chickadee777
In the Brooder
Hi! I'm new to keeping chickens. I have six Buff Orpington chicks who have been doing great. They are going a bit stir crazy and ready to get outside. I'm working on getting my coop delivered. I ordered this one:
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...k-in-chateau-chicken-coop-14-chicken-capacity
Been a bit of a battle because the delivery has been delayed and the freight company can't make it down my road due to low power lines, but I should be able to have it dropped off at my local TSC and load it into my van. In the meantime, I let the ladies out to forage in the grass in a nylon screenhouse for a couple hours a day.
I have questions about the best foundation. I live in Vermont, so we get a lot of snow in the winter and mud in April. I've heard of some people putting their coops / runs on 4x4 runners. This is a heavy 400+ pound coop and run, and not sure if that's my best option. I'm wondering if maybe I should put some gravel down to help with drainage. If so, would that need to be done before I build the coop?
I also plan to use hardware cloth as a predator barrier. I've heard of people digging up the ground around the run and burying it, and that's what I plan to do. So not sure how to make sure I have proper drainage through that process. I did pick the driest, sunniest spot on my lawn to install the coop, so that should help.
I will have to keep this coop and run in one spot. How would I keep the run nice and sanitary since it will not be moved around?
Thank you for reading and any input you have!
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...k-in-chateau-chicken-coop-14-chicken-capacity
Been a bit of a battle because the delivery has been delayed and the freight company can't make it down my road due to low power lines, but I should be able to have it dropped off at my local TSC and load it into my van. In the meantime, I let the ladies out to forage in the grass in a nylon screenhouse for a couple hours a day.
I have questions about the best foundation. I live in Vermont, so we get a lot of snow in the winter and mud in April. I've heard of some people putting their coops / runs on 4x4 runners. This is a heavy 400+ pound coop and run, and not sure if that's my best option. I'm wondering if maybe I should put some gravel down to help with drainage. If so, would that need to be done before I build the coop?
I also plan to use hardware cloth as a predator barrier. I've heard of people digging up the ground around the run and burying it, and that's what I plan to do. So not sure how to make sure I have proper drainage through that process. I did pick the driest, sunniest spot on my lawn to install the coop, so that should help.
I will have to keep this coop and run in one spot. How would I keep the run nice and sanitary since it will not be moved around?
Thank you for reading and any input you have!
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