Need opinions on my crazy idea.

[jsvand5]

I turned my garage into an extra air conditioned room a few years ago. I have a 10' x 10' pen in there that used to hold Monitor lizards. It has hardware cloth form floor to ceiling and a plywood floor. Right now the cage is sitting empty. I am wondering if it is possible to raise maybe 3-4 chickens in there for their whole life? It's already set up with lighting, and a small pond for water. How bad do you think the smell would be if I changed the bedding weekly? It's closed off in the garage so the noise shouldn't be too bad. At least I don't think the noise would be bad. The door is an insulated door so I am thinking I wouldn't hear much from inside the main part of the house? I think I am hooked on the Araucana's and this seems to be the only option unless a silent chicken is developed in the next few months. I have some wood ducks and pheasants outside but they seem like they are much quieter that chickens.

 

[PoultryPedia]

That would be plenty of space for 3-4 Bantams, but maybe a bit tight for Large Fowl. Which size chickens are you considering?

I think it's good if the chickens can have access to some sunlight--I think it helps them process some vitamins, like it does people. Chickens also love to sunbathe. Is there a window in the room that would allow sunlight to shine into the pen for part of the day?

As far as smell, I think it'd be kind of like a kitty litter box can be. Right after a new "deposit" is added, there might be a pretty strong "fragrance." But if you are using pine-shavings, I don't think you'd even need to change it weekly for it to be usually smelling fine. Also, chickens poop a lot while they are sitting on their perches, so if you put the perches above an area the chickens can't or don't usually walk in, you can easily keep the poop at a minimum by cleaning out right below the perches regularly.

Best wishes!

 

[paddock36]

I would think it would get smelly very quickly unless you have time to keep it clean. I can't even seem to keep my kitchen clean.

 

[jsvand5]

I was thinking about it more overnight and I think it was a crazy idea. I think I'll probably end up sticking with the wood ducks and pheasants until I can move to a more rural area.

 

[PoultryPedia]

I still think it would work fine. I'd do it, but of course you have to figure what works for you.
And on further consideration, 10'x10' would be alright for large fowl, too. Especially if you add a perch & maybe a couple things like some boxes or a trash can for them to also hop on and circle around when they want to avoid each other. What size of chickens have you been thinking about?
The way I normally keep my coops, they smell fresh even with less cleaning.

 

[ColoradoMike]

Outdoor access/natural light issues aside, I think you'll be contending with more dust than you can imagine. I couldn't wait to get our brooder box out of the house due to the fine white dust that seemed to settle on everything.

Good luck!

 

[DarkWolf]

Quote:
I agree.. I have never seen so much dust until I got chickens and then kept them beside my desk. The air cleaner filter was clogged in just one week and there was still dust everywhere.

 

[PoultryPedia]

It is so true that dust will get spread everywhere by normal shavings/sawdust mixture

However, you could see if your feed store carries some pine shavings that have little sawdust in them. Most wood mills mix shavings and sawdust when they bag it up for sale, but some mills keep shavings separate so that kind would create far less of a dust problem.

 

[jsvand5]

The dust is the main worry. I have to raise rats for my reptiles and the dust and dander in there shed is really unbelievable. I really wanted to try a group of Araucana's but I am thinking I should wait.