Hidden Forest Coop

[Jetpad]

Well shucks!

But, just two more days and you're in the chicken raising business!

I'm sorry if I missed it ( I thought I was keeping up with your build) but did you ever say what breed(s) you were getting? How many and from where if you don't mind me asking? I know you're on the opposite side of the country from me, but I still like to see what hatchery people choose. Thanks in advance..

I admire and share the desire to have the coop built BEFORE the chickens arrive BTW.

My chicks are now "Out for Delivery". I've got a little United Nations of breeds coming from Meyers Hatchery. They weren't exactly the breeds I was looking for but it was close enough for what was available. I'm getting one each of: Easter Egger, Golden Laced Wyandotte, Golden Buff, Cuckoo Marans, Black Australorp, Barred Rock and a Welsummer.

 

[Jetpad]

I just added a PVC feeder to the chicken coop.
Here is what it looks like behind the wall of the nesting boxes and the "utility room". The bottom left square is my utility room. It's where I have an electrical outlet and where I'll add the opening for filling the PVC feeder.

I've moved some of the dividers out of the way and cut a 4" hole in the floor of the coop. The end of a 4" PVC pipe is sticking up through the floor.


On the end of that PVC pipe I put an 90º elbow followed by a tiny piece of pipe and a 45º elbow. Next is another tiny piece of pipe and a cap fitting that ends right at the egg door.


Here's the view from the egg door side.

And here I've replaced the panel (which now has a hole for the elbow).


The view from underneath. I used two 45º elbows to make the turn so that it wouldn't be so abrupt and hopefully the feed will flow a little better.


Then, because I'm obsessive, I took a piece of drainage pipe, cut a slit down its side and slipped it around the PVC so it would be a little more hidden. I could have painted it instead but the chickens first job would probably be to scratch the paint off it.


I then made a little template for jigsawing a hole for the chickens to get to the food.


I had room for three holes and ended up making the middle one a little smaller. And to finish it, I put a cap on the end. None of the pipes are glued together at this point. They seem to fit well with just a friction fit. Only thing I'm not happy about is that there isn't an easy way to raise the height of it other than replacing the main vertical pipe with a shorter piece of pipe. My "Chicken Testing" is going to have to wait a while to see how well it works. My chicks are just a week old now.

 

[Jetpad]

Awesome coop, you should post in the coop pictures.

Those are some lucky chickens.

Too bad you have to hide your coop, it deserves a coop tour.

A couple of folks commented on crowing will reveal to all. But the girls do get loud and proud over their egg laying. And when more than one singing, it is very, very loud. Don't know how close your neighbors are, but if you have to hide the coop, bet you they will hear them in a few months. Hope they are friendly people and like eggs.

I think it is absurd that anyone can have dog kennels in their yards but our pet chickens don't get the same respect. So if anyone gives you a hassle, let them know these are just a new breed of dog that can lay eggs?

Thanks. I'll post in the coop thread after I get the chickens in it (maybe tomorrow). My closest neighbor is 101 feet away and the second closest is maybe 150 feet away. I think sound-wise I'll be ok but I've never raised chickens before so I don't know. The county regulations say that the coop has to be at least 100 feet away from the nearest neighbor and 25 feet from the property line and my coop satisfies those requirements. I put the coop in what any sane person would call my "backyard", but according to the county, it is my "side yard" and the county regulations say it is only suppose to be in the back yard.

Maybe I can teach them to bark when they lay?

 

[sunflour]

Thanks. I'll post in the coop thread after I get the chickens in it (maybe tomorrow). My closest neighbor is 101 feet away and the second closest is maybe 150 feet away. I think sound-wise I'll be ok but I've never raised chickens before so I don't know. The county regulations say that the coop has to be at least 100 feet away from the nearest neighbor and 25 feet from the property line and my coop satisfies those requirements. I put the coop in what any sane person would call my "backyard", but according to the county, it is my "side yard" and the county regulations say it is only suppose to be in the back yard.

Maybe I can teach them to bark when they lay?

Probably ought to go ahead and start teaching them to bark, unless your neighbors all have day jobs. As they get to teenage they honk like geese as their voices change, so, so funny. When they start to lay, some will be quiet, others fuss loudly if their favored nest is occupied, and others are bold and proud of their eggs and sing quite well, but loud. If they go broody they cluck, cluck, cluck and have irritable conflict with their friends. Even the most well behaved flock will have some episodes of screech over who ate the last worm or that's my place on the roost. I can hear mine from inside my house with all double glassed windows, dishwasher, washer dryer and radio on! They are quiet most of the time with sweet little chicken sounds. Some are quiet layers, others are very bold and proud.

