Well mission accomplished. I found this rabbit hutch that was converted to a chicken coop for $60 in Scotts Valley. The family sold their house and had to remove the coop cuz the new owners didn't want chickens. They threw in a nesting box, ramp, 2 waterers and about 3 cubic feet of pine shavings! Score!
I'm very excited we were able to get such a great deal, this hutch sells new for $200 and it'll save Ana time and energy from having to build a new one, plus the materials would probably have been more than $60 so I'm pretty stoked.
This coop is going to house our chicks while they go through the pullet growth (basically teenage years) then once they're full grown I'll integrate them into the bigger coop and use this one as a separation coop for trouble hens.
We've been growing our chicks inside the house and it's driving me nuts. I clean them out every 36 hrs or so and the smell is just unbearable even with the constant cleanings and our air purifier on full blast. Especially the meat chicks who just eat tons and poop, super stinky. So we're gonna put this new coop to use this week and jerryrig the heat lamp so that they can go outside now (about 2 weeks sooner than i had expected).
If you ever want to raise chicks, don't raise them in the house. It's been a nightmare from the get go. And now I know what to be ready for next year. But I do recommend raising your own chicks if you can. It's a lot of work, but you have control over the situation. You can buy pullets or even full grown hens, and now I understand why they are so expensive, but unless you know the grower (like me:) you can't be sure what kind of feed they're given or how they're raised (like too many little chicks stuck in too small of a space.)
And if you can't raise chicks, don't worry about it cuz it really is a lot of work, which if I had a full time job, I would not be going through this craziness!
Nice re-purposed hutch. We have found that the chick poop is far more stinky but gets less so when we stop the medicated chick starter feed. We are going to start weening them off it this week. Also start acclimating them to less heat lamp.
ReplyDeleteGlen
Thanks for the tip Glen. I'm not too crazy about the medicated feed either so I'll be switching too. We've already put them outside but with the heat lamp.
ReplyDeleteThen when it's nice and warm in the afternoons, we turn off the lamp and let them roam around in the inclosure.