rgunn1
In the Brooder
So, as total NOOBs to the chicken world, we ran over to the local TSC and bought more birds than we knew what to do with. We currently have 9, what I believe to be White Plymouth Rocks (correct me if you think otherwise). Right after we acquired our bird-herd, I stumbled across plans for the Kerr Chicken Tractor.
http://kerrcenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/chicken_tractor_plus_plans.pdf
So I built one. Not exactly according to plan, as our run it a foot taller and two feet longer, but fast forward a few weeks and it became apparent that our flock was going to outgrow this situation. A friend of mine offered to give me a coop that was on his property. I started another thread in which I'll be rebuilding that coop (https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/989985/new-to-me-project-coop) but our birds were 15 weeks old as of yesterday and I was worried about getting them into a better laying situation. The "new-to-me" coop looked like it was going to be more of a project than I initially anticipated...
So it dawned on me, that it might be easier to enclose our current run, turning the Kerr chicken tractor into a permanent coop, after which I will attach a new and much larger run (11 x 22 to be exact). This will provide for a more permanent home for our herd while we work on the "new-to-me" coop. The goal for that project will be to expand the herd, and that thread will pick up at another date. Here I will document the progress on converting the Kerr Tractor.
So our current situation in Louisiana is... RAIN. Lots of it. Mud everywhere, and yesterday as I started this project it was no exception.
I started by ordering the supplies we would need from Lowe's. After receiving a confirmation email stating that our order was ready, we stopped by around 8:00pm on Saturday night on our way home from a party. I assumed the order would be "palletized" and ready for "shipment." That was not the case... so they finished pulling the order after we got there and four guys loaded us up by hand. Note the location of the pavers... more on that in a bit.
And my trusty helpers
And then... RAIN.
I think it took me the better part of two hours to offload all of the supplies into my shed. And back to those pavers... one of the first things I needed to do was to coat the bottom of the posts for the run in asphalt fence paint. If you have Lowe's load your trailer, have them put the pavers on the bottom!!! I had to unload everything just to get to my posts... Ugh. My plan is to line the outside of the run with pavers instead of digging down and burying hardware cloth. I thought that would be easier than digging, but at this point I should mention, that 80 pavers don't move themselves!
So to start I took everything out of the coop:
I didn't have much of a plan for the nesting boxes, so I just started measuring, cutting and building
This is our rooster. His name is "Pig."
Installed a new roost inside of the coop. I'll have to redo it as the project moves forward... but meh... I figured the herd would appreciate it.
Almost done, just need to add the "nesting" boxes.
I used small rubbermaid bins... an idea I picked up from here at BYC:
And just as I finish up with the nesting boxes... RAIN.
So, finished with the nesting boxes for now. I'll work on coating the bottom of the posts for the run during the week this week. Hopefully next weekend I'll be able to remove the untreated siding (I don't know why the Kerr instructions called for un-treated but you can see how ugly it is after only a few months of weather). The plan will be to install all new siding to enclose the run making it the new coop, move the coop back on our property to a better permanent location, and if we have time get to work on the new run.
Thanks for viewing... more to follow!
http://kerrcenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/chicken_tractor_plus_plans.pdf
So I built one. Not exactly according to plan, as our run it a foot taller and two feet longer, but fast forward a few weeks and it became apparent that our flock was going to outgrow this situation. A friend of mine offered to give me a coop that was on his property. I started another thread in which I'll be rebuilding that coop (https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/989985/new-to-me-project-coop) but our birds were 15 weeks old as of yesterday and I was worried about getting them into a better laying situation. The "new-to-me" coop looked like it was going to be more of a project than I initially anticipated...
So it dawned on me, that it might be easier to enclose our current run, turning the Kerr chicken tractor into a permanent coop, after which I will attach a new and much larger run (11 x 22 to be exact). This will provide for a more permanent home for our herd while we work on the "new-to-me" coop. The goal for that project will be to expand the herd, and that thread will pick up at another date. Here I will document the progress on converting the Kerr Tractor.
So our current situation in Louisiana is... RAIN. Lots of it. Mud everywhere, and yesterday as I started this project it was no exception.
I started by ordering the supplies we would need from Lowe's. After receiving a confirmation email stating that our order was ready, we stopped by around 8:00pm on Saturday night on our way home from a party. I assumed the order would be "palletized" and ready for "shipment." That was not the case... so they finished pulling the order after we got there and four guys loaded us up by hand. Note the location of the pavers... more on that in a bit.
And my trusty helpers
And then... RAIN.
I think it took me the better part of two hours to offload all of the supplies into my shed. And back to those pavers... one of the first things I needed to do was to coat the bottom of the posts for the run in asphalt fence paint. If you have Lowe's load your trailer, have them put the pavers on the bottom!!! I had to unload everything just to get to my posts... Ugh. My plan is to line the outside of the run with pavers instead of digging down and burying hardware cloth. I thought that would be easier than digging, but at this point I should mention, that 80 pavers don't move themselves!
So to start I took everything out of the coop:
I didn't have much of a plan for the nesting boxes, so I just started measuring, cutting and building
This is our rooster. His name is "Pig."
Installed a new roost inside of the coop. I'll have to redo it as the project moves forward... but meh... I figured the herd would appreciate it.
Almost done, just need to add the "nesting" boxes.
I used small rubbermaid bins... an idea I picked up from here at BYC:
And just as I finish up with the nesting boxes... RAIN.
So, finished with the nesting boxes for now. I'll work on coating the bottom of the posts for the run during the week this week. Hopefully next weekend I'll be able to remove the untreated siding (I don't know why the Kerr instructions called for un-treated but you can see how ugly it is after only a few months of weather). The plan will be to install all new siding to enclose the run making it the new coop, move the coop back on our property to a better permanent location, and if we have time get to work on the new run.
Thanks for viewing... more to follow!
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