Can I keep the chicks in a large rabbit cage?

[Dollhoney]

Is it safe to keep the chicks in a rabbit cage? It's not a wooden hutch. This is a plastic bottom unit with the wire top that snaps on. The wires are horizontal with no cross pieces. I have them in a tupperware tote in the garage now, and it is way too hot. (Arizona temperatures 90's outside, the garage is hotter). I want to move them inside the house, and had this rabbit cage available. I just want to make sure they won't stick their heads through the bars and strangle themselves. If its not safe, I'll figure out a different set up. (My husband is away in Iraq now, so I do not have any sort of building capabilities....city girl here.) Other question....can these babies be outside during the day in the Arizona heat? If they are in the shade and no breeze? Thanks for the help!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

And God bless you for being a brave soldier's brave wife! I am grateful for the sacrifices you both make for our country!

The rabbit cage should work very well for your chicks, I've raised many batches of chicks in ours. And you should be able to use it outdoors, you can even unfasten the wire top from the plastic bottom and place it & the chicks directly in the grass. Just watch out for the predators in your area. Maybe place a piece of plywood on the top & weight it with bricks so dogs can't tip it over. If there are hawks in your area you can also lean some other pieces of wood or flat plastic (like the lid to a bin) around the edges, hawks can land on the ground & bite the chicks through the wire.

Have fun with your new feathery friends, we're here to support & advise!

 

[Staceyfeindt]

I am not sure about the heat, I would think alot would depend on the breed. Some tolerate heat better than others.

I have a better solution for you than the rabbit cage. All you need is some large boxes and duct tape. Stack a box on top of another one, but just cut the bottom out of the top box. Does that make sense? You will have created a two story box. Wish I could draw a picture on here! You can even make it two or three or more boxes wide by tapping two side by side and cutting a door out with a utility knife. Just add some bedding shavings and you are set to go! The best part is you can toss the whole thing when they out grow it.

I have usually done this with four large computer type boxes. Two boxes high and two boxes wide, for four chicks. It allowed room for food and water and room to roam. When they get older you can just add on another box or two to give them more room.

Best of luck! I do not think the wire in the rabbit cage is good for them.

 

[EweSheep]

Ive used them in the last six years I've brood chicks in them and I have done well with them. If you are going to put them outside, you can set them outside and to keep it cool, I use a folded up tarp on top and drap one side for shade if the sun gets into the angle. I've used a 2 x 2 wooden plywood and set a brick on top of it to keep it from blown away by wind. As for dogs and predators, no, it would not be safe just for them to be outside without supervision and bring them in at night or set it inside shed or somewhere that you know they will be safe away from ANY predators.

Chicks do not have that much of a problem walking on wire but they are not in there forever. Just enough to get pass the brood stage. For heavy breeds, it would be ok for isolation or quarantine purposes but nothing more if they are older than chicks.

The cardboard box would be ok for indoors but for outdoors, nope, and it will not stand up to the extreme heat or predators or sudden storm of some sort. It would blow away and it is bye bye birds. Cardboard will break down in the sun, making it weaker as time goes on.

You can make a child pen.....go on freecycle or garage sales for those playpens, tip it upside down and set bricks or tires on it and walla, got a play pen. However it is NOT a perm. fixture and dogs can tear into the netting. So supervise is necessary.

 

[Dollhoney]

The rabbit cage I have only has a plastic tray on the bottom, there is no wire for them to stand on. My main concern was the fact that it did not have cross wires for the sides and tops....just horizonatal bars. Worried about them sticking their head through and then getting caught. I would line the bottom with puppy pads and then put the pine bedding on top of that. It is so warm here in my garage that they don't need the lamp on during the day, just in the evening. Well, keep the ideas coming. Thanks so much for all the input.

 

[teach1rusl]

I think I have the very rabbit cage you're talking about...lol. But I used my dog's wire crate to raise my girls. I did zip tie some chicken wire around the lower part of the crate, which would work for you too. If I do have the same rabbit cage as you, it won't keep your four for too long, because they grow FAST. I'll bet that they don't last past three weeks in it...lol. You could always get a larger cardboard box if/when they outgrow the cage.

Also, I just used a circle of chicken wire when I began taking my chicks outside (maybe diameter of 5 ft.). I sat inside with them, so safety wasn't an issue. Their behavior will let you know whether it's too hot (or too cold) for them. And do remember to salt their feed with fine grit if you take them outside, in case they're sampling their new surroundings.

 

[EweSheep]

I have a Havaheart rabbit cages and for warmth, I would line the outside with cardboard pieces.

With the upright brooder I had, it was enough to fit three cages in one wooden box, it was tall wise and got a door. The top one had for day olds or shipped chicks and the second cage was for two week olds or older and the bottom cage was for four week olds and the dropping are heavier for the older chicks.

I use those black trays that it comes separately with Havaheart cage products, slide right in and out for cleanings. For day olds I use several layers of paper towel and change it once or twice a day depending on how many chicks I've got. The heat lamps are metal locked on the inside top of cage and as they get older, then the heat lamp would go on the outside of cage OR change it out for a less wattage bulb. Same for the middle and lower cages. The tall cabinet keeps the feather dander, feed and the usual chicky mess contained.

If I was to change something, I would swap out the wooden cabinet into an old shower stall and stack the cages inside of the stall and close it with the shower curtain. The top would have a wooden plywood on top to keep the dander and heat inside of it. Whats so good, once you are done brooding or quarantine the chickens, you can hose it down. Be sure to have a foundation support for the shower stall ON wheels so you can move the whole unit around to take it from garage to outside to hose down.

 

[sunflowerenvy]

i have my chicks in rabbit cage from day one and they are about 3 weeks old now they are start to reach the wire and on mine their heads are to big to get thought the wire. if your chicks heads go though the wire than put card board around the side of it. ni just used pine shaving on the bottom and used cat litter scooper to pick up the pine shaving
laura

 

[ChixMama]

We used a rabbit cage (no longer used by our rabbit) for our chicks and it worked great. After a week or so we kept the little door open and placed a short (12") rabbit fence around the front so they had a little "run". We also put a thin board that rested on the side wires so they had a roost. After the short rabbit fence was too short (cause they would roost on it & jump out!) we went to a taller fence made of wire cube squares zip tied together. That worked well until they got out of there. We moved them to the garage after I found all 5 of them in my kitchen!

We kept the wire cube fence around the cage but used more cube squares to make a top so they didn't get themselve in trouble in the garage--little escape artists!!

Good luck with your chickies!!

 

[chicken_china_mom]

I am brooding my chicks right now in a rabbit cage. There's no worries as mine has coated wire. My little fuzzbutts are doing quite well in it. Here's a pic:

I don't think there is anything wrong with using the rabbit cage. I like that it has a lid I can close. Chicks were always escaping from those totes that I used last year, and they were a pain to keep clean. This year I not only switched over to the rabbit cage, but I also decided to use doggy potty pads instead of pine shavings. I hated how wet those shavings would get, and I hated cleaning them out of the food and water constantly. The pads I am using are antibacterial and they wisk away the water the chicks spill, and they absorb the liquid in the poop so the poop dries out much faster. There is practically no smell whatsoever, and my older chicks are now 2 weeks old. I lined the cage with a layer of newspaper, and then put the potty pads on top. When I change the pads I can just take a quick sweep with the vacuum and suck up spilt food that gets under the pads, and clean up is soooooooo much easier. I love it! I'll be using the rabbit cage from now on. I might even invest in another one further down the road.