Former dog pen into chicken pen?

[sasshell]

Our last dog will be put down before the end of the week.

He's so old and can't stand any longer, so his day has come.

Secretly I am thrilled now because the pen that we've kept dogs in for the past 15 years will be completly empty-and it would be the PERFECT place for my chickens.

The obvious concern is how safe the area would be for the girls, considering the dog poop that has been piling up for all those years. Is it safe to put them there, or should I let the land rest for a while? If so, for how long? The area is not covered, but there is a large concrete run behind the outbuilding where they could nest.

Thanks! I can't WAIT to get these birds out of my sunroom. They are stinky little boogers!

 

[JudyMcKinn]

Any way you could rake up the dog poop and scoop it out? and maybe put down some hay or something like that so they will have something to scratch in, till the ground gets a little better?
Or any way you could move the pen to fresh ground? I can't exactly picture your setup, so don't know.
Good Luck.

 

[Poison Ivy]

You could use a rotor tiller on it and churn it up. Or break up the ground with shovels and maybe add new dirt to it and plant some new grass.

 

[marie_martin]

Souns like a great idea. I am thinking of doing something similar. I have a dog pen that is not being used. I have a goat in there right now but he is leaving soon. It is wire fencing like I used for my goat pens. The openings are 2x4. It is 4' high. It is burried a little ways down so that my dog could not dig out, so maybe a bit short of 4'. Anyway it is pretty square, mabye about 10'x12' or something like that. We considered using pvc pipe to go up from the T-posts and make a roof which could be covered with wire/tarps. I could build a coop area inside, or just outside the pen with an opening into the pen. That way the pen would be more like a run. Do you think that could work. I wish I had some kind of software that would let me lay it out and see what it looked like. I drew it out but I an no artist. But I think it could work. The top could be attached to the existing pen using wire and/or plastic ties. I could actually make two runs and two coop and split it down the middle? That way I could seperate my different breeds??? Just thought of that one. Any suggestions or potential problems?

Marie

 

[andy]

if you want t design it on your pc type in.. goggle sketch up .. and there is a version that is free..its great fun..iwas on it for days

 

[Southern28Chick]

I'm going to use my 40'x50' huge dog pen for my chickens (when they're old enough to go outside). I'm going to buy game bird netting to go over the top to protect from hawks and owls and to keep them from flying over the 6' walls.

Here's a picture of my set up:

I'm truly sorry about your dog. I hope all goes well with the chicken pen.