Help! I have to move chicks and need easy coop ideas

[ktrumble]

Hi everyone,
This is my first post, but I've been an avid lurker for quite awhile. My husband is the one who usually plans and builds the coops, and he's gone out of town for several weeks, leaving me in charge of our new chicks, duck, and turkeys. They've all been in a common fenced-in coop with 3 adult hens (separated by plastic mesh) and share a tractor split in half with chicken wire.

All had been going well until today when I noticed that the meat chicks (10 of them--3 weeks old, 1 week younger than the rest) are being pecked by the others. I quickly separated them into a long cardboard box in the basement, but I can't keep them in there for too long. It's not a big enough space and it's already making the house stink. What can I do with them?

I'm not terribly handy with tools, but I could probably manage a hammer and nail or staple gun. I would like to get them back outside, maybe even near the other chicks, but I'm not sure what to make for them. I've got a couple of plastic hoop cold frames that I could possibly alter, and some old pallets. And a wood dog house that's not being used. And I've got chicken wire and plastic mesh. Can any of you help me with some ideas for temporary housing until my husband gets home next week?

Thanks, Kelly

 

[Roark]

Got any empty carts or wagons? I used a garden wagon that had fold up metal mesh sides for a half dozen chicks till they were nearly 4 months old. The cart was about 2 1/2' wide and about 5' long. I just took some old vinyl coated rabbit guard garden fence and bent it into a big rectangular box just a shade smaller than the inside of the wagon. Then I used zip ties to fasten the ends (could'a just cur a line of verticals off of the wire and used the exposed ends to bend over and fix it all together as well. Then aI cut a piece for a lid and bent a lip of a couple inches across the front to add a little stiffness. Then I just ran a closet pole end to end that rested right on the wire, wove a skinny dowel rod through the roof on each end to hand the feed and water from, cut a hole in one end for a door right over the handle, and used an old scrap of plywood to wedge between the wire and the wagon sides to close off the opening. Later I zip tied the plywood to the handle and put a small bungie cord on it to hold it up and block the opening. When I wanted to let 'em out, I just take off the bungie and lay the handle down so they can walk down the ramp that it forms.

Easy and cheap, just some fence wire, a couple of sticks and some zip ties. About the only tool you should need is a pair of wire cutters.Also nice 'cuz it's portable. I used to roll mine in and out off of the porch at night 'cuz I don't have a garage. I also had a piece of dark cotton fabric that I would toss over them at night to keep 'em from gettin' agitated when the dogs would come and go. Once it got warmer out I also threw a piece of plywood that was about 6" bigger in each direction over the lid when I would take it outside. I'd leave the handle down/door open, and they would all just march on in at night, but if it looked like rain, I had a small piece of tarp that I had tacked to hang over the edges of the plywood a bit, and it would keep 'em dry if I wasn't there to bring 'em in. (we have a fenced yard that they would range in all day).

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

I don't know how much predators are an issue where you are, but I've had real luck making small, portable pens with PVC pipe plastic poultry netting and zip ties You can put the PVC pipe together like TInker-Toys with the various connectors that are available at the hardware store. For the short term, a big cardboard box placed in the PVC PIpe run with a little "Pop door" for a coop might work if you placed the whole contraption inside your main chicken run so that it would provide more predator protection. Perhaps instead of the cardboard box you could find a wood packing crate and put a tarp over the top and three sides for rain protection. Just ideas, don't know if they will be useful to you. Poultry netting across the top held in place with clothes pins would keep your other chickens out.

BTW, one of the nice things about the PVC pipe and poultry netting is that you can dis-assemble it when you don't need it and put it away for another time in very little space.

 

[teach1rusl]

Not knowing what you have to work with or your predator situation, I'd use 4 pallets to form walls (just nail them together using a brace board such as a 2x4 or something long the top and along the bottom), two pallets long and one pallet deep. Wire across the "front". Ideally, lay a piece of plywood across the top, or wire half and use a piece of plywood across the other half so you have access inside, and so they have shelter from rain If they're still on a heat lamp, I would actually nail or screw the housing onto one of the pallet walls.???

 

[ChicKat]

Hi Kelly

Welcome to BYC forum.....

I think teach1 has some good ideas

Also humming's --PVC pipe excellent too--costs can add up for the fancy fittings.

Consider too those plastic dog houses that come in two parts...for their shelter. sometimes I hear they are on Craigs List for next-to-nothing.

here is a link to a pvc pen from my 'charts-and-quotes' page.

http://www.pvcplans.com/pvc-pastured-poultry-pen.htm

It is pretty elaborate, but it may give you some construction ideas.

 

[ktrumble]

Thanks for all of the great ideas. Following Roark's suggestion, I ended up using an empty trailer with plastic mesh on top. It's closed in on 3 sides and I stapled the mesh over the top and the open back. It'll be a challenge to keep it cool during the hot days, but maybe with a fan blowing in the open end will help. The PVC and pallet suggestions were great, too, but would have meant more work, so I opted for the ready-made walls!

I appreciate the time you took to help me. I love this forum and can see I'll be spending a lot of time here!

Kelly