Rabbit Hutch to Coop - good idea?

[rowanpi]

Hi,

I recently acquired the following hutch. I live in Cape Town, with a moderate climate. The wood is probably not going to last for many years. But I want to know if you think it's a good idea for me to try and use this for a chicken coop. I will add on a run for the chickens as well. and will have to see how to make an area for them to lay their eggs and also a perch to roost.

I'm new to chicken keeping so this will be my first attempt. Any ideas?

 

[Cluckingham01]

So long as it's just for night, and you only have up to five bantams, I'd say go for it

 

[Ridgerunner]

In Cape Town you are not worried about cold but heat may be an issue. With that wire front you should have great ventilation, that’s a plus.

How many chickens will you have? That could be helpful information.

The main reasons you generally want a coop is for protection from predators and the weather. We usually have out nests in the coop but there is nothing wrong with having them separate. Some people feed and water in the coop, some in the run, and some do both.

My main problem with that is the apparent height. Exactly how tall is it, inside and off the ground? Chickens like to sleep on the highest point around so you want the roosts higher than the nests. Chickens poop a lot at night, you don’t want that in your nests. I just don’t see the height in that to get much separation between the nests and roosts if you try to put both in there. Besides I’d expect the chickens to want to sleep on top of that instead of in it if they can get to the top.

My initial thought would be to convert that hutch to nests and build a separate coop around it. The top of that looks like it would make a great droppings board. A lot of us collect the poop build-up under the roosts so we don’t have to clean out the entire coop nearly as often. Mine goes straight into the compost pile. In your climate I could see a three sided “shed” over that with roosts above the nests to keep out rain with the fourth side a wire mesh to provide great ventilation.

 

[rowanpi]

In Cape Town you are not worried about cold but heat may be an issue. With that wire front you should have great ventilation, that’s a plus.

How many chickens will you have? That could be helpful information.

....

Thanks for your lengthy response. I appreciate it.

I was hoping to keep about 3-5 chickens, not more. I was thinking only 3 at first. But if it could work for 5 then I'll try to get 5. I'm on a tight budget so building a big coop and using this as nest is not possible at the moment.

The roof can open up so I could actually raise the angle of the roof to get some more head room.perhaps that will help with the perch. since it has a removable tray I was hoping to use that to collect the poop. I'm into composting also, I have a worm bin too which I hope will provide good treats for the chickens

 

[TwinsLoveChicks]

Hi,

I recently acquired the following hutch. I live in Cape Town, with a moderate climate. The wood is probably not going to last for many years. But I want to know if you think it's a good idea for me to try and use this for a chicken coop. I will add on a run for the chickens as well. and will have to see how to make an area for them to lay their eggs and also a perch to roost.

I'm new to chicken keeping so this will be my first attempt. Any ideas?

You could make the small, dark area to the right into one big nest box, add a roosting bar to the long, wired area, and put a removable ramp where the wired door is to let them out in the morning. That way you'd have an egg door. It'd be easier to clean out, too.

 

[rowanpi]

You could make the small, dark area to the right into one big nest box, add a roosting bar to the long, wired area, and put a removable ramp where the wired door is to let them out in the morning. That way you'd have an egg door. It'd be easier to clean out, too.

Thanks. Yes, I was thinking the same thing. I guess I can split that dark area into 2 nesting boxes. and use an old broomstick for a perch across the open area. I am thinking of closing the grid on the far left. Won't it be too drafty if they sleep in an open area like that?

I'm quite excited with this project.

 

[TwinsLoveChicks]

Thanks. Yes, I was thinking the same thing. I guess I can split that dark area into 2 nesting boxes. and use an old broomstick for a perch across the open area. I am thinking of closing the grid on the far left. Won't it be too drafty if they sleep in an open area like that?

I'm quite excited with this project.

I didn't think about drafts, so closing off the far left grid is better. I'd just make sure it was facing away from the north where you'd get the most cold wind from.
I can see why! Also that sliding tray under the roost is going to make it so easy to clean!

 

[rowanpi]

I didn't think about drafts, so closing off the far left grid is better. I'd just make sure it was facing away from the north where you'd get the most cold wind from.
I can see why! Also that sliding tray under the roost is going to make it so easy to clean!

we have very strong winds called the South Easter/ Cape Doctor coming from the south in Summer. Winds from the north bring rain.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Just curious. You are south of the equator so your seasons are the reverse of mine. Do you call your warm months winter or summer? Do you follow the calendar or the season?

What is the coldest you will see in your cold season, whatever you call it? I'm not talking about a normal day, the extremes are where you can get in trouble. When I looked it up I saw +7 C which is about the mid-40's F. That is not cold for chickens. With their down coats they can handle it.

What is the hottest you will see? When I looked it was in the +40's C, I don't remember exactly. That's over 100 F. That is what is dangerous to your chickens. They need shade and ventilation. If you can, try to position it so it is in shade and the open side is faced away from your strongest cold winds. If you close off that wire front that thing has horrible ventilation, it will turn into an oven in the sun.

 

[jvls1942]

you will need only one nest for egg laying.
I had 40 layers and ten nests, they used only 3 nests out of the ten.
I found 4 hens in one nest with none in the other nine..