Hey guys i was wondering if any one has tried using an old empty kitty litter tub as a mini chicken coop and how it turned out for ya
Old kitty litter tubs for chicken coop
- Thread starter patrickk222
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Ashful
Minister of Fire
baby chicks, or chickens?
I use a large rubbermaid tote with a screen top for baby chicks, but chickens require way more space than that. Figure 4 sq.ft. of coop plus 8 - 10 sq.ft. of outdoor caged run per bird, for adults. Less than that, and they start fighting turf wars, which can lead to stress and reduced egg output, not to mention a lot of injuries.
If you haven't already come across it, backyardchickens.com is a great forum for all things chicken. They're like the hearth.com of poultry.
Right now there in a roughly 12 ft long a frame cage thats about 4and half ft wide i decided to try to put some empty kitty litter tubs to give them xtra shelter the aframe cage does have a section of tin or goin over a portion of the width size but none the less i used kitty litter tubs to give more shelter 2 and theyre young chicks atm about 5 of them and i was gonna let them free roam a bit when they get bigger
right now theyre just chicks .... now that i think bout its prob what the kitty litter tubbs are is nesting boxes 2 i placed the tubbs in a rather large metal a frame coop roughly 4 -4.5 ft wide by about 12 ft long
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Depending on where you live, letting them roam could be a challenge. Around here, chickens usually become hawk food, real fast. I've had them plucked almost right out from under me, or when ducking into my barn for less than 30 seconds to grab something.
A 12 ft x 4 ft space would be good for about 4 birds, if you cover 4 feet of it at one end with plastic or corrugated roofing, you'd be right on the mark with 8 ft2 per bird outside and 4 ft2 per bird under the cover. That's not a suitable winter shelter, but it'd be good dawn to dusk for 3 seasons. I'd use something like that as a "chicken tractor", which you can move around the property to expose them to fresh bugs and grass everyday. Then you could build a more stout coop and run for winter and overnights, which will keep them safe from the overnight critters.
Chickens will learn to follow you from one to the other, if you only ever give them treats after moving from one to the other. They're more trainable than some dogs, in that regard.
A tub flipped over and with a hole cut in the side for access might make a nice shelter or nesting box within the A-frame, depending on their height. But remember that chickens like to get up as high as they can, as much as they can, so they may spend most of their time on top of the inverted tubs. Mine spend most of the day on a roosting bar, only coming down to eat, drink, or when they think I'm heading over with a treat. They nearly always want to sleep in the highest spot in the coop, unless one goes broody.
Remember the biggest problem with owning chickens is that EVERYONE thinks chicken tastes good. That includes you, fox, hawks, and pretty much everything else with claws or teeth.
A 12 ft x 4 ft space would be good for about 4 birds, if you cover 4 feet of it at one end with plastic or corrugated roofing, you'd be right on the mark with 8 ft2 per bird outside and 4 ft2 per bird under the cover. That's not a suitable winter shelter, but it'd be good dawn to dusk for 3 seasons. I'd use something like that as a "chicken tractor", which you can move around the property to expose them to fresh bugs and grass everyday. Then you could build a more stout coop and run for winter and overnights, which will keep them safe from the overnight critters.
Chickens will learn to follow you from one to the other, if you only ever give them treats after moving from one to the other. They're more trainable than some dogs, in that regard.
A tub flipped over and with a hole cut in the side for access might make a nice shelter or nesting box within the A-frame, depending on their height. But remember that chickens like to get up as high as they can, as much as they can, so they may spend most of their time on top of the inverted tubs. Mine spend most of the day on a roosting bar, only coming down to eat, drink, or when they think I'm heading over with a treat. They nearly always want to sleep in the highest spot in the coop, unless one goes broody.
Remember the biggest problem with owning chickens is that EVERYONE thinks chicken tastes good. That includes you, fox, hawks, and pretty much everything else with claws or teeth.
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