Am I missing anything?

[Boom-Chicka-Boom]

So I've just completed building my coop and run. It's Friday and I get my 6 pullets on Sunday afternoon. I think I've thought of everything, but I don't know what I don't know. This is my first time raising chickens. I'm just north of Atlanta. I have my food and water dealt with, dust bath, grit and calcium dispensers, coop perches, nesting boxes (blocked off for now) and "entertainment" in the run in for form of perches, mirrors, etc. Anything else?

 

[DobieLover]

Looks good! I personally would add more ventilation underneath the high side of the wall under the roof overhang over the run. In Atlanta you can't have too much ventilation. And if you've got a predator apron around the entire base of that setup I would leave the pop door open year round.
How have you secured the hardware cloth to the wood? I don't see fender washers and I can't tell if you've used poultry staples or not. Just using half inch staples to hold the hardware cloth on the framing is nowhere near strong enough to keep predators out.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Oh, I love the yellow you chose for the coop!

I can tell you that no matter how much you prepare, you'll always find kinks in your setup once the chickens are living in it. Kind of like moving house, you know?

Can you grow some chicken safe plants in the mulch bed? Mine have a long planter along one wall that I can poke stuff through for munching. What else... I'd add a small second feeder high up in the perch area. You can hang it off the wall (like a cage cup), or suspend from the ceiling (like a chick feeder in a harness). Mine absolutely love this, and it will give lower ranked birds a place to eat in peace. Just a couple ideas.

 

[Boom-Chicka-Boom]

Looks good! I personally would add more ventilation underneath the high side of the wall under the roof overhang over the run. In Atlanta you can't have too much ventilation. And if you've got a predator apron around the entire base of that setup I would leave the pop door open year round.
How have you secured the hardware cloth to the wood? I don't see fender washers and I can't tell if you've used poultry staples or not. Just using half inch staples to hold the hardware cloth on the framing is nowhere near strong enough to keep predators out.

So I used narrow crown 3/4" staples, but I can go back and add screws with washers just to be safe. The predator apron goes 2' out and is

Oh, I love the yellow you chose for the coop!

I can tell you that no matter how much you prepare, you'll always find kinks in your setup once the chickens are living in it. Kind of like moving house, you know?

Can you grow some chicken safe plants in the mulch bed? Mine have a long planter along one wall that I can poke stuff through for munching. What else... I'd add a small second feeder high up in the perch area. You can hang it off the wall (like a cage cup), or suspend from the ceiling (like a chick feeder in a harness). Mine absolutely love this, and it will give lower ranked birds a place to eat in peace. Just a couple ideas.

The yellow matches my house and shed. There are treat trays attached to the perches in different locations. They were installed after the photos. Next year I plan on planting in the mulched area. Too late in the year this year I think.

 

[Boom-Chicka-Boom]

Looks good! I personally would add more ventilation underneath the high side of the wall under the roof overhang over the run. In Atlanta you can't have too much ventilation. And if you've got a predator apron around the entire base of that setup I would leave the pop door open year round.
How have you secured the hardware cloth to the wood? I don't see fender washers and I can't tell if you've used poultry staples or not. Just using half inch staples to hold the hardware cloth on the framing is nowhere near strong enough to keep predators out.

Predator apron goes out 2' and is under the landscape blocks. I'm also thinking of putting in a solar vent fan in the gables. I was also thinking that I might need to add some ventilation at floor level to help with the hot air rising and escaping. It's amazingly cooler in the run where the ventilation would be coming from.

 

[DobieLover]

might need to add some ventilation at floor level

With the run being fully predator-proof, provided the hardware cloth on the walls is properly secured, you don't need to close that pop door and it will serve as your low fresh air inlet ventilation.
That is the way I have my setup and I never close the pop door.

 

[FunClucks]

That looks awesome!!! Dream chicken paradise!!! That setup is amazing!!!

One thing mine like is food skewers. They sell them on amazon - metal skewers with chains/hooks on the end - you thread food onto the skewer, hang it in the coop, and the chickens fly up and peck at the food. Mine love this!

