Ultimate isolation/sick bay/broody pen

[JMotuzick]

Sorry if this has been posted before but I’d like to get some discussion from more SR chicken keepers, and I can’t find a good answer. I’m guessing it’s because most people go small quick and easy on a isolation area.

I moved my nest boxes lower as I was having issues with a couple hens roosting there. I also did away with my ground level sick bay as it was messy on top and was a pain to maintain. Now I have a corner of my coop I can make into a killer sick bay. It’s 31”x52” 8’ tall. Basically the size of a closet in a apartment bed room. I was going to make it the full height and have done some prep work to that end, but I was thinking raised 2’ +/- might be the way to go. This would allow full floor space to the rest of the flock, and when not in use I’ll take the door off and allow everyone access.

Just looking for ideas and suggestions. I want to be able to use my hanging vinegar horizontal nipple waterer. I’ll make a hanging feeder of some sort to hang on the side mesh. I’d like a nest box and about a 2’ roost. I’d like to incorporate a poop tray on top of the nest too. It’s a small space so only thinking 2 hens would ever be kept in here and only for a short time.
The corner sick bay to be?

 

[JMotuzick]

I just figured I would post what I came up with in case someone googled and finds this thread in the future.

I’ll post back when I use this for the first time. I still need to build a door... I have ideas, just need to buy 4 sticks of wood....

 

[JMotuzick]

So after not using this for most of the winter I had a hen go Brody. She sat on eggs for 21 days and hatched out 7 of the 8. 3 weeks later all 7 are doing well. After about 4 days I opened the door and they all jumped down. Every day I fill a small chick feeder for them! The older hens and roo all steel the crumbles, but it try to feed when the adults are not around. As for the “closet coop” it is a great addition to our coop/flock!

 

[ValerieJ]

So after not using this for most of the winter I had a hen go Brody. She sat on eggs for 21 days and hatched out 7 of the 8. 3 weeks later all 7 are doing well. After about 4 days I opened the door and they all jumped down. Every day I fill a small chick feeder for them! The older hens and roo all steel the crumbles, but it try to feed when the adults are not around. As for the “closet coop” it is a great addition to our coop/flock!

I'm so glad you shared this! What a great idea! We are talking about building a new large coop and I'm in here looking for ideas. We started with a small 8 chicken coop that worked great for a while, but only the chickens can walk in there. As the flock grew we added additional coops, with one being used once for a broody hen and her chicks. It has worked well, but now 4 years in, I'm ready for one big coop with all these great design features I'm seeing here. Thanks for sharing these pictures. This is one thing it will have for sure.