A-frame chicken coop modification.

[21hens-incharge]

and/or consider a very serious electric fence. VERY serious. Not one of the .2 joule Solar powered ones.

DEFINITELY a strong one...a very strong one.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I'm using a 1.2 joule to deter dogs - we have some wild packs in the neighborhood. Its A/C powered. Wouldn't consider anything less than 1 joule output to be adequate - and I still test my fence by tapping it with a thumbnail in various places every other day, while I walk it looking for downed branches or growing weeds that might cause a short to ground.

 

[MildlyOffensiveChicken]

I modified the Aframe so the floor is about 2 inches from the bottom. My hope is it will work another 2-3 weeks. The 11 birds are almost 9 weeks currently. It’s been a fairly mild winter in NW Montana. I don’t think it’s been below zero yet, but it snowed a couple times last week.


I planned bigger, but the flu?, 7 inches of new snow and holiday stuff really consumed all my time. It isn’t covid, but I feel as bad as Noro/Roto virus without the associated emissions.

 

[MildlyOffensiveChicken]

Welcome to BYC!!

Curious... when you say you made it 20% larger, did you mean just the base - adding 8 sq ft? Or did you also mean the top is taller (or wider?) too, making the inside upper (coop area) dimensions larger as well?

I have chicken tractors that are "smaller" than Ana White's. The base is the same (5x8'= 40 sq ft), but my sides are made from CP that are 5" shorter, so it isn't as tall or as wide at any given point of the "A Frame". Based on Coop dimensions of 4', at the base/floor/ground, I can have 10 chickens in that space. Based on recommended Run dimensions, I can have 4 chickens. I don't actually have an upper, enclosed coop area, just a covered section with a roost. I currently have 1 roost in them, but could do 2 (better for 6 chickens). I'm not sure how I would do a roost to accommodate 11 chickens... Also, I have different breeds in different tractors. 4 - 55 Flowery hen chickens take less space (they are smaller!) than 4 - French Marans chickens. It makes a difference, IMO.

Mine is not considered a coop, but a tractor. It is moved, at the least, every 2 days. I have found that that works fine for 4 chickens. When I boost it up to 6, it needs to be moved to a new spot daily (in lighter ground cover or over the winter - 2-3x daily) or they completely demolish the ground where the tractor is - which is not what I'm aiming for.

An 8x8 stationary run is not large enough for 11 mature, large fowl chickens - other than for emergency situations (such as when I have combined a lot of chickens into that size space for better protection and easier care during a severe hurricane ie- Matthew in 2016 and Florence in 2018). It didn't work for long - the chickens were NOT happy in such a small space all together. Attacks, feather picking, over breeding happened (lost several birds that survived the storm itself) as we made repairs to areas in the next 4 days before getting them separated again.

If you have your A-Frame inside of that 8x8 run, then it takes a little space away for the footprint. Probably not much. But an 8x8 run - at 10' sq per chicken only allows for 6.4 chickens and I have found that that is pretty accurate. It only works for us when we free range (to have more chickens in that space)...

Where are you located? How much rain/ice/snow will you get over the winter? How long is your winter? What breed of chickens do you have - all one breed or different breeds? These all play into how well an A-Frame tractor or "coop" works. IF you are moving your tractor daily, then 11 YOUNG chickens may work for a while, but I truly don't see it lasting for the full winter. Even here in NC, that amount of space wouldn't work for that many chickens for the rest of this winter (through March?).

In the end, it is up to you as to what will work. I've certainly seen some different run/tractor ideas that work (& put quite a few crazy ones of my own together, LOL).

Here are a couple of pics of our chicken tractors at different stages of build and time of year. Again, mine are shorter than the original Ana White model.

View attachment 2460715View attachment 2460716View attachment 2460717

This last pic shows what I mean by "demolished" ground. In some instances we wanted that (utilized for garden) but in other areas, we learned the hard way that they really needed to be moved sooner... That is our front yard. And yes, it accomplished what I wanted x 100!! I was gone for a month from August thru September 2020. Our SIL couldn't keep up w/ the resultant mowing or move the tractors thru the explosion of grass. The small raised bed to the left? We had 2 rose plants and a Bradford Pear tree we "had removed"... I now know that Bradford Pears "sucker" or grow back quickly from a "coppiced" point (we thought the stump was dead - how wrong we were!) The now MANY Bradford Pears are about 8' tall - some trunks almost 2" in diameter. All from chickens tearing up the area & fertilizing around the bed while in those tractors.

View attachment 2460726

20% as in the. 6 frame 2x4s are about 20% longer than the original plans.


Thanks for the suggestion. Maybe some kind of hoop coop is the right choice.

I’m a fairly poor carpenter.

The bears won’t be out and about for another 3 months or so.

