In-coop brooder ideas (small coop)

[PippinTheChicken]

Could you block off part of the nesting box?

Not really

 

[PippinTheChicken]

I was just looking into cages because that mesh stuff is more or less the same price as a cage and cages are easier.

 

[Cold-Blood]

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.

Hope this helps!

 

[Cold-Blood]

I was just looking into cages because that mesh stuff is more or less the same price as a cage and cages are easier.

Oh. Have you got a large bucket?

 

[Silexian]

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

Yes.

 

[PippinTheChicken]

Oh. Have you got a large bucket?

Not large enough for chicks.
I'm coming close to finding a cage!

 

[perkolator]

Has anyone ever used guinea pig cages for chicks?

For how many chicks? We used a ~2x3 cage for our 18 chicks this year, for about 2 weeks indoors until they were overcrowded. Then transferred to our chicken coop where they'll be restricted and separated from our remaining 2 adult hens until they're bigger

 

[PippinTheChicken]

For how many chicks? We used a ~2x3 cage for our 18 chicks this year, for about 2 weeks indoors until they were overcrowded. Then transferred to our chicken coop where they'll be restricted and separated from our remaining 2 adult hens until they're bigger

3-4 chicks I think
I've found one which is 30.5cm X 50cm and is tall enough for under the roosts

 

[perkolator]

Plenty of space for only 4 chicks. Heck, just one of those two nest boxes is big enough IMO if you fence it off

 

[PippinTheChicken]

Plenty of space for only 4 chicks. Heck, just one of those two nest boxes is big enough IMO if you fence it off

Once the chicks reach around 6-7 weeks they'll only be in the cage at night to sleep