- Apr 5, 2013
- 92
- 6
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Does any one have any good info for creating a shelter (on a penny-pinching budget) for our birds to live in for a while? We have coop plans already, predator-proof and designed by yours truly, but it looks like it's going to take probably 60 days for us to know whether or not we can build our coop because we need a variance (although the building inspector says it won't be a problem). However, right now, we've got our chickens in dog crates inside. The town, I believe, allows us to have a temporary structure to house the chickens while we wait for the approval. Does anyone know of any good way (predator proof) to house 15 chickens and 4 ducks temporarily? I don't want them to get too cold at night, and I don't want them to get eaten by anything. We're in rural Columbia County, NY...so pretty much anything could be a problem here...especially with baby chicks.
We DO have a 20x20 dog run made out of chain link fencing. But the chicks can slip right through there without a problem. Would there be anything we could easily add without changing the integrity of the fence, so they can hang out outside? I realize 20x20 is too big for the chickens, but it would only be for 2 months.
I mean, what if we took tarp and covered the top of the area? And used some sort of wire and buried it around the edge of the already-present chain link fencing? That would stop things from getting in and out of the bottom. We could set up broom handles and stuff for roosting.
Does anyone have any ideas?
Also, what would be good for us to use for a "coop" while they're out there? We could probably set the dog crates end to end and cover them with blankets, and right now, they all fit...but they'll need to go out soon, and by the time they're out there, that'll be too crowded.
Problem is, I also have no idea when these chicks will be laying...because we don't know how old they really are!!!
We DO have a 20x20 dog run made out of chain link fencing. But the chicks can slip right through there without a problem. Would there be anything we could easily add without changing the integrity of the fence, so they can hang out outside? I realize 20x20 is too big for the chickens, but it would only be for 2 months.
I mean, what if we took tarp and covered the top of the area? And used some sort of wire and buried it around the edge of the already-present chain link fencing? That would stop things from getting in and out of the bottom. We could set up broom handles and stuff for roosting.
Does anyone have any ideas?
Also, what would be good for us to use for a "coop" while they're out there? We could probably set the dog crates end to end and cover them with blankets, and right now, they all fit...but they'll need to go out soon, and by the time they're out there, that'll be too crowded.
Problem is, I also have no idea when these chicks will be laying...because we don't know how old they really are!!!