The birds free ranged and frolicked through the very dry snow today while i was doing the work. The runt ended up inside when it kept complaining about the cold. The others loved it.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I had some bigger plans, but the flu? 7 inches of new snow and holiday stuff really consumed all my time.

Real life happens. I think we all understand. Fortune favor your future flock endeavors, sounds like you've already paid plenty of dues getting this far.

 

[paintedChix]

I modified the Aframe so the floor is about 2 inches from the bottom. My hope is it will work another 2-3 weeks. The 11 birds are almost 9 weeks currently. It’s been a fairly mild winter in NW Montana. I don’t think it’s been below zero yet, but it snowed a couple times last week.


I planned bigger, but the flu?, 7 inches of new snow and holiday stuff really consumed all my time. It isn’t covid, but I feel as bad as Noro/Roto virus without the associated emissions.

Wellllll, HOWDY fellow Montanan!!

My mom and step dad had a place just off the Marias River 9 miles south of Shelby (where I-15 and HWY 2 <the hi-line> meet). My sister was staying there for the last 2 years after Mom passed, then in July she texted saying she needed to "move-on" and our kids could take the place "early" (by 2 years)... What she didn't say was she didn't use mom's inheritance to maintain the property, so...

Next spring, in "March-ish", we will be moving our daughter, SIL, 2 grddaughters up there. Skye, her 2 daughters and I spent a month up there re-checking the house (maintenance needs doing, heat/air vents under house need re-hooked/repaired, more cleaning, really in pretty good shape, though), the barn (needs to be partially redone & the roof completely replaced), the original horse shed needs to be rebuilt and so does most of the fencing (if Skye/fam decide taking any ponies or getting horses soon) from August thru September. We were there when that weather suddenly "spiked" down from 100* to 28* (OMG, that was COLD. Been in NC w/ few visits to MT since 1997, so feel I'm a bit allowed to make the observation). I DO still joke that my overalls got more use down here during the winter (wet cold) in the first year here, then they got in 3 winters in MT (dry, but much, much colder w/ windchill).

I MISS MT! I'm hoping, besides the move now, that I may be able to visit every couple of years. Really depends on how we set things up, how jobs continue, etc, etc...

YEP, bear seen along the river less than a mile from our property. I was visiting a friend in Columbia Falls on bear season opening day - we took her "bear hunting kit" up to Hungry Horse dam, just in case she "got to hunt"... I was a little wide eyed, to say the least...

We will be building a very secure chicken coop and run, w/ hot wire, for Skye's flock. She MAY be able to do tractors during the spring and summer - when danger of deep/heavy/wet snow (thigh deep snow was not fun to move thru during some of the snows I remember to water ponies & horses) isn't so much of an issue (I did live through blizzard of March 1997 & we were leaving the state when caught by that surprise blizzard that crippled all the Northern/Mid-western states in April. Passed hundreds of southern states power company trucks coming to help repair/replace the downed powerlines - Duke Power was a big contributor).

W/ the constant wind on the open hillside where the house, shed, paddock and barn are, I think we can use both larger, stand-in tractors and especially the smaller, A-Frame type as long as we make sure that the wind can pass thru them (siding doesn't go all the way to ground and front/back not completely closed in). Want to avoid the tractor being picked up like a plane and "flying away". However, during the winter, the chickens would be moved into their coop(s) or a green house type arrangement and tractors all stored OR utilized in one spot w/ protection from buildings and maybe set up on strawbales. We'll see how we/they set everything up... Our daughter wants as easy and fast to take care of as possible - especially in the cold.

****

Sorry you were under the weather during the Holidays. Hope that you are feeling better!!

****

We certainly know how that goes - I "lost" my job early, losing 3 weeks of pay due to our daughter & SIL (same household), 2nd daughter as well, having Corona. It's technical. Larry & I both tested negative after they tested positive and negative again when their 2nd round of tests came back negative. I've enjoyed the time off, keeping socially distanced from family in the same household is interesting in itself, got a few things done (def not all - as family that was supposed to help were all sick, I wasn't)... I "re-start" my job (same building, completely re-furbished & updated for on-going Corona virus care. Same job working as main telephone/appointment setter for appointments for a high-volume spay/neuter vet clinic (between 32-65 dog/cats spayed/neutered 4 days/week depending on the number of vets &/or vet students from NCSU there) that I've had for past 7 years. New personnel, new protocols for the Foundation that has overseen the building & original set up. Really long and not so pretty story involving lawsuits w/ vet who has been "running the clinic" for past several years...) on 1/11/21 - going right back to 40+ hours a week. Phew - that was a looooonnnnggg, broken sentence. SORRY!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Paula
Edited - spelling, added some last paragraph

 

[MildlyOffensiveChicken]

Wellllll, HOWDY fellow Montanan!!

