Designing a brooder box that will also function as sick chicken box

[ForFlocksSake]

I want to build a box for our chicks that can also function in the future for housing a sick or injured hen. How large should I make something like this? Figure up to 8 chicks (prob till they’re about 6 weeks) and of course just one full grown hen in the future. Should it include anything specific? Has anyone made something like this and can share photos or plans so I can get some ideas?

 

[Sally PB]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/
This article might give you some ideas.

 

[RojoMarz]

Do you have a poop board? We enclosed the area under our poop board to be used as brooder/isolation area.

 

[BastyPutt]

I want to build a box for our chicks that can also function in the future for housing a sick or injured hen. How large should I make something like this? Figure up to 8 chicks (prob till they’re about 6 weeks) and of course just one full grown hen in the future. Should it include anything specific? Has anyone made something like this and can share photos or plans so I can get some ideas?

I think the premise of this idea isn't a great one. Some of these viruses have really long half life's, and would be really hard to sanitize out of a potential brooder - thus exposing your new chicks with drastically less developed immune systems to something the previous sick chicken had.

It would be the safest to have these two in separate areas, IMO

 

[rosemarythyme]

I recycled a prefab to use as an outdoor brooder, sick bay and it has even functioned as a broody breaker: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/short-on-time-recycle-a-prefab-brooder.73985/

Note that it is rather similar to a rabbit hutch, so if you can find plans for something like that you could build a similar unit. I only consider mine big enough to house 3-4 chicks up to about 4 weeks (it's just under 9 sq ft) but it works great for early integration!