Quarantined chicken

[jbrianchamberli]

So I have the hen inside but her cage isn’t ideal. I have her in a 50 gal tote with a wire top. Does great at keeping the bedding in but she doesn’t have a lot of room and the water dish keeps getting the bedding wet. I have a small dog crate but Christ, the bedding would be EVERYWHERE. What to do? I could put her on the deck but we’re supposed to get bad weather tomorrow. Too cold to be alone without protection. Please need some ideas ASAP.

 

[jbrianchamberli]

This really sucks. If it were summer I could put her on the deck but it’s cold at night and the dog crate offers zero shelter from the weather. She’s in the house and it’s starting to smell already. My wife is going to flip when she gets home. FLIP!!!

 

[rebrascora]

Do you have a greenhouse, shed or garage. Somewhere that is secure from predators. Some people use puppy pads or an old towel in the bottom of dog crates for sick birds instead of more conventional bedding that can get thrown about or you can fasten cardboard around the bottom of the crate with zip ties to a depth of about 5-6 inches to contain the bedding. If the water is getting tipped over, either remove it and just give her access to it several times a day or put it in a heavy container with plenty of pebbles in it to prevent it getting tipped over. A sick chicken that is also wet is not going to do well, so you need to either remove the water until the hen settles to her confinement or make it so that it cannot be spilled.

 

[rebrascora]

When you have chickens there are all too often occasions when you need a sick bay and getting it set up takes a bit of time and thought. I have used old side boards before and drilled holes in the door for ventilation or even an old chest of drawers with the drawers removed or the bottom drawer left in as a nest box. A simple chicken wire front can easily be constructed screw in hooks and small trigger clips or zip ties to secure it even without needing a frame. For overnight a cardboard box works well. I often keep cockerels to be processed in a cardboard box overnight. It is far easier to pick them off the roost at night and put them in a cardboard box overnight and then pull them out of the box the next morning one at a time to butcher than be running around in daylight getting you and them stressed trying to catch them in order to process them.

 

[blackdog043]

Get cardboard and make a base with sides high enough, to hold the shavings in. Get dog bowls for water and feed, like this below or elevated dog bowls.
https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...ony-two-toned-no-tip-stainless-steel-dog-bowl