- Jul 29, 2008
- 29
- 3
- 87
(how the heck do you post pictures on this forum??)
YAY. Its been more than a few obsessive nights in the making, but its finally done!
Tonight was hilarious. I got the ladies out of their temporary-turned-short-term housing (my shed) at about 7. The weather's been lousy lately and they've been going to bed earlier....so apparently it was bed time for them. I put them into the new coop and they were doing the "where's my bed" wander. Since I was sitting in the tractor with them, they all wanted to roost on ME! It was absolutely hilarious. I had all three of them on my shoulders/head/back at one point--and I couldn't shake them! They were giving me goosebumps!
Anyway, after a few minutes of bonding with them (they're usually very flighty) I put them into their night box and they seemed happy.
So all in all, a very time intensive effort, but well worth it!
Some notes on the construction:
The purple paint is non-toxic. It matches the house *perfectly*, I'm thrilled!
I know the poultry netting isn't very secure, but these ladies are in a fully fenced yard and we (amazingly) don't have raccoons in our area (lots of dogs around...probably keeps them scared off). But just in case, I used galvanized fence "staples" (more like nails!) every three inches. I have a hard time believing a raccoon could get through it even if he had all night.
The coop is *way* heavier than I wanted it to be, but at least its solid. With two people, moving it is possible. Not fun, but definitely do-able. I"m thinking about putting wheels on the heavy end, sorta like a wheel-barrow.
Things I would do differently next time:
Make the roof overhangs (eaves) larger. It rains a LOT here and I think that keeping their run dry will be key to keeping things from stinking. Plus its more pleasant for me to hang out with them when the grass isn't all soggy.
Make a studier door--that thing is kinda flimsy and its already sagged a bit. Its tough to close. Kinda cheesy construction.
When I figure out how...I'll post lots of pics!
YAY. Its been more than a few obsessive nights in the making, but its finally done!
Tonight was hilarious. I got the ladies out of their temporary-turned-short-term housing (my shed) at about 7. The weather's been lousy lately and they've been going to bed earlier....so apparently it was bed time for them. I put them into the new coop and they were doing the "where's my bed" wander. Since I was sitting in the tractor with them, they all wanted to roost on ME! It was absolutely hilarious. I had all three of them on my shoulders/head/back at one point--and I couldn't shake them! They were giving me goosebumps!
Anyway, after a few minutes of bonding with them (they're usually very flighty) I put them into their night box and they seemed happy.
So all in all, a very time intensive effort, but well worth it!
Some notes on the construction:
The purple paint is non-toxic. It matches the house *perfectly*, I'm thrilled!
I know the poultry netting isn't very secure, but these ladies are in a fully fenced yard and we (amazingly) don't have raccoons in our area (lots of dogs around...probably keeps them scared off). But just in case, I used galvanized fence "staples" (more like nails!) every three inches. I have a hard time believing a raccoon could get through it even if he had all night.
The coop is *way* heavier than I wanted it to be, but at least its solid. With two people, moving it is possible. Not fun, but definitely do-able. I"m thinking about putting wheels on the heavy end, sorta like a wheel-barrow.
Things I would do differently next time:
Make the roof overhangs (eaves) larger. It rains a LOT here and I think that keeping their run dry will be key to keeping things from stinking. Plus its more pleasant for me to hang out with them when the grass isn't all soggy.
Make a studier door--that thing is kinda flimsy and its already sagged a bit. Its tough to close. Kinda cheesy construction.
When I figure out how...I'll post lots of pics!
