We have chicks flying around the living room....

[Eggsitter]

Hi, we're newbies. Clueless newbies.

A local farmer asked my 12 yo to hatch some eggs in an incubator. He said he'd take the chicks back after they hatched. Sure, no problem, we'll just return the chicks when they hatch, we thought.

LOL. He knew what he was doing. He knew we'd be hooked, and we are.

While he's willing to take them back, we want all eight of them. We LOVE these chicks. We want them in our house, WE LOVE THEM.

Forget the eggs, we LOVE these chicks.

That said, given our circumstances (in town, close neighbors, small yard with urban predators) we want to try to keep about three or four of them. They are bantams.

I am a single mom with my hands full, and limited money to spend. I know you are going to tell me we can build a coop, and I bet we can. I just can't take it on right now.

But I have been looking at the SnapLock coops and Eglu coops and wow, they would be great. I have a storage shed and a three season porch we don't use, attached to my house as additions. At night I could just pick up the coop and bring it into the shed or unheated porch, and then have it as part of a portable chicken tractor in the daytime. In my thoughts anyway, that's my ideal. I can pick it up off the stand and bring it in the shed. Then in the morning, put it back on the stand and tractor it to a new space.

I could build a stand and a run I think. I just like the plastic coops.

I would like to be able to clean it with a hose, that's my priority, and have it be light enough and portable enough for me to move, carry.

The price of both the SnapLock and Eglu are expensive though. I have searched high and low. I need advice on whether you guys think I could modify this insulated doghouse a bit to fit what I need:

www.aslsolutionsinc.com and click on the Dog Palace picture it will give inside and outside dimensions. There is a removable triangular shaped window in the lower part of the door and another window just like it in the rear panel. (These are removed for summer ventilation only) The dog gets air from an 1/8” gap around the door. The window is small and the dog can see out but it is difficult for you to see in without opening the door to look in. The house weighs about 70 lbs. also sell Solar powered exhaust fans as an option.( usually for hot climates)


What do you guys think? I feel like I should just bite the bullett and buy one of the plastic coops. Is the Snap Lock or Eglu Go better? I want the chickens to bring us pleasure, and I think having the easiest coop is best for us right now, even if we have to sell our car to pay for it.

Any other ideas? We are in southern Maine, and don't really know where chicken people buy their stuff. We need to know that too.

We are clueless. But we love these chicks. We will miss them when they are in their coop.

 

[The Chickeneer]

Well first

its always good to see another person taking interest in chickens. For the meantime (next couple of weeks) all you need is a brooder for those chicks. For a brooder you could just use a cardboard box with a heat lamp, there are a lot of great ideas on youtube.

With the chicks in the brooder for the first part of their lives, this gives you time to figure out how you may obtain your coop. Usually some people sell chicken coops on craigslist. A lot of people also turn their storage sheds into coops. Im not sure if the doghouse your looking at is big enough though.Because when the chicks move to the coop, they need to be "coop trained", meaning you keep them in the coop for a week so they know where home is, then you let them out in the morning and they will instinctively come back at night....I wouldnt keep my chickens locked up for a week in a tiny dog house.

I think paying anything over 200 for a small coop is too much. l looked at the eglu online and cringed at the sight of the price lol, that thing is not worth it.

 

[Eggsitter]

Thanks Chickeneer,

We have the chicks handled, but they are vibrant and active. We have 8 in a large plastic bin which right now has my potted blueberry bush inside for them to fly to and from, while staying 'relatively' contained. They have a brooder light and some hot water bottles to snuggle against. They are about three weeks old. Did I mention we LOVE them?

Anyway, the dog house fits a Saint Bernard, and for an overnight coop, it might be okay if I turned it into a tractor that at night I could remove the dog house and bring it into the shed. Then in the morning bring it out, put it back on the platform we'd build and wheel it to a new place. Maybe it's a nutty idea. It's also insulated with a solar powered fan. I think that's pretty neat. But I am still researching and so much appreciate the feedback. The price on the dog house is much better than the eglu and the snap lock.

I have read so many times about there are 'other options' but for a plastic coop, I only see these options. I want something I can clean easily so I am encouraged to do it.

We have bantams and will only have three. I don't think we will be able to have many more, given where we live right now.

