Budget coup, converted dog house. Please don't laugh, lol, but any advice is appreciated.

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cosmo1104

cosmo1104

Chirping
7 Years
May 6, 2012
137
13
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OK, have 2 Reds, 2 sex links, and 2 little black chickens that were obviously misidentified at TSC, so not sure what they are yet.



The dog house is just about 4'X4'. I added a poop tray with perch that will have Sweet PDZ, and built nesting boxes on the back that still need shingled. I covered the floor with a horse stall rubber mat and plan on doing the deep litter method with shavings and DE. I cut out the top of the rear to add some ventilation, IS IT ENOUGH?





Also, one thing I'm not seeing, Can I cover the run and keep all food and water outside the coup, or do you need it inside?



Thanks for all the help, I feel bad seeing all these awesome coups, but didn't want to go overboard for some free organic eggs;)

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Looks Great!!! Maybe a little small if 6 are locked up all the time. Many of us follow the 4sq ft of house space and 10 sq ft of run space per chicken. Everybodies situation is different and you have to find what works for you and your birds. I think covering part of the run for food and water would be perfect. Do you plan on leaving the house open to the run all the time? We only closed us when it was really cold this winter. Could be important with the house being on the small side. My biggest concern is predictor proofing. Most of us use 1/2" hardware cloth to keep raccoons from reaching in and rats from helping themselves too the food.
 
cknkids said:
wee.gif
Looks Great!!! Maybe a little small if 6 are locked up all the time. Many of us follow the 4sq ft of house space and 10 sq ft of run space per chicken. Everybodies situation is different and you have to find what works for you and your birds. I think covering part of the run for food and water would be perfect. Do you plan on leaving the house open to the run all the time? We only closed us when it was really cold this winter. Could be important with the house being on the small side. My biggest concern is predictor proofing. Most of us use 1/2" hardware cloth to keep raccoons from reaching in and rats from helping themselves too the food.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply, yes it is a bit small for all 6, but I think the 2 blacks are OEGBS, so relatively small birds. And yes, I have a decent sized backyard with a 7' privacy fence I plan on letting them free range in most of the time, and leave the run open to them unless its really cold;)

As far as predator proofing, I have a 90# lab, a 95# boxer, and a chihuahua as the alert dog that keeps most things at bay, except for the hawks which I don't see a way around.

Thanks again;)
 
Bump, getting ready to move them in this week, and want to make sure I shouldn't teak stuff before its covered in poo
 
I like it a lot. good work. I am discovering by painful education that my coop is not big enough. I built mine for 10 birds & currently have 17 and baby chicks hatching. argh
you should be proud, you did a great job!
 
bj taylor said:
I like it a lot. good work. I am discovering by painful education that my coop is not big enough. I built mine for 10 birds & currently have 17 and baby chicks hatching. argh
you should be proud, you did a great job!
Click to expand...
Awesome, thanks, just wanted a reassurance it was ready to go. I hope to keep this as easy for them and me as I can. And yeah, I purposely kept it small to force me to keep my flock small, as I'v seen what chickens can do to yards. I'm hoping mine is big enough to keep them happy and not destroy it. I tried 12 a few years ago they DESTROYED my yard, lol.
Thanks agian;)
 
I think it looks great but yeah you may want add a little bit of square footage but if your letting them free range then that shouldn't be a problem. Rock on I love!
 
Folks have already commented that it is a bit on the small side for 6 birds, and I'd agree. I think one of the reasons I've had lots of harmony in my flock, with minimum pecking and feather pulling is that there is adequate space for everyone. So keep a close eye on your birds as they grow and they will probably let you know if they need more room. I don't know where you are located and whether you'll need to shut them up for long periods of time due to bad weather, but this is when a generous sized coop and run really come in handy. A tarp over most of the run in the winter or when you have prolonged rain would probably be a good idea. Other than that your little dog house to coop conversion looks really sweet. I didn't see a whole lot of ventilation. You might need to add some, although I can't tell for sure by the photo.
 
I like it and think you're so lucky to have had the dog house! That's the tough part to me.
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If anything, I'd say add some footage to the run, that way they can be a good distance away if they want to be. Good job!!!
 
miquwid said:
I think it looks great but yeah you may want add a little bit of square footage but if your letting them free range then that shouldn't be a problem. Rock on I love!
Click to expand...

Thanks alot, and yeah, they'll free range a backyard with a 7' high privacy fence;)
Hummingbird Hollow said:
Folks have already commented that it is a bit on the small side for 6 birds, and I'd agree. I think one of the reasons I've had lots of harmony in my flock, with minimum pecking and feather pulling is that there is adequate space for everyone. So keep a close eye on your birds as they grow and they will probably let you know if they need more room. I don't know where you are located and whether you'll need to shut them up for long periods of time due to bad weather, but this is when a generous sized coop and run really come in handy. A tarp over most of the run in the winter or when you have prolonged rain would probably be a good idea. Other than that your little dog house to coop conversion looks really sweet. I didn't see a whole lot of ventilation. You might need to add some, although I can't tell for sure by the photo.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I have a feeling I'll end up with 4. The 2 black chicks sold as astralorps seem to be OEGB's which as I've read aren't good egg layers and can be kinda mean, so they may go to my friends house that has alot of odd chickens and birds. And yeah, I don't want them overcrowded just for the cleaning aspect, I've made that mistake before. The only ventilation so far is the front door and if you look at the last pic, I cut the top out of the rear to aid in that. And yes, I plan on covering the run in the winter and growing some wheat germ I think it is. Saw a cool thread on it here. I live in OHIO, so they'll need the extra space covered to move about, maybe. The last 5 winters or so have been ODDLY mild though. Thanks for the help;)
chicknhawaii said:
I like it and think you're so lucky to have had the dog house! That's the tough part to me.
big_smile.png
If anything, I'd say add some footage to the run, that way they can be a good distance away if they want to be. Good job!!!
Click to expand...
I saw a thread on here with a guy that rigged up chicken wire and with pegs, folded 50' of it in a moon shape length wise to make a real cheap long run, I think I'm gonna do that;) thx
 

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