutch?

[coffeemama]

You know those little wooden/ wire hutches? My friend wants to turn his into a coop for a few hens. Has anyone seen any photos of this anywhere?

 

[patandchickens]

A bunch of people here have done it -- bumping this thread in hopes someone will reply, or you could use "search" (in the blue bar towards the top of this page) on "converted rabbit hutch".

Good luck,

Pat

 

[Dawn419]

Here are our rabbit hutches that have we have turned into coops (to house our extra roosters for the time being)...

#1. Hutch/coop that Skip built...

#2. Hutch/coop that came with some rescue rabbits...

#3. Hutch/coop we built for our 1st rabbit...

#4. Hutch from Ware Mfg. (use this to break hens of their broody aka chicken jail)...

Hope this helps and just let me know if you have any questions!

Dawn

 

[JudyMcKinn]

I converted a couple of rabbit hutches to chicken hutches. I made the floor solid with plywood, instead of the screen usually on the floor of rabbit hutches for the poo to fall thru. The chicken poo doesn't fall thru, and the air/wind coming up thru the wire floor is bad for the chickens, unless you are in a very moderate climate. Even then, the wire may make sore feet. Just not good, except for a few days, to break broody hens--they have no place they can get it warm under them, which breaks up the setting cycle.
Then, usually the rabbit hutches have wire on the sides and back. I enclosed this with plywood, so the wind wouldn't whistle thru on them. Left the front partly screen and partly enclosed plywood, so they would have some protection in winter. Made one of the solid ends so it could be removed if hot weather, so wind could come thru the front and the one end. Maybe a 2 or 3 inch high rim around the floor where the screen is, so your pine shavings don't get kicked out thru the wire. Good Luck.
Oh, I find these good mainly for broody hens, or hens hatching eggs, extra roosters, etc. Not for a main coop, as it is nice for the coop to be in an enclosed pen so they can get out and run around safely. Or if you free range.......
Anyway, I did build some large coops on legs, which I thought would be easier to clean (and they are) about 3 ft by 8 ft., and on legs about 3 ft off the ground. But I had a bearcat of a time teaching the chickens to walk up and down the ramp to the cage. LOL

 

[normajean]

it is always good to reuse and recycle...I have a ferret cage this is now a chick brooder and a converted rabbit pen that is a bantam haven.
good luck

 

[rhetoric]

Here's a couple pics of ours...

You can see the foam taped to the side to keep heat in and breezes out. Not too sophisticated, but it gets the job done and it was cheep.

from the air...

and this is a cheaper hutch we used when we got 6 Rhode Island Reds and two Poles. As you can see, the Pole we think is a rooster is in solitary confinement for pecking the eyes of the other Pole till they were swollen shut. It seems to have worked because he's not being so mean now.

 

[coffeemama]

Great hutches/brooders peeps! Thanks for all the helpful ideas!