My mom and step dad had a place just off the Marias River 9 miles south of Shelby (where I-15 and HWY 2 <the hi-line> meet). My sister was staying there for the last 2 years after Mom passed, then in July she texted saying she needed to "move-on" and our kids could take the place "early" (by 2 years)... What she didn't say was she didn't use mom's inheritance to maintain the property, so...

Next spring, in "March-ish", we will be moving our daughter, SIL, 2 grddaughters up there. Skye, her 2 daughters and I spent a month up there re-checking the house (maintenance needs doing, heat/air vents under house need re-hooked/repaired, more cleaning, really in pretty good shape, though), the barn (needs to be partially redone & the roof completely replaced), the original horse shed needs to be rebuilt and so does most of the fencing (if Skye/fam decide taking any ponies or getting horses soon) from August thru September. We were there when that weather suddenly "spiked" down from 100* to 28* (OMG, that was COLD. Been in NC w/ few visits to MT since 1997, so feel I'm a bit allowed to make the observation). I DO still joke that my overalls got more use down here during the winter (wet cold) in the first year here, then they got in 3 winters in MT (dry, but much, much colder w/ windchill).

I MISS MT! I'm hoping, besides the move now, that I may be able to visit every couple of years. Really depends on how we set things up, how jobs continue, etc, etc...

YEP, bear seen along the river less than a mile from our property. I was visiting a friend in Columbia Falls on bear season opening day - we took her "bear hunting kit" up to Hungry Horse dam, just in case she "got to hunt"... I was a little wide eyed, to say the least...

We will be building a very secure chicken coop and run, w/ hot wire, for Skye's flock. She MAY be able to do tractors during the spring and summer - when danger of deep/heavy/wet snow (thigh deep snow was not fun to move thru during some of the snows I remember to water ponies & horses) isn't so much of an issue (I did live through blizzard of March 1997 & we were leaving the state when caught by that surprise blizzard that crippled all the Northern/Mid-western states in April. Passed hundreds of southern states power company trucks coming to help repair/replace the downed powerlines - Duke Power was a big contributor).

W/ the constant wind on the open hillside where the house, shed, paddock and barn are, I think we can use both larger, stand-in tractors and especially the smaller, A-Frame type as long as we make sure that the wind can pass thru them (siding doesn't go all the way to ground and front/back not completely closed in). Want to avoid the tractor being picked up like a plane and "flying away". However, during the winter, the chickens would be moved into their coop(s) or a green house type arrangement and tractors all stored OR utilized in one spot w/ protection from buildings and maybe set up on strawbales. We'll see how we/they set everything up... Our daughter wants as easy and fast to take care of as possible - especially in the cold.

****

Sorry you were under the weather during the Holidays. Hope that you are feeling better!!

****
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Paula
Edited - spelling, added some last paragraph

I was born in Conrad. Family all along the highline from heart butte to Shelby to kremlin to Zurich to Sidney.

Love Shelby. Spent a lot of 1/2 summers there. Shoot, ride trail bikes.

My grandads booze shack was up near sunburst. Can’t recall what side of I15 it was on. We went out there about 10 years ago because the new owner found an old leather bag with some stock certificates and part of an old pump 22 in the remnants of the shack. Had my grandmothers name on it which made the connection and the local knew who she was (long dead) and called my uncle.


I prefer the NW part of the state, but land is extremely cheap over the mountains.
I keep threatening to buy a section near Shelby and turn it into a little kingdom. But I shall have to enjoy the acreage I spent 7x per acre to get!

As an aside, Shelby used to be quite large. Per the info I’ve read and family stories, there were 3x the people. Brothels, more bars and restaurants, there was a Ben Franklin in Main Street until the 00s.

The Gibbons/Dempsey boxing match in 1923 during the Shelby stampede is a cool piece of history. A LOT of old men claim they have the bell from the match. Who knows.

Darn it, now I want a couple burgers from the Dash In.

 

[paintedChix]

It took me a LONG time to come back to this!!

Hope you're still around.

We did get our SIL, Daughter & 2 granddaughters settled up there 9 miles South of Shelby. I spent from mid- April thru Mid-July up there. To this day, the probate on the property isn't sorted so it's still considered my mom's estate...

My daughter didn't want to get started w/ chickens while I was there. I didn't make it back up this yr, but hope to next year. The move was awesome for our 2 granddaughters who went from failing in the schools here to having a/b grades. Active in swim teams, & fair!

Shelby was like a ghost town compared to how it was in 1995-1997 when I was there. The Merry go round center and the Dempsey park area are both SWEET! Buried in about 5000 photos currently in the Verizon Cloud, I have pics of both.

What did you choose for your chickens? How did it go? What have you built since?