I am having huge issues mixing my flocks this year and need a solution. I have also been banned from raising chicks inside now. So I need to create a super nursery. I need help designing a smaller coup and run to set up as a nursery. I am thinking of keeping 4-6 silkies or bantam cochins and my broodies due to the fact that I have heard they are crazy broodies and good mothers. But I need to create an area for them to basically just be moms to hatch fertile eggs that I will buy. then when the chicks are near egg laying age 16 weeks or so move them to my main coup and use them for layers until its time for a new hatch.
I don't have a super nursery idea, but I do use large dog crate carriers as broody boxs. I put food and water cups hanging on the doors. There is plenty of space for a broody and her brood untill they are a couple of weeks old. When I hatch chicks in an incubator, I use a plastic drawer for a brooder box. It is 8" high 12" wide and 18" long. It works for about 10-12 chicks for 1 to 2 weeks. Once they start to flap about I move them to Plastic horse troughs with a piece of wire laid accross the top. That works for about 3 more weeks. Then I put them in a chicken tractor untill they are old enough to determine who is being kept for either breeding, the table egg pen, the sale pen, or the eating pen. I do have a broody out who just hatched eggs yesterday and today in one of my chicken tractors. She was able to take the babies down the ramp no problem, but I carried them back up into her nest for the night. She can stay in the tractor with her babies untill they are old enough to go their seperate ways. I also have broody box pens I built. I would show a pic but the forum uploads links appears to be broken. When it is fixed I will post pics. Lanae
I agree with Dog crate. I got mine on craigslist for 20 bucks they are all over craigslist from 15-50 for large ones. This is what i used for a brooder for 6 buff orpingtons and 4 SLW's. I think its 30"x48".
Here is mine. My SIL and I put it together when my Partridge Rock went broody. She is due to hatch in the next couple of days. Hopefully it will work well for the chicks once they are born. My plan is to move the entire thing into the big run after about a week so they will already be intergrated into the main flock when momma is ready to leave them and let them grow before I turn them out. This is it before we made it really secure. It actually ends at the black crate at the end. The cage part is homemade and we used metal posts hammered into the ground to keep it from being able to be moved. We wired the dog box to the crate. We put tin around the outside of it and the end and we have a piece for the top to keep the sun out. We also wrapped the dog box in a tarp to give her some darkness in the daytime. We pull it away to allow ventalation during the day around the vents in the dog box. Here it is in the shady place we chose for it and next to the other run with big chickens in it. My SIL is in the process of feeding the hen. I had surgery and cannot go out there and feed. However, hatch time is very near and we are planning on how I can get out there and sit in a lawn chair to be there to watch the babies once they are born!
