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

[chickie22]

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.

Good point! It is fully enclosed, but mice, chipmunks, and a baby squirrel have gotten in before, so I was definitely planning on using hardware cloth in the garage.

 

[chickie22]

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

I hadn't chosen what to use as a dust bath yet. I know where I plan to put one in the permanent coop, but didn't think about the temp one. Oh boy, that'll be dusty. Lol. Do you recommend the wood ash?

Could I use a kiddie pool or shallow box in the garage for it?

 

[Smuvers Farm]

I hadn't chosen what to use as a dust bath yet. I know where I plan to put one in the permanent coop, but didn't think about the temp one. Oh boy, that'll be dusty. Lol. Do you recommend the wood ash?

Could I use a kiddie pool or shallow box in the garage for it?

Yep. And regular dirt out of your yard would work best.... cause you WILL build them a beautiful dust bath.... aaaaand they'll dig a hole in the yard to make one of their own.... cause chickens are jerks that way!

 

[Jennifer Cappi Williams]

I wish I had a garage for my birds... it is a BATTLE to keep the bad guys away from your babies.

 

[HenHouse4Life]

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

I use ash right from the woodstove or at times I use what's left from a bonfire. I have found it's enjoyable for the chickens and also saves a lot of money vs buying treatments at the store for lice and mites.

 

[HenHouse4Life]

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!

your chickens should be fine with the roosts the way it sounds like you're planning it for temp housing. You will find the majority of their poop under the roosts in the morning so plan accordingly to make it easy for you to get to and clean

 

[PirateGirl]

Temp housing thoughts. For easy clean up consider a tarp or plastic shower curtain or something on the floor in the grave that you can pick up, shavings and all, and throw away. Something like a saw horse will work great as a temp roost. They will try and fly up as high as they can to roost at night, which may be somewhere you don't want them. Look around your garage in general and see if there are things in there you don't want them roosting on or pooping on or otherwise destroying. Do you need to move anything, block anything off, cover anything with a tarp for protection?

Also when planning your permanent coop browse the articles section of the website, lots of great coop builds there for inspiration.

They will be totally fine in your garage, so don't worry about that! It might not be perfect, but it's not bad at all. Think college dorm room vs luxuary hotel

You got this!

 

[Shepshill]

I use ash right from the woodstove or at times I use what's left from a bonfire. I have found it's enjoyable for the chickens and also saves a lot of money vs buying treatments at the store for lice and mites.

I have been mixing some in. I will try using it straight.

 

[Percheron chick]

Chain link panels from a dog run will work fine for a temporary coop in the garage. Cover it so they can't fly out. Use the panels for the run in the permanent coop.
Don't stress about getting them outside during the day. Chickens need about a week to know where home is. You could create a ton of unnecessary work wrangling them in at night. Just open the garage door and give them some fresh air and sunshine.

 

[BlueHenDel]

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!

Welcome to BYC!

Del