Show Me Your Isolation Areas

[rosemarythyme]

My brooder doubles as the isolation cage - had a wry neck bird in it for as long as 6 weeks before, and I used to break broodies with it too (though now we have a dog crate for that, since the birds generally like to hang out in the brooder when it's not used for brooding). As it was recycled from a portion of our old prefab it's more or less the same as getting a prefab for isolation, but with a much smaller footprint (a little over 2x4) which is fine for 1 bird temporarily.

 

[K0k0shka]

We have a similar setup then. I liked your idea of having it be part of the main run with all the chicken amenities, then just shut the door if someone needs to go in. But yeah, I didn't love shuffling a chicken back and forth from coop to isolation at the crack of dawn. Maybe someday we'll have big enough properties to build what we want. I'd probably need to get out of New England though

I don’t want to leave NE though, I don’t even want to leave metro Boston. I’d rather make do with the smaller yard but stay here. So I’ll be shuffling chickens

 

[thecatumbrella]

View attachment 3718171
I use a set up like this for integrating chicks when they are big enough not to need heat. This is just 2x3 fence with some garden pole/stakes woven through it, then stuck in the ground. The fence is 4' high, and I have janky old chicken wire fence ziptied to it to span the area from the top of the fence to the roof of the run.

The ramp leads up to the coop. There is also a people door; the cinder block is the step up into the coop. The adults use the people door, the littles use the ramp and the pop door.

This is the chicks' area inside the coop. The mugshot here is little Pip, back at 5 weeks. And YES! depsite the comb and wattles showing, Pippy is a girl!
View attachment 3718185
The left side of the coop was the chicks' area. I took down all the fencing and gate, and saved them for the next time I need to have a separate area. I have learned to make "modular" pieces for any coop furniture. Put it in with a few screws, then take it out and store it.
View attachment 3718189

I have an XL dog crate I use as a brooder in our house. I also have a small dog crate that I use as a broody breaker. That goes inside the coop so the the broody stays "with" the flock.

That is an awesome setup! I'm thinking I need to pick up a small dog crate at a minimum for coop confinement scenarios. And I agree, modularity is a huge asset! Space is somewhat limited, so having sections serve multiple purposes is huge. Little Pip reminds me of my Mushroom, who was also had the teensy 5 week comb and wattles.

 

[thecatumbrella]

My brooder doubles as the isolation cage - had a wry neck bird in it for as long as 6 weeks before, and I used to break broodies with it too (though now we have a dog crate for that, since the birds generally like to hang out in the brooder when it's not used for brooding). As it was recycled from a portion of our old prefab it's more or less the same as getting a prefab for isolation, but with a much smaller footprint (a little over 2x4) which is fine for 1 bird temporarily.

View attachment 3718283

Okay, I love that roofline. It looks like it would actually keep the inside dry, rather than shallowly rolling back in! Bookmarking all these ideas for later.

 

[MGG]

I have a building with 3 pens inside that I use as isolation pens. Usually the one on the far left if it's only one bird since that one is the biggest, but all three pens can be opened up into each other too. I usually use the 2 biggest pens as brooders in the spring and then leave the big one open to outside in the winter for any birds that want shelter. They've worked amazing. We hillbilly ran electric too so I can do heat lamps and heated water bowls and such.

 

[thecatumbrella]

I don’t want to leave NE though, I don’t even want to leave metro Boston. I’d rather make do with the smaller yard but stay here. So I’ll be shuffling chickens

Every likes to hate on Mass, but I miss that sweet public water, sewer, and natural gas. We were able to get a couple "acres" in NH, BUT AT WHAT COST!

* cries into my iron-encrusted well *

 

[thecatumbrella]

I have a building with 3 pens inside that I use as isolation pens. Usually the one on the far left if it's only one bird since that one is the biggest, but all three pens can be opened up into each other too. I usually use the 2 biggest pens as brooders in the spring and then leave the big one open to outside in the winter for any birds that want shelter. They've worked amazing. We hillbilly ran electric too so I can do heat lamps and heated water bowls and such. View attachment 3718376View attachment 3718377View attachment 3718378View attachment 3718379

That is so unbelievably nice.

Is hillbilly electrical running a massive extension cord across your property and hoping the squirrels don't chew through it?

 

[K0k0shka]

Every likes to hate on Mass, but I miss that sweet public water, sewer, and natural gas. We were able to get a couple "acres" in NH, BUT AT WHAT COST!

* cries into my iron-encrusted well *

Clean and tasty water, too! And perks like a special Christmas tree pick up service (free) where the town collects the trees and composts them… We thought long and hard before buying a property and decided that the benefits of living 2 blocks from the Boston line far outweigh the downside of not having my own farm

 

[PoppasGrill]

I have a building with 3 pens inside that I use as isolation pens. Usually the one on the far left if it's only one bird since that one is the biggest, but all three pens can be opened up into each other too. I usually use the 2 biggest pens as brooders in the spring and then leave the big one open to outside in the winter for any birds that want shelter. They've worked amazing. We hillbilly ran electric too so I can do heat lamps and heated water bowls and such. View attachment 3718376

That is an awesome set up you have there. Imagine it can get loud inside the shed.

 

[Sally PB]

* cries into my iron-encrusted well *

Don't want to derail the thread, but I want to pass this on. We have very high iron in our well. We got an iron filter, and the difference was Night. And. Day! $1600, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. We also have an RO filter at the kitchen sink for drinking water.