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  1. perkolator

    Tell me what’s wrong with our nesting boxes

    I would add a short lip at the bottom, which should provide more privacy and also keep out that bedding. Something not mentioned yet - right now in late summer/early fall is when a lot of chickens will go through molt and stop laying until their hormones/bodies do their thing. Perhaps this is...
  2. perkolator

    Care free coop

    Without any pic, I'd guess BSF (Black Soldier Fly) larvae, as they like to live in compost. They are FANTASTIC at waste consumption and are even used in sizeable operations to process certain waste streams. At one point I was raising some in a tub, on old food and rodent carcasses - the...
  3. perkolator

    Shelving under roosting bars

    I would brace the shelves to prevent sagging, probably 1x2 lumber on the perimeter in the tall direction to save on weight vs thicker lumber that will weigh even more. I'd also use the trays on shelf as suggested, instead of moving the whole shelf every time.
  4. perkolator

    Do I Need a Ladder? (New to Raising Chickens)

    Why would they need a booster/stool/ladder for the nest boxes, if the roost bars are another foot higher? A chicken that size can jump/fly 4-5ft easily, so my suggestion is add nothing inside. If that's a pic of the inside of this coop, adding more obstructions in such a small footprint...
  5. perkolator

    Shelving under roosting bars

    I'm assuming this is a poop board -- is it no longer functioning now that the board warped? Pics of the problem?
  6. perkolator

    It's too nice for my chickens.... :(

    That's a pretty awesome goat house! Lots of work to use logs, but if I had all those trees I'd likely be using them too - will you be doing the same? I could see this design being tweaked a little to make it into a chicken coop. This is probably what I would do: - I imagine the porch is the...
  7. perkolator

    Coop with “wings”

    Right on. No extra protection for the gable ends?
  8. perkolator

    TIL: Fence top roller bars - do they keep chickens in?

    I did this to my extended run fencing because of one particular escape artist. Clipping wings wasn't an option for me, so they can better escape predators if they have to. I used mason string to make two lines above the top of the 5ft fence, the top wire was over 6ft. Worked for a little...
  9. perkolator

    Pics of Chain link, reinforced with Hardware cloth

    I'm surprised there aren't many pics of what I thought was a fairly common combo, since kennels and construction fence panels could be used for runs. Is there something specific you want to see? Probably doesn't help much but here's one pic by @Chook-A-Holic, showing how they overlapped the HC...
  10. perkolator

    Chicken Run Foundation Over Hardware Cloth

    Glad to hear you'll be making a few upgrades for the snow. Coming outside to see a collapsed coop/run from snow, has to be one of the most horrifying things to see. I still have concerns over the wood coop structure even though it's 2x4 construction - the low pitch of that roof will likely...
  11. perkolator

    Digging out a run

    Sounds like one heck of a project. I had to dig out my run for adding HC as well, but I definitely didn't task myself to go down 2ft, that sounds excessive. I did it with lots of elbow grease, rototiller, shovel and wheelbarrow. I went about 6" deep to bury my 1/2" HC, put the dirt back and...
  12. perkolator

    Chicken Run Foundation Over Hardware Cloth

    Do you have a bunch of digging rodents and predators in your area? I see you mention changing it up isn't an option, but personally I'd take it out in favor of a perimeter skirt, mostly because it's 1/4" HC used on the ground. 1/4" HC is only 23-ga thick vs 1/2" HC at 19-ga, and with ground...
  13. perkolator

    Pull down nesting box door

    Good job - does it weigh less and easier to operate now? If it’s still feeling heavy, I think you could reduce the braces down to 3. I suggest adding a strip of wood for more height on the wall at the back of the nest boxes. depending on what bedding you use, you may have issues with bedding...
  14. perkolator

    Tell Me All Your Hardware Cloth Secrets

    Either local farm supply or Amazon. Last time I got some it was slightly cheaper on Amazon at $120 for 48”x100’ 1/2” HC
  15. perkolator

    Tell Me All Your Hardware Cloth Secrets

    Here's my tips after using a few hundred feet of HC in my lifetime for various projects. First off, wear PPE if you don't want to get poked! Long sleeves and pants and gloves and eye protection! I prefer to use an angle grinder w/cutoff wheel, as it allows me to get a pretty tight cut along...
  16. perkolator

    Suggestions on Cleaning Run

    Since you have so few birds and grass still growing, I'd be tempted to just keep watering and cutting it occasionally, which will also dissolve the standing poops. If the grass starts going downhill I'd probably switch to wood chips bedding
  17. perkolator

    Tree/Shrub for chickens in yard

    Personally I’d put fruit trees in the space, unless you utilize that grass for something. We have an orchard and the chickens forage the ground under all my trees when I let them out. It used to be just grass around the trees but I’ve started mulching and added understory plants sort of like a...
  18. perkolator

    Pull down nesting box door

    The door is made of 2 main components - the 2pc of exterior slat siding, and the big chonky lumber frame on the backside (which is way overkill and probably heavier than the siding). A lot of weight can be reduced by simply using less mass on the door. The wood slats are likely strong enough to...
  19. perkolator

    T-Post Fence Inspiration

    I have two types of t-post fencing on my property that are integrated with the chicken run. Have a t-post and 7.5ft Tenax deer fence on the perimeter of whole property. I don’t mind the look of t-posts. The deer fence is on one side of our chicken run, with an old 3-row barbed wire property...
  20. perkolator

    Pull down nesting box door

    What do you mean by “the part he put to seal the door”? The only way to make this lighter is to remove material, or add a lift assist mechanism. A simple counterweight system might be quicker/easier than rebuilding the door to be lighter. Simplest way I’d attempt this, is by adding eye bolts...
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