But the noisy times are early in the day. By afternoon, all have laid and then they communicate with sweet little voices again.

 

[Jetpad]

Here are some pictures from their first week in the coop.


Taking a dustbath.




Coming down the ramp for the first time.


Checking out the tree they will soon destroy.


Watching an unfortunate caterpillar that wandered into the coop.

 

[Misn-1]

Jeff, not sure if you've read this entire thread, but IIRC jetpad went to the 'authorities', got an answer of NO and decided to build the coop in/for stealth mode.
Hopefully his bet with the risk turns out OK for him....time will tell.

I have read every post of this thread. And I do understand that in his opening post Jetpad stated that the county permit office "really didn't want me to put a coop on my property". My suggestion has nothing to do with the 'authorities' but with the one(s) that might report him to the authorities. I can only imagine how they (the authorities) might react if/when they find out that he went against their authority. They could make him completely remove the coop and/or face a fine...and then decide not to relax the ordinance at all. We all know how people in power might react to a situation where their authority has been challenged. For me, I would try to keep it away completely away from the county permit office by winning over the neighbors. If they don't complain, chances are that the ordinance may be changed and the county permit office would never know about the "stealth coop".

Worst case scenario that I can see if the finicky neighbor(s) don't like it is to find someone who can care for your flock until the ordinance can be amended/changed. Hopefully this way, the county permit office won't require you to completely remove the coop from your property.

You could always say that is your children's playhouse and those rogue feral chickens keep breaking in

Jeff

 

[sunflour]

I don't know the neighbor that was complaining but heard she lives several blocks from my house. I'm just kind of lumping her in the general group of neighbors that may be driving by my yard on one of the side streets. That's the group I'm trying to hiding the coop from. I'm assuming she has better things to do and since she doesn't live near me won't be a problem (but you never know). I don't think my immediately neighbors will be a problem. They either know about the coop and will be getting some eggs or work so much (so that I've never met them) that hardly have any time probably to look out their windows or even go into their yards.

But my personality is definitely to do things on the down-low rather than try to get everyone's approval ahead-of-time for something that's not cleared with the county. Chickens are not actually banned in my county. In fact someone got a ruling a few years ago where they claimed the chickens were exempt from the (100 foot distance from neighbors) requirements because they were pets. Unfortunately, the old rules are still on the books and very ambiguous.


What is kind-of funny is, when I tried to get the permit, the permit office said it would be ok if I kept the chickens in my house or garage or I could even add a room onto my house for them but it wasn't ok to build a separate shed in my back (well actually what turns out to be my side) yard.

Well, if you need a petition that states chickens are pets, in fact "they are the new dog" , then I will be happy to sign or email for you. It is so absurd that most cities allow vicious dogs in neighborhoods but not sweet , productive chickens makes me so mad. A close friend of mine was mauled by her neighbors dog and her only recourse is a civil lawsuit!

So, if the nosey neighbors give you flack and officials give you problems, just plead this is a dog pen, and these are exotic dogs!

Truly, I hope all leave you and your family alone….why everyone doesn't want backyard or side yard chickens is beyond my comprehension.

All that said, you have a remarkable coop, chickens and children….good luck.

 

[aart]

I decided to take the hardware cloth off my chicken ladder. It gave them good traction and they didn't have any problems with getting toes stuck in it. The problem is it was the dirtiest part of the coop and was getting caked with chicken poop behind the grid of the hardware cloth. Unfortunately, now it is a little slippery. If it's still slippery after it gets a little dirty, I'll take it down and put some sand mixed with paint on it. I might even cut some slots in the board behind each step where the poop seems to collect.

Just put a concrete block, tallways, under the end of the ramp to lessen the angle...it's pretty steep.

 

[Jetpad]

Yea, we had 20F two days ago and it froze up. I think the birdbath heater wasn't working very well because it wasn't in the water. It would only come on for a few minutes and then turn off. The heat wasn't getting transferred to the tank even though it was laying right against it. So I took the coop apart so that I could get to the top of the tank and cut a hole in it so that I can drop the heater down into the water (that had ice floating in it). Now, the heater has been running non-stop since then and I'm wondering when it is going to click off. The outside temperature is now 52F and the tank water temperature is up to 47F. I've also wrapped the pipes with a little bit of insulation. Tonight will be another test, it should get down to the low 20s. I've got my fingers crossed since I'm going to be going out of town for a few days next week and I don't want my chicken sitter to have to mess with bringing them unfrozen water.

 

[Jetpad]

This latest cold snap froze my chicken nipples. My water tank (which is insulated) was fine but the pipes to the nipples froze up so I created an insulated box to wrap around them (since the chickens would eat the insulation otherwise).