Temporary Run for Quarantine of Newcomers, at least

[SnowPeeOstrichU]

Hi all,

I am fairly experienced with chickens, but I am considering a new run idea based on how tigers uses fencing sold as a dog excercise pen for her bunnies.

I think I could use something like that plus a tarp for a roof as a makeshift run and if it was moved every day, it could work but I'm not sure how nestboxes would work. Food & water would all sit on ground of course.

I feel like this could be used easily for if I got a new adult bird and needed to quarantine at first.

EDIT because I meant to push preview and hit submit by accident.

 

[SnowPeeOstrichU]

Still no ideas/help..

 

[Emma Miriam]

I'd think that would work as a daytime-only pen. The openings are big, so it would not keep out weasels or racoon claws — but as long as the chickens are locked securely in a coop every night, that would be fine. It would be great to use in conjunction with a small rabbit hutch or pet carrier: you could bring the quarantined bird inside at night but carry it out during the day to have more room. Definitely put a tarp over the top to shade and deter hawks.

I'd put the nest box directly on the ground. You could use/build a normal square nest box, or use a 5 gallon bucket or plastic storage bin. You might be able to attach it to the side and raise it up by drilling holes and ziptying it to the wire...

 

[SnowPeeOstrichU]

Good point about pests at night, thanks!

 

[Blooie]

I use a dog x-pen as a brooder out in my run. (type Yes You Can Brood Chicks Outdoors in the search engine to read more) We laid it out on the ground, zip tied hardware cloth to the bottom portion so chicks couldn't escape, and set it up out there against the old brooder box stood on end. It worked brilliantly - even better than we imagined! Just as the last batch of chicks was ready to integrate fully with the adults, I had a hen go broody on me. So we took out the Mama Heating Pad I was using for the chicks, slipped her nest in it's place, and presto - instant safe place for Agatha to brood her eggs. You could do the same thing by attaching a solid piece of plywood to one end and two more smaller pieces around the corners as wind breaks and as a surface to screw the nest box into. It will add a little weight to the setup, but I don't think it would make it too heavy to move.

I no sooner got done with Agatha's brooding and was ready to take the pen down when one of the girls got injured. Into the pen she went until she was recovered. Reintegration with her and with Agatha went extremely well because they could see each other all of the time.

I don't see any reason at all why the same x-pen that worked so well for us wouldn't work in your application as well. I understand that in an isolation situation you don't want the pen inside your setup - that would kinda defeat the purpose. If you were to cover the entire run with hardware cloth instead of just the bottom like we did, critters couldn't use the width of the bars to get in. You'd still have to cover the top securely, and I'm not sure how you would prevent diggers from going underneath, but folks on here are clever and I'll bet someone would have an idea or two. Perhaps if you extended the hardware cloth outwards about 12 - 14 inches and tacked it down with landscape fabric staples that would help. I suppose you could use those inexpensive metal garden stake poles, set one into the ground on each side and corner, then zip tie your pen to those to keep it stable. Should be easy to pull out and move the entire thing if you wanted to. Let your imagination run wild with this one - there's room in there for one hen and a nest - I used a plastic one and just screwed it into the bottom (or as it sits now the back wall) of what was once the old brooder box. Good luck! This is an interesting idea and I'd like to follow it so keep us updated!

~

 

[SnowPeeOstrichU]

@Blooie Good idea for nest box Plus with a dog carrier, it might be an ok way to close it up at night to prevent critters if I do a kennel type thing maybe?