Beginning coop construction...

[TerryH]

Ohhhhh.... I was thinking barrel latch..like this:
http://s1.img-b.com/build.com/imagebase/resized/330x320/deltanaimages/deltana-2bbu26-470.jpg

Same concept just a more heavy duty version.

 

[aart]

Quote: Oh, wow, never seen one with a lock hole in it.

 

[beautifulpirate]

Isn't it fun to watch them in the run??
That's one heck of a nice run...good job!

That latch, good that it can be locked with padlock... or a carabineer......
BUT.....it can TRAP you in the run!!
I'd suggest changing it out to something that doesn't automatically latch and put a screen door spring on it to automatically close it.
Even if you put a string or wire to go inside....shm..... had fits with one of those and wouldn't ever use one on and enclosed area.

I'll play with and see what I can do. I dislike the idea of having spent money on it, only not to use it and I mentioned to the husband that I will rig a sturdy wire to the top to run through to the other side. Also the door is quite snug. It could be a pita later but as of now, it won't fully close without some gentle persuasion, which means it won't latch. It closes to the point of no escapees but won't hit the latch unless you push on it a bit. I don't think a spring (which we still plan on installing) will be strong enough to pull it to the point of latching either. And as a last back up, if I go outside, my four year old goes outside. She is fully capable of opening the latch for me if something happens and I got stuck. Granted she will start school soon so I will definitely do some testing to protect myself from getting stuck.

Dreamsinpink- I went out about ten minutes after sunset tonight. It was still reasonably light out as I could easily navigate my yard and the slew of toys in it without a flashlight, so it may still have been too early to put them up. But, three of the six, put themselves into the coop, two of them were on the uppermost cleat of the ramp and one of them was perching on the wall of the run, closest to the coop. So it was very easy to shoo them into the coop tonight before closing the door. Tomorrow I will try a little bit later to see if they all go in.

 

[beautifulpirate]

Also aart, it's hilarious to watch them. My husband hasn't shown as much enthusiasm about the chickens themselves as the build. I know he cares about me and likes seeing me get happy over them but today he actually mentioned how fun it was to watch them because one of them found a bug and they all took off running after it. One of them would snatch it from the first and then they'd go running in the other ddirection. Haha, they also like the ramp more than I thought. So many people mention how rarely their birds use the ramp and I probably made it a bit overkill on the length, but they liked running straight off of it and some of them even just laid down to hang out on it at times. Silly chickens.

 

[beautifulpirate]

Hmm, I've been reading up on it and have read people have been successful after having them in the coop for only a week or two and others who've left them in the coop for 3 or 4 weeks and still had to chase them down to carry them into the coop. lol And that would be just my luck!!

Three were in tonight. Tapped on the windowsat the back of the coop and the other three wandered in. At least two were already up on the roost bar and three were rosted on the window sills haha. One was loafing around on the coop floor.

But it was a pretty effortless night as far as putting them up goes. I'll take it.

Here is a view from the rear of the coop with the finished run. Still need to trim out both doors and add some weather stripping because when we made the door cutouts, they werent perfect. But we have a long while before winter hits.

I think I want to put concrete blocks all around the exterior perimeter of the run walls. It will add some extra protection against predators and I have the idea of adding potting soil to the openings in the blocks and planting all chicken edible varieties of herbs and grasses. With the 1/2" hwc, they wont be able to reach through for much of the greenery. A bit of it may grow through or close enough which is fine but we can also cut down handfuls easily enough to toss in. Of course our property is pretty overgrown anyway right now so I can toss in lots of fresh cut stuff easily haha. But in a year or so after we are done clearing it, it will be pretty and nice to have easy access for chicken friendly greens right there. We wont have to worry about running them over with the mower too.

 

[DreamsInPink]

Three were in tonight. Tapped on the windowsat the back of the coop and the other three wandered in. At least two were already up on the roost bar and three were rosted on the window sills haha. One was loafing around on the coop floor.

But it was a pretty effortless night as far as putting them up goes. I'll take it.

Here is a view from the rear of the coop with the finished run. Still need to trim out both doors and add some weather stripping because when we made the door cutouts, they werent perfect. But we have a long while before winter hits.

I think I want to put concrete blocks all around the exterior perimeter of the run walls. It will add some extra protection against predators and I have the idea of adding potting soil to the openings in the blocks and planting all chicken edible varieties of herbs and grasses. With the 1/2" hwc, they wont be able to reach through for much of the greenery. A bit of it may grow through or close enough which is fine but we can also cut down handfuls easily enough to toss in. Of course our property is pretty overgrown anyway right now so I can toss in lots of fresh cut stuff easily haha. But in a year or so after we are done clearing it, it will be pretty and nice to have easy access for chicken friendly greens right there. We wont have to worry about running them over with the mower too.

I am just sooo anxious to get mine outside!! It won't be long now I hope. It's been cold and rainy here, so we haven't been doing much outside.. plus I've been working a lot. Boo!

I really like the looks of your coop. It's so cute! Mine is ugly right now... that's why I haven't really put any pictures up. That is a really good idea about the cement blocks... instant flower pots! And a boost in predator protection. I also considered don't a little herb/greens garden for the chickens out by the coop. I still may. I have a nice tree near the coop, I wonder if any herbs do well in shade..? I've never had herbs before.

 

[beautifulpirate]

Added a chicken swing...

Lydia was the only one to brave it...

 

[beautifulpirate]

You'll love it when you get them outside. At least every day when it hasnt been raining, we have been going out and just sitting around or standing around the chicken coop and talking about them. Haha. We've been tweaking things here and there and making an effort to toss scraps and grass in because it is awesome to watch them. Today my husband mowed the lawn and I went out to rake it all up. I put an entire large wheelbarrow load of grass clippings into the run and it seriously has entertained them for hours. They dig through it for the bugs and it is the funniest thing to watch them slurp up long blades of grass.

 

[DreamsInPink]

I love your chicken swing! I want to do that too, but my run isn't going to be enclosed at the top right away... and I don't want to give them an advantage to try to fly out! hahaha!

I'm so excited to get more done... Bf got a door/gate on the run today.. but he said he has to set another post before he can finish it.. and we don't have an extra post. Ugh.

We spent a good deal of time in the coop tonight... we let the teenagers out of the introduction pen to mingle with the older ones for about 2 hours or so. I didn't go too badly, but they meaties weren't letting them eat.. and the Isa Browns were doing a little bit of 'herding'. But that's about what I expected. I put the teens safely back in the intro pen before we came in. We also changed out the leg bands on all the Isas. They had grown a lot! I just find it fascinating how fast they grow!!! I'm really looking to getting them all in together and then getting the Buff Orpington babies out in the intro pen.

 

[TerryH]

Added a chicken swing...

Lydia was the only one to brave it...

That's cool!! I'm going to have to make one of those when I get to building the run.