New, unexpected chicken owner scrambling to build a coop...temp. housing brainstorming

[chickie22]

Hi! I unexpectedly acquired some adult chickens this week. I am so excited! However, because our family did not know to plan ahead, we are scrambling to build our coop. It is going to take a week or two for us to finish.

Do you think they would be okay if I built a pen in my garage as temporary housing? I could bring them out in a fenced area during the day for sunlight/time on grass. The garage has a cement floor. I could put down pine shavings and build a temporary roost.

There wouldn't be a vehicle in the garage, so no fume concerns.

Thoughts, suggestions, and concerns welcome!

 

[HenHouse4Life]

Happy to hear you have chickens! Have you had chickens before? I think the garage will be ok for a temporary housing. They will need roosts for certain as chickens roost during the night, and expel most feces during the night also. I use pine shavings in my hen house during the winter, floor in the run is sand. Please take predators into concern when building your permanent housing. We have a covered run and hardware cloth on all sides, including floor of the run for those predators that can dig and go under. I'm not sure how many chickens you acquired but build your coop large enough to hold more...lol....chickens are so addicting!! Make sure you have good ventilation also. Wood ash, such as from a woodstove, makes a great dust bath for the chickens and also helps with the lice/mites. Tires are great for putting ash or sand into for dust bathing. Another good idea is to build grazing boxes for your girls. I could go on and on, sorry haha...if you have any other questions or concerns I would be happy to help however I can. Welcome to the chicken world and best of luck to you and your flock!

 

[MrsMistyReal]

Welcome aboard to BYC family gr8 people tons of information loads of fun enjoy shake your tail feathers

 

[Birdinhand]

welcome to BYC! temporary housing in your garage should be fine, even during the day if you provide a light on a timer. as lclark said, preditors are the issue worth putting most of your effort towards preventing and hardware cloth is the gold standard, literally worth it's weight in gold. get the chickens set up so you and them are happy in the garage, then focus solid energy on a design, framing, hardware cloth. I would go all the way under with the hardware cloth, overlapped, secured to the posts with fencing/unails and seems zip tied for the underground part. I'd make a good 12" eave to keep the rain away from the hardware cloth were it goes in the ground, so it does not rust out in just a few years.

 

[chickie22]

Happy to hear you have chickens! Have you had chickens before? I think the garage will be ok for a temporary housing. They will need roosts for certain as chickens roost during the night, and expel most feces during the night also. I use pine shavings in my hen house during the winter, floor in the run is sand. Please take predators into concern when building your permanent housing. We have a covered run and hardware cloth on all sides, including floor of the run for those predators that can dig and go under. I'm not sure how many chickens you acquired but build your coop large enough to hold more...lol....chickens are so addicting!! Make sure you have good ventilation also. Wood ash, such as from a woodstove, makes a great dust bath for the chickens and also helps with the lice/mites. Tires are great for putting ash or sand into for dust bathing. Another good idea is to build grazing boxes for your girls. I could go on and on, sorry haha...if you have any other questions or concerns I would be happy to help however I can. Welcome to the chicken world and best of luck to you and your flock!

Thank you so much for your kind and informative reply! We do have lots of predators in our area, including foxes and coyotes, so we are trying to make sure to build a very secure coop. I'm ordering a BIG role of hardware cloth! Also, there are several inches of snow on the ground here, so I'm sure you can understand why I can't/don't want to rush coop construction. Thinking outside of the box (coop!) for a temporary solution to buy us time.

One question I thought of: will the chickens need walls around their roosts to feel secure? So far, the pen plan is basically 2x4 framing covered in hardware cloth. Edited to clarify: the TEMP garage pen being the 2x4 framing. Also, to answer your 1st question... totally new to chickens!

 

[chickie22]

Welcome aboard to BYC family gr8 people tons of information loads of fun enjoy shake your tail feathers View attachment 1281422

Thank you!

 

[Jennifer Cappi Williams]

If your garage is fully enclosed, it should be the safest place for your birds. Just expect smell and mess. If you build a coop inside the garage, plan to make it so its easy to clean up around and still use wire hard cloth instead of "chicken wire" because chicken wire only keeps chickens in and does NOT provide safety from ANY predators. It would give you false security until tragedy hits.

 

[chickie22]

welcome to BYC! temporary housing in your garage should be fine, even during the day if you provide a light on a timer. as lclark said, preditors are the issue worth putting most of your effort towards preventing and hardware cloth is the gold standard, literally worth it's weight in gold. get the chickens set up so you and them are happy in the garage, then focus solid energy on a design, framing, hardware cloth. I would go all the way under with the hardware cloth, overlapped, secured to the posts with fencing/unails and seems zip tied for the underground part. I'd make a good 12" eave to keep the rain away from the hardware cloth were it goes in the ground, so it does not rust out in just a few years.

Thank you very much for your helpful tips!! Definitely want to keep the hardware cloth in good shape! Lots of predators around here! The more I plan this coop, the more I realize how much work/time this is going to take, so getting them comfy in the garage looks to be necessary.

 

[Shepshill]

Happy to hear you have chickens! Have you had chickens before? I think the garage will be ok for a temporary housing. They will need roosts for certain as chickens roost during the night, and expel most feces during the night also. I use pine shavings in my hen house during the winter, floor in the run is sand. Please take predators into concern when building your permanent housing. We have a covered run and hardware cloth on all sides, including floor of the run for those predators that can dig and go under. I'm not sure how many chickens you acquired but build your coop large enough to hold more...lol....chickens are so addicting!! Make sure you have good ventilation also. Wood ash, such as from a woodstove, makes a great dust bath for the chickens and also helps with the lice/mites. Tires are great for putting ash or sand into for dust bathing. Another good idea is to build grazing boxes for your girls. I could go on and on, sorry haha...if you have any other questions or concerns I would be happy to help however I can. Welcome to the chicken world and best of luck to you and your flock!

Chickie22, do you use straight wood ash for your dust baths?

 

[Smuvers Farm]

Glad you're here !

A must have for your poultry is a FIRST AID KIT for any issues that would arise. (https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/suggestions-for-a-first-aid-kit.1150128/)
It's definitely better to have it and not need it rather than need it and not have it.

Also, make sure your coop(s) have a proper amount of VENTILATION. (https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-there-and-cut-more-holes-in-your-coop.47774/) Your chickens will absolutely thank you for it!

One last thing, if you're into gardening, feel free to join this years SEED SWAP (https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/seed-swap.1220129/)