 

[Jakoda]

you can always check craigslist for 'freebie' stuff, you may be able to find a plastic coop or dog house for nothing or cheap?

If you have a shed, maybe you could section something off in there for them?? I think your idea would work especially if you are only keeping 3-4 chickens.

if it's nice out during the day, I'd be letting those babies explore your 3 season porch..as long as you don't mind cleaning up the poopy mess

I don't free range mine to many predators, I have 9 - 10wk old babies, and sectioned off part of my shed and my husband built me a huge run..

I would say, look thru the coop section of this forum and look at the COOPS link above, there are TONS of really good CHEAP ideas for coops/tractors,,I got alot of really good ideas off this forum ..

Good luck, they are such funny little creatures, love mine, so friendly and like you, I really don't care about the eggs tho that will be a perk, they are just great pets

 

[Eggsitter]

Thanks Jakoda,

There is a poopy mess on my laminate floor now lol. Wanna hear something gross? My dog eats it before I even know it's there. He is a gross dog but he lets the chicks ride on his back

I think with my level 10 stress everywhere else in my life, taking on chickens the easiest way possible is important to me. Plus I want them safe.

Been looking on Craigs list all day. I found one rubbermaid storage bin for $50 that could work, but I can't haul it home. I'd need a truck and pay someone for gas to get it. Then I figure in all the cost for transforming it and labor and time, and then I go back to thinking it would be easiest to get something a little more expensive but less stressful to get going.

I do see that while I search for used plastic coops like the Eglu, they are high in demand, so I could recover some of the money I spend I think.

I am driving myself nuts with this. Coulda had a coop built by now.

I can't freerange mine either, we have bald eagles flying overhead, foxes and a smelly skunk around. Cats too. It's like the urban jungle.
I think we will try a chicken tractor once I decide on a coop. I also like the idea of letting the chickens work a stationary compost pile where we put our kitchen scraps. Have you thought of that? Just throw your yard waste, kitchen scraps in the pen, they dig through, turn it and add their own poop. I think it's awesome to try that.

 

[Eggsitter]

One excellent point I just read on this was to consider how high the perch is. I agree. The thing these little guys love to do right now is fly up to the bar and perch as high as they can. So I can't give them a tiny low coop.

I need a high coop for them, but low enough for me to carry around. Hmmmm.

 

[Jakoda]

check this out I thought it was cool
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...they-walk-along-with-me-as-i-pull-the-tractor

and oh yes, mine are pigs with feathers they like certain things more than others, today their new treat was cooked white rice, they turned into a bunch of vultures))

I would also check ebay for "used" cages, rabbit houses, dog houses, things like that, I found a great deal on a HUGE critter cage (48 x 28 x 32) for 30$ and used it for my brooder..

Even check your local dump for pieces of wood, old pallets, lots of people have used old pallets to make coops with..

 

[Eggsitter]

I saw that chicken tractor in the link you offered. I wonder if it is a coop for shelter or a main coup that the chickens live in at night during the winter. I think some are just a day shelter for sun etc. I don't know though. Still trying to figure it out.

Luckily for my chickens, my bean plants are loaded with aphids.

 

[chicksbunsdog]

Hi Eggsitter

We're also new to this chicken thing and are still working on our coop - it's been 2 months in the making now

Never thought it would take this long!
Anyway, those plastic coops look really cute and if you're only talking about 3 bantams, then I would think they'd be fine in one of those or an extra large doghouse, especially if you're planning on putting them in a tractor during the day. I'm also hoping to make a tractor down the road in order to get them fresh grass, bugs, etc. I don't think you should leave them in the tractor permanently though because predators can dig under most of the tractors (unless they have a bottom and then what's the point of the tractor?) It seems most people with tractors lock the chickens up in the coop at night for safety. Certainly, you can start off with something like that and down the road make changes when $ and time permit.
I've gotten loads of great ideas from this website under coops and in the forum section on coop building and maintenance. I also just google "chicken coop images" and you can look at hundreds of chicken coops photos quickly and easily for other great ideas.
Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[richsbabycakes]

We converted an old Little Tikes playhouse to a coop for three hens. We added a floor, raised it up just a bit and I'm getting hardware cloth added to the windows soon. I got the playhouse for $25 on CL and it's perfect for the little ones.