Complete Coop/Run Rehab- from Chicken Shack to Chicken Mansion!

rehric00

Songster
6 Years
Apr 3, 2013
230
13
101
Hey guys! I had MANY chickens a few years back, but when we moved, we brought the coop and had to re-home the birds. We did not have a secure fence up.

Well, this year is the year we are re-doing the chicken house and run! Yipee!

I wanted to share some of my plans and see if anyone had any additional ideas or suggestions to share! :)
Here is my coop... It is a heavy-duty metal shed- not like the cheap-o ones you can buy these days. This one is probably over 30 years old, very thick metal and very sturdy. It is sitting on a base made from treated deck boards, which is also heavy duty and built to last. The only problem as it is right now is lack of windows, ventilation, and insulation. It also needs a new door, which I have sitting my garage. As you can imagine, I had lots of problems with my flock previously. I did not manage it well and had too many birds, which led to a smelly hen house and a mite infestation you would not believe. I have learned from that mess, and I am ready to give this a re-do and I couldn't be more excited.

For my plans... I am only going to keep 8 hens. I will obviously get more chicks, and have some friends that are willing to take a few off my hands once I have my "favorites" picked out. They are not coming until the coop is ready! (Lessen learned on that before! LOL)

For the outside, I have 6 foot welded wire fencing. I was going to use metal t-posts to attach, but decided I will return those and use wooden posts. I will be putting a top on it to protect from hawks, which is why we decided to go with wood posts vs metal. The run will be plenty big for 8 birds. I will dig down 12 inches and out 12 inches, and bury some chicken wire. I have not decided on a gate yet, but that is a minor detail. I also plan on planting the area with some chicken friendly heavy duty seeds.. (I know, joke will be on me!!) I am hoping that if I get it planted around April, and get the chicks around end of May or June, it will have time to grow up nice and strong before they turn into lawn destroying hens. We will see. You can read more about what I plan to do here: http://suchandsuchfarm.com/re-seeding-the-chicken-run/

Here is a pick of something similar I plan to do with the run... it will come off of the left side of the coop, we will have to clear a tiny bit of the wood line.



Thats pretty much it for the outside. Aside from minor details, like herbs to plant around the front of the coop (where the girls wont be able to get to, of course!)

The inside will need a whole revamping... I have a minor leak in the roof that needs patched. It will need to be re-leveled- no big deal. I will repaint the roof. The big stuff includes: installation of 1-2 windows, installing one air vent in the back peak, a new door, framing and insulating the inside... oh and running electricity from the house!

The door size is weird- you may be able to see this from the pic. It is short and wide. But, I managed to get an awesome door from an antique shop that can be cut down in height to fit, but we will need to fit some way to fill the extra width.... any ideas??? I am not sure how many inches I have to work with- but considered making a plexiglass window?

The framing will not be too difficult (I hope!) as there are flanges in the coop that will be easily attachable to wood studs... see in the pic...


We are going to frame it all out with (probably) 2x3s, and use styrofoam insulation, and put some sort of wall board over that. I am not decided on what type of wall board to use yet. The windows will be a challenge, as the metal is so heavy duty. We will cut the holes and insert the windows as we frame it out. My husband is pretty handy, but not a construction worker by trade.... I will be partitioning the coop with a "wire wall" and a screen door divider. The front 1/3 will be storage for tools and feed, the back 2/3 will be for the girls.

Something like this...


I will cut a small hole for a "doggie door" that lead to the run... I will mount my super cute, 4-hole nesting box on the wall and will make them a nice roost. I am going to find a new purpose for the 12 hole nesting boxes in the pic above. They are awesome, but take up too much space!

As far as coop management, I plan on doing the deep litter method- the right way!

So my question for you all is.... do you see any red flags? Is there any suggestions you would make? Anything I should re think?

Also- my husband believes he knows enough about electricity to run a line. Has anyone ever done this? It is approx. 250 feet from the house. I only need 1-2 outlets... a fan in the summer, and a light and water bowl for winter. This is my biggest concern
hu.gif


I am hoping we can get all this done after the weather breaks- in about 4 weeks or less. He is not working right now, so I think that is do-able? Right?? Or am I crazy? LOL

Any suggestions are appreciated.. I am so excited to get going on this!
 
What is your climate/location?

I'd suggest building a frame to raise coop a couple feet off the ground, high enough for you to crawl under if needed.
Can fence off under there as part of the run so they have space but you don't have to crawl too far.
Deters rodents from living there, gives the birds a place that's always dry to dust bathe and for shade.

Instead of digging down and out, just go out 18-24" for anti digger apron.
Might want to bury an inch or so, so mower doesn't hit mesh.

Wouldn't give or take electrical advice over the net.

4 weeks? I dunno, depends on if you have all the materials needed, hubby skills, and possible progress stopping problems.
It usually takes twice as long and costs 3 times as much as estimated....or is that 3 times as long and twice the cost?<scratcheshead>

Best of cLuck!
 
Oh Grazing Frames are great....I'd go smaller than that site shows tho.

http://www.thegardencoop.com/blog/2012/02/07/grazing-frames-backyard-chickens/

1/2" hardware cloth for grass-like leaved plants(sod and grains)
1 x 2" fencing for larger leaved plants.
When fresh planting seed I stack a second frame on top until roots are established or they pull the whole plant out.

I like the one at the top best and am converting the others over.
Ripped a half inch off the 2x4's and used it to cover mesh edges to avoid cut feet and subsequent infection (bumblefoot).



 
I love those boxes too! I am hoping though that if I plant the run early enough that it will grow up nice and thick before I get chicks (in may). If the run gets destroyed, I will build some of those boxes!

I will have almost a quarter acre for 8 birds, so hopefully they don't go through it too quick!
 

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