I have a sweet little hen that has been indoors since January 20th due to various illnesses (worms, severe weight loss, and a distended abdomen due to EYP or just periontitis). I think she is back on the road to recovery(after worming and anitbiotics), or at least to the point to where she is bored of my bathroom. She stays in the tub during the day when I am not at home and at night. Otherwise if I am home she has free run of the bathroom with her food and water or if the temp is above 50 I put her outside. The weather is still cold here, lows are in the 20's the next couple of days and highs range from the low 40's to 60's. I'd like to have her outdoors during the warm days but cannot put her with the other chickens because they will pick on her since she is no longer part of the flock in there eyes. I was thinking some type of a temporary coop with a run would be great for her. I would let her stay in the back yard where my other chickens couldn't mingle with her but our neighbors chickens seem to find their way into that part of our yard and have found them trying to pick on her as well. I'm trying to think of ideas on how to transition her back to being on outside chicken, she has got to be bored out of her mind in the bathroom. I was thinking maybe a small heated dog house with a run built around it? It needs to be inexpensive, temporary, and heated since she is no longer used to the cold temps here. Any idea's would be greatly appreciated!
I'd try to find a cheap dog kennel. If you found one of the wire kind you could put it right on the ground. Then you could put a box or crate of some kind for her to roost in. Maybe you could run a heat lamp if you're worried about her getting too cool. Check Craigslist. Good luck!
I once made a tiny coop out of cardboard boxes. Double line the walls, then wrap the whole lot in black plastic bin liner and tape it together underneath. Don't forget to cut holes for the ventilation and pop door. I cut a flap for the door, then poked string through it, so I could tie it to the mesh of the run. It held three LF Marans for two weeks fine. It's still sat outside and waterproof! I just haven't been bothered to pull it to pieces for receycling yet. Here's a vid of it: PS. The video needs a lot of patience on your behalf!
. That's a great coop, wish you had a video on how you made it. Awesome, I need something like this for my mamma temporary until her chicks get older and integrated! ,
If it's just temporary, I'd look for a free or cheap doghouse on Craigslist. Add a simple plywood door w/latch to close her up at night time. I found a really cute one that's lightly insulated and had two (plexiglass) windows for $50 from CL. I added a door and set it up on a table-like platform so they could go underneath. I had serama in it temporarily, so I added a small heatlamp w/50W bulb (always secure VERY well). As long as you're shutting her in at night, just do a circle of chicken wire around the dog house for her to walk about/see others.??? Here's the one I found that I modified into a secure little coop...
