In-coop brooder ideas (small coop)

[PippinTheChicken]

So I'm brainstorming in-coop brooders for my small 6x4 coop. I've measured all my cages but they're too tall for under my roost.
I've made one before but it was so fiddly and horrible.

 

[perkolator]

Move the roost

 

[PippinTheChicken]

Move the roost

I can't. It's stuck down

 

[rosemarythyme]

How about a in-run brooder, or do you have predator concerns?

 

[PippinTheChicken]

How about a in-run brooder, or do you have predator concerns?

I will when they reach 7 weeks old but it's very cold here, spring is coming, but it's still cold.

 

[Silexian]

Get a roll of 1 inch by 1/2 inch welded wire. It is rigid enough to stand on it’s own. Yet flexible enough to go around objects. Or hang a thermostatically controlled radiant heater. making the entire coop a brooder.

 

[PippinTheChicken]

Get a roll of 1 inch by 1/2 inch welded wire. It is rigid enough to stand on it’s own. Yet flexible enough to go around objects. Or hang a thermostatically controlled radiant heater. making the entire coop a brooder.

I'll look into that. Is it firm enough for me to cover it?

 

[PippinTheChicken]

Has anyone ever used guinea pig cages for chicks?

 

[Lemon-Drop]

Could you block off part of the nesting box?

 

[Cold-Blood]

Has anyone ever used guinea pig cages for chicks?

Nope. What we have thought about doing before is taking a roll of hardware cloth and temporarily tacking it to the wall and the floor (put a board down, tack it to the board, put two screws in the board to the floor), so that it sits at a 45° angle to the wall (corner at one end), and then took a piece of hardware cloth and cut it to size at the end (triangle). Zip tie it to the hardware cloth that is at a 45° angle, and boom, door. Alter at will to fit the floor, so that the chicks can't get under it. Make sure to leave about 5 inches extra on the wall side so that you can bend it to sit tight against the wall side. End, tack all the rest of the loose hardware cloth to the walls.