Chicken Coop Set Up For Broilers

We have had to keep our broilers inside because it is just too cold out for them. They are growing fast but not growing their feathers fast enough. I moved them into a nice section in our new coop but to clean out the droppings every other day was getting to be quite a messy chore! So today my husband and I spent two hours setting up what I hope to be a much easier way to deal with it all.

First I built the base that the chickens will walk on. Surprisingly I measured correctly and it fit in the spot we already had set up. We then added the wire mesh (1/2" x 1"). The base is then supported up off the floor by more 2x4's on their side. This way I have room to put trays of a piece of tin or something easy to slide out from underneath the wire mesh for easy cleaning. The chickens are also not having to sit in their own feces. Today I just put a nice big piece of plastic under it until I can get to the tin/metal shop to get a piece cut to fit. Looking forward to some easier days of cleaning and happier chickens.

87 chickens are fitting comfortably in here right now. The weather has to break soon or they won't be so comfortable. This week is getting into the 70's but still a little too cool at night for them. This week I will be finishing the chicken tractors so in the next week or so they can move outside! This set up will then be moved out of the way until next year.

This coop is also going to be used for my son's 4-H chickens. He has chosen the polish crested. I have plans to build 3 separate stalls for breeding and keeping the show chickens separate. There will also be brooders in place for any babies we get and the baby broilers next year so everything can be kept out of the house.

These are Nico's Polish Crested. I love watching their feathers grow in. They are so beautiful!

Here is Luca with one of the new baby Wynadettes. He wanted to be a pirate and figured a chicken would work just as well as a parrot.