This a just the beginning of a long saga (4 months) of building the best prison unit, oops - I mean chicken coop in Walker County!
Over the next several days I will be adding detailed descriptions, plans and pictures of my labor of love for those fowl birds.
As we all have done, I started small and simple and ended up large and complex. And way over budget.
If you're from Texas you know that most of our prison units are in Walker County and when I finally had to raise the yard fence from four feet to seven fence by adding plastic fencing I knew right then what to call the new coops which now look like a prison unit. Ewton is my wife's parent's last name. Texas prison units are named after famous people.
Basic design was a single 6 x 7 coop connected to a 6 x 8 run. Got the plans off ebay for $18. It was the least expensive item I bought.
After deciding to raise two flocks I added the second coop and divided the run in half. Then added front and rear excercise yards for the inmates. The Speckled Sussex hens quickly learned how to fly the coop and I was worried the warden's dog would eat them.
So I raised the front yard fence three feet and it seems to be working.
Each coop should handle around a dozen hens but due to over crowding as the oversized flock which has grown in leaps and bounds, I have begun an early release program to get to the two dozen capacity of the unit.
(Any one want some New Hampshire Reds or Speckled Sussex hens to be freed on their good behavior?)
Tomorrow plans and pictures.
Over the next several days I will be adding detailed descriptions, plans and pictures of my labor of love for those fowl birds.
As we all have done, I started small and simple and ended up large and complex. And way over budget.
If you're from Texas you know that most of our prison units are in Walker County and when I finally had to raise the yard fence from four feet to seven fence by adding plastic fencing I knew right then what to call the new coops which now look like a prison unit. Ewton is my wife's parent's last name. Texas prison units are named after famous people.
Basic design was a single 6 x 7 coop connected to a 6 x 8 run. Got the plans off ebay for $18. It was the least expensive item I bought.
After deciding to raise two flocks I added the second coop and divided the run in half. Then added front and rear excercise yards for the inmates. The Speckled Sussex hens quickly learned how to fly the coop and I was worried the warden's dog would eat them.
So I raised the front yard fence three feet and it seems to be working.
Each coop should handle around a dozen hens but due to over crowding as the oversized flock which has grown in leaps and bounds, I have begun an early release program to get to the two dozen capacity of the unit.
(Any one want some New Hampshire Reds or Speckled Sussex hens to be freed on their good behavior?)
Tomorrow plans and pictures.