We live in the Adirondacks, and got our six chicks at TSC. Right away I knew we'd want more (as always! ) and my husband started to build a 6x8 coop, with a 16x10 run. Here's what happened first..we had to get more help to get it all anchored while standing up!
Soon, we got to this: the ground is so impacted he could not dig it out properly....so he dug trenches to level the coop. We get huge frost heave here and find that floating structures work well. We actually tested this theory at our last house with a large deck.
Here's the frame:
And some walls...we buried the run base 4x4's in a trench as you can see.
By the way, this is why we are building a new coop: this little thing would never survive the winters or visitors up here!
Also, back in the basement...
Back to the yard...constructing run walls, painting and attaching hardware cloth.
Future nest boxes.
Big clean out doors.
Progress.. You can see the vents cut across the top. Hardware cloth to attach next!
Automatic door from ADORSTORE. Love it!!
Meanwhile, the pressure grows!
Walls are up, more hardware cloth to attach. Pullets aren't laying yet but we need to get "the littles" out of the basement! So we covered the holes up where the boxes will go. Also the tarp is there until the real roof goes over the wooden one on the coop part.
He made me a rolling poop deck so I can easily clean everything! We did lower the roosts before winter.
Roof supports going on... hardware cloth apron going in.
The Littles (8 weeks old) have to leave the basement! So they live with the big girls, who are about 16 weeks old. Look but don't touch!
Roof is on, ramp is up. Even though we have more work to do on the windows etc. the girls are enjoying their new home.
The small red run is for the Littles to hide under when the big girls chase them. Which they do.
The littles enjoy the run to themselves while the big girls free range with our supervision.
Nest boxes--4 of them. The big girls are laying now! Plywood standing up provides another hiding place for the littles!
The paving stones went over the hardware cloth to keep it down. Henry got big by now! And the big girls love him!
Today's picture from the WiFi surveillance camera I got for my birthday! The ladder is to remove snow with the roof rake. and those are shower curtains to keep the wind out.
Technology: more in another post, but we have wireless tags in the run, coop, water bucket with nipples, and outside the coop. I know by looking at my phone how it's going in there.
My son gave us some Wemo switches so I can remotely schedule and turn things on and off from the house. We have a light, bucket heater for the water, a camera inside the coop with sound, and a flat panel heater attached to a door. (our winter temps can go to -35 and I will want to help the chickens heat the place then!)
There is light fiberglass insulation between the walls of the coop, and some reflective bubble insulation on the ceiling and nest boxes.
I give them 9 hours of light...I know it's not much but they are all laying--I get 10 eggs a day from 13 hens: 4 Golden Comet, 6 Easter Eggers, and 3 Cream Legbars.
They will not step on the snow...I let them do what they want,. They seem happy!
We have deep litter --chopped straw and pine chips in the coop, and chopped straw in the run for wintertime. In the summer I'll compost it all. Our eggs are mostly clean if we keep layering this.
Hope you like it...
Soon, we got to this: the ground is so impacted he could not dig it out properly....so he dug trenches to level the coop. We get huge frost heave here and find that floating structures work well. We actually tested this theory at our last house with a large deck.
Here's the frame:
And some walls...we buried the run base 4x4's in a trench as you can see.
By the way, this is why we are building a new coop: this little thing would never survive the winters or visitors up here!
Also, back in the basement...
Back to the yard...constructing run walls, painting and attaching hardware cloth.
Future nest boxes.
Big clean out doors.
Progress.. You can see the vents cut across the top. Hardware cloth to attach next!
Automatic door from ADORSTORE. Love it!!
Meanwhile, the pressure grows!
Walls are up, more hardware cloth to attach. Pullets aren't laying yet but we need to get "the littles" out of the basement! So we covered the holes up where the boxes will go. Also the tarp is there until the real roof goes over the wooden one on the coop part.
He made me a rolling poop deck so I can easily clean everything! We did lower the roosts before winter.
Roof supports going on... hardware cloth apron going in.
The Littles (8 weeks old) have to leave the basement! So they live with the big girls, who are about 16 weeks old. Look but don't touch!
Roof is on, ramp is up. Even though we have more work to do on the windows etc. the girls are enjoying their new home.
The small red run is for the Littles to hide under when the big girls chase them. Which they do.
The littles enjoy the run to themselves while the big girls free range with our supervision.
Nest boxes--4 of them. The big girls are laying now! Plywood standing up provides another hiding place for the littles!
The paving stones went over the hardware cloth to keep it down. Henry got big by now! And the big girls love him!
Today's picture from the WiFi surveillance camera I got for my birthday! The ladder is to remove snow with the roof rake. and those are shower curtains to keep the wind out.
Technology: more in another post, but we have wireless tags in the run, coop, water bucket with nipples, and outside the coop. I know by looking at my phone how it's going in there.
My son gave us some Wemo switches so I can remotely schedule and turn things on and off from the house. We have a light, bucket heater for the water, a camera inside the coop with sound, and a flat panel heater attached to a door. (our winter temps can go to -35 and I will want to help the chickens heat the place then!)
There is light fiberglass insulation between the walls of the coop, and some reflective bubble insulation on the ceiling and nest boxes.
I give them 9 hours of light...I know it's not much but they are all laying--I get 10 eggs a day from 13 hens: 4 Golden Comet, 6 Easter Eggers, and 3 Cream Legbars.
They will not step on the snow...I let them do what they want,. They seem happy!
We have deep litter --chopped straw and pine chips in the coop, and chopped straw in the run for wintertime. In the summer I'll compost it all. Our eggs are mostly clean if we keep layering this.
Hope you like it...
