For the dust bath, a mix of peat moss and wood ash is GREAT....they love it....I have the same sandbox setup.....do your chickens get a bit scared when you take off the top of the sandbox?
Oops just saw this comment - nope they don't get upset by the top coming off or on the sandbox. They look forward to the sandbox being opened up especially in the winter, when it's the only dry part of the run, so they gather around when I open it.
This is a great coop! Lots of ventilation, nice fenced run covered in netting, and adorable "extras!" I love how you included pictures of your old coop vs your new coop. I can see a lot of BYC influence in there, and I'm sure the Egg Song Factory will pass on that inspiration to others. Very well done!
Yes there's a lot of BYC influence. I don't think the new coop would've come out nearly the same without it, from amount of ventilation to the litter used. I'm glad someone urged me to photograph both old and new coops together before the old one was removed, because it really does illustrate the difference between what I thought I knew going in, and what I've learned in the 2 years since then.
Years ago, if anyone had told me what I'd find fascinating today, I'd would have thought they were bat-crazy! This new coop of yours is wonderfully thought out and while being practicable is a pretty home for your girls! I hope they have thanked you properly!
I read the article beginning to end utterly intrigued. Thank you for sharing!
I like it a lot. It's very well thought out. I am stealing the idea of obstacles in the run - I have pushed everything into corners to keep the run wide open, but it makes sense to have feeders, waters, dust baths and other things act as obstacles to provide coverage when somebody steps out of the pecking order. I like the creative touches to the coop. We are building a new coop by converted a portion of our shed to a coop. This has inspired me to have some fun with it.
For some reason I thought I had my run layout in this article too - fixed now!
Even though I no longer need the obstacles for integration purposes the chickens seem to like having some clutter in the run. Not only does it continue to provide hiding spots for lower ranked birds but I find that the chickens just seem to like having things to explore around.
I love reading stories like this. Your chickens are lucky to have you! I, too started with a prefabricated coop, as we aren't allowed chickens in my town. So I figured if I get "busted" I'll be out about $500. So this Spring I'm building a great lil home for the Egg Queens!
Thank you for sharing your story!!!