Small but they have free range all day. It's prefabricated and we had to reinforce quite a bit but was only around 300. Not bad for such ease of putting together. I have found many others at better prices but my wife thought this would add to the appeal of the back yard and we would not look like trash. lol We are both new to urban Chickens. We have a tall privacy fence in the back that's about an acre and then all around that on the other side is a chain link fence. I think we are pretty safe from predators. I've only seen Hawks and a snake here and there and I was born in this home. We don't have neighboors behind us but a small forest. I'm sure there are raccoons out there so we made it raccoon proof. If a snake is going to get it then it's going to get in. Not the house part of the coop but the runs.
Finished the 9 foot run on my coop. It's galvanized metal. It's an expensive metal and it's hard to manipulate it and all but impossible to cut it. We had it left over from a rabbit coop from when I was a kid. We were able to manipulate it then because we had a 7 thous dollar press that dad has been letting someone rent monthly for years. All we had to do was turn it upside down and make some minor adjustments to make it a run I did not think about what would happen if a chicken laid an egg in that part. It would be all but impossible to get to it. I will take a photo and see if anyone has any suggestions. Keep in mind I have two of these and a 3rd ugly coop that is hidden behind a garage. That's plenty of room for 12 chickens.
It was scrap that we had here but its very heavy duty. We had to raise the run up quite a bit because the diamonds in the top could potently be sharp and I'm afraid if any of them had a large Crest it would cut it. I should have sprayed the inside with liquid rubber but did not think about that either. I remember when i was a kid and this was the bottom of the rabbit coop we had to put down a small Gage cheap wire to keep it from cutting the rabbits feet. ugh, I did not prepare and now that it's together, the ground had been dug and it's been predator proofed it's there to stay. We built the entire coop against a chain length fence so nothing is getting in from the back. I secured the front with 8 inch wide wood and laid it down around the perimeter of the entire coop and secured it into the ground. I'm going add soil over the wood because I had to dig a few inches to get it flush and then put sod over the top of the wood. I will add a little soil and then the sod. I don't think we have anything to worry about since the backyard has a privacy fence on our side and a chain length on the other but I still did as all my "poultry" friends suggested and took the extra steps to ensure their safety. I could cut a few wholes in the top so I could reach in and grab an egg every couple of feet or so but I don't think I have anything to cut such a heavy Gage of wire. Hopefully they will lay in their nest boxes and it won't be a problem. It's in the perfect spot. 60 percent of the day is complete sunshine and then the rest of the day is shade and that's afternoon shade. Close to the garage for electricity.
We added a light bulb to the inside of the house part of the coop. I'm going to put a small 75 infrared light in there that cuts on at dusk and a fan on the top for ventilation. The window is plexy glass so I can take that out in the warm months and add it back when it's cold. They will be free run so not as large as I would have preferred but will be fine because they will be outside of it 75 percent of the day. Not as pretty as you girls might think but it looks nice and I'm proud of it. Now can't wait to get these chicks outside. Just 2 more weeks if the weather is just right. I'm going to start taking them out for a few hours every day on warm days and close off the coop just so they can get use to it and use the light for warmth. Night Night and Trick or Treat. Ill post a picture tomorrow. This will be partial home for four Red Comets, one Rhode Island Red and one mystery breed. We are not sure on the Rhode I Red. I think it's a mix of a RI Red. We are getting four mystery brown egg layers on the 5th or 6th. We are giving two away. All we know is that they have a list of about 7 brown egg layers and they will be a mix of those and all hens. We don't have a rooster. It will be fun trying to figure out what they are. We have a ugly but very reliable, weather proof and predator proof coop hidden in the yard since we will have more birds than this will accommodate. It's much larger but ugly. That's why it's hidden behind the Garage and some Cedar trees. You can't see it if looking out the window to the back yard. I have two pullets in in it now. It's HUGE but not kind to the eyes. We are going to introduce the two week old chicks to the new one for a month or so and as they get older they can choose which one to roost in.
Have a good day,
Joseph
PS. Ive got to find a current avatar picture. That was is super old and now I'm grown man. I look nothing like that but I don't have anything current in the pic. You all think I'm a kid. I'm 33. I was in my 20's in that pic.
