I thought since we had chicks in the brooder and ducklings and goslings on order that it would be a good idea to have a huge coop that could house them all.
I've since re-thought that, but we are stuck with we have for the moment and it has been a huge learning curve.
We ordered an 8x10 shed planning on splitting it down the middle and putting chickens on one side, waterfowl on the other. It didn't work out that way at all. When we got the thing put together it was so flimsy, we ended up framing the whole inside. It has a plastic floor screwed to pallets (we will put it on concrete when we decide the newe spot is the right spot). Once nesting boxes, food and Pullet Shut door went in, it didn't make sense to split it. Currently, the chickens are up high and waterfowl on the floor, all are free-range on 10 acres during the day. It also turned out the placement of the coop was bad so we jacked it up, put on 2x4 skids and dragged it across the yard.
When we lock them up for the night, there are boards that go through the c-channels at the top and bottom of the barn doors, a lock where the doors meet and there is hardware cloth over all openings.
The shed has ventilation through the skylight, the eaves, 2 gable vents, 2 windows and 2 vents we put in lower to the ground to help the breeze get through in summer. We do plan to put overhangs and/or awnings over all of them to better help keep precipitation out (you can see the current method is close windows and lean a board against the low vents).
The feeders are 3" pvc gravity feeders with screw on caps so I can close them up at night. I also remove water at night to try to keep the moisture and smell from ducks and geese to a minimum. I say try because they are wet and smelly no matter what.
We moved the coop to an area under some trees and next to the compost pile so it could easily be shoveled out without having to use the wagon.
We have a solar light that shines inside when the doors are open so the ducks and geese aren't so scared to go in. It took us a while to figure out they are afraid of shadows and dark places.
I made nest boxes for the chickens, but they prefer the 5gallon buckets. I made a large corner roost ladder and they preferred to roost in the rafters so it was dismantled. I used an old koi pond to make them a huge dust bath, but they prefer my flower beds for that. My husband and I are learning as we go and the birds are always proving to us that sometimes our ideas aren't the greatest. So hopefully our current project of building a separate house and run for the waterfowl works out.
At the moment we are just hoping everyone makes it through this 3 day ice storm alive and well.
I've since re-thought that, but we are stuck with we have for the moment and it has been a huge learning curve.
We ordered an 8x10 shed planning on splitting it down the middle and putting chickens on one side, waterfowl on the other. It didn't work out that way at all. When we got the thing put together it was so flimsy, we ended up framing the whole inside. It has a plastic floor screwed to pallets (we will put it on concrete when we decide the newe spot is the right spot). Once nesting boxes, food and Pullet Shut door went in, it didn't make sense to split it. Currently, the chickens are up high and waterfowl on the floor, all are free-range on 10 acres during the day. It also turned out the placement of the coop was bad so we jacked it up, put on 2x4 skids and dragged it across the yard.
When we lock them up for the night, there are boards that go through the c-channels at the top and bottom of the barn doors, a lock where the doors meet and there is hardware cloth over all openings.
The shed has ventilation through the skylight, the eaves, 2 gable vents, 2 windows and 2 vents we put in lower to the ground to help the breeze get through in summer. We do plan to put overhangs and/or awnings over all of them to better help keep precipitation out (you can see the current method is close windows and lean a board against the low vents).
The feeders are 3" pvc gravity feeders with screw on caps so I can close them up at night. I also remove water at night to try to keep the moisture and smell from ducks and geese to a minimum. I say try because they are wet and smelly no matter what.
We moved the coop to an area under some trees and next to the compost pile so it could easily be shoveled out without having to use the wagon.
We have a solar light that shines inside when the doors are open so the ducks and geese aren't so scared to go in. It took us a while to figure out they are afraid of shadows and dark places.
I made nest boxes for the chickens, but they prefer the 5gallon buckets. I made a large corner roost ladder and they preferred to roost in the rafters so it was dismantled. I used an old koi pond to make them a huge dust bath, but they prefer my flower beds for that. My husband and I are learning as we go and the birds are always proving to us that sometimes our ideas aren't the greatest. So hopefully our current project of building a separate house and run for the waterfowl works out.
At the moment we are just hoping everyone makes it through this 3 day ice storm alive and well.