I'm in north Alabama, and I'll second what Dobie lover has said - You may need to remove that whole area above the clean out doors and frame it out with some hardware cloth over the entire opening, and probably do the same on the other side if you can. You'll need some good cross-breeze over their heads in the heat of summer. I did the calculations, and basically, the upper third of any enclosed coop would need to be hardware cloth open area to get enough ventilation over the chickens' heads for the southern summer heat. But since the weather is heading towards cool, you've got several months before this could be an issue - just keeping moisture out of the coop so they don't deal with frostbite on combs, wattles, or feet is all you'll need to worry about for winter - if you see issues, open more windows.

Mine live in a hardware cloth enclosed covered run year round (hoop coop / greenhouse frame hoop coop with a tarp over top), with no actual enclosed coop. They've been fine for multiple winters, including the really cold ones. I put some 6 mil plastic up on the ends of the hoop coops sometimes to cut down on the wind, and make sure there's no water that they can step in and freeze their feet, or their wattles, and mine have been fine overwintering "outside". They acclimate to the weather.

I'd recommend taking some boards and covering all the areas where you've secured the hardware cloth to the wood with a trim board - screw the trim board in place over the edges of the hardware cloth/seams. Kinda make it like a picture frame, where the wood sandwiches the hardware cloth "picture". Racoons will literally grab hold of the edge of the hardware cloth and pry it off of the treated wood, if you've secured it with staples or anything but radial washer and screws. Covering the joints so they can't get ahold of the edge to pry it up using the picture frame method also works. Dogs will get their teeth into any loose (non-taut) hardware cloth and pull also, but it doesn't look like you've got any of that, so you're good there.

I'm assuming you've got an apron under all that lovely mulch. If not, I'd strongly recommend putting one down. Mine extends 3 ft from my coop, and I've seen critters digging 2.5 feet away. That being said, most folks do about 18"-2ft, and it's fine.

Make sure that any openings or cracks anywhere into your coop / run (around doors, ventilation, nest boxes, etc) are less than 1/2" in width. The predators and pests that can get through that size area are usually small enough for the chickens to kill and eat, and there has to be some clearance for doors and stuff.

Enjoy your fun new chickens!!!!

 

[Boom-Chicka-Boom]

That looks awesome!!! Dream chicken paradise!!! That setup is amazing!!!

One thing mine like is food skewers. They sell them on amazon - metal skewers with chains/hooks on the end - you thread food onto the skewer, hang it in the coop, and the chickens fly up and peck at the food. Mine love this!

I'm in north Alabama, and I'll second what Dobie lover has said - You may need to remove that whole area above the clean out doors and frame it out with some hardware cloth over the entire opening, and probably do the same on the other side if you can. You'll need some good cross-breeze over their heads in the heat of summer. I did the calculations, and basically, the upper third of any enclosed coop would need to be hardware cloth open area to get enough ventilation over the chickens' heads for the southern summer heat. But since the weather is heading towards cool, you've got several months before this could be an issue - just keeping moisture out of the coop so they don't deal with frostbite on combs, wattles, or feet is all you'll need to worry about for winter - if you see issues, open more windows.

Mine live in a hardware cloth enclosed covered run year round (hoop coop / greenhouse frame hoop coop with a tarp over top), with no actual enclosed coop. They've been fine for multiple winters, including the really cold ones. I put some 6 mil plastic up on the ends of the hoop coops sometimes to cut down on the wind, and make sure there's no water that they can step in and freeze their feet, or their wattles, and mine have been fine overwintering "outside". They acclimate to the weather.

I'd recommend taking some boards and covering all the areas where you've secured the hardware cloth to the wood with a trim board - screw the trim board in place over the edges of the hardware cloth/seams. Kinda make it like a picture frame, where the wood sandwiches the hardware cloth "picture". Racoons will literally grab hold of the edge of the hardware cloth and pry it off of the treated wood, if you've secured it with staples or anything but radial washer and screws. Covering the joints so they can't get ahold of the edge to pry it up using the picture frame method also works. Dogs will get their teeth into any loose (non-taut) hardware cloth and pull also, but it doesn't look like you've got any of that, so you're good there.

I'm assuming you've got an apron under all that lovely mulch. If not, I'd strongly recommend putting one down. Mine extends 3 ft from my coop, and I've seen critters digging 2.5 feet away. That being said, most folks do about 18"-2ft, and it's fine.

Make sure that any openings or cracks anywhere into your coop / run (around doors, ventilation, nest boxes, etc) are less than 1/2" in width. The predators and pests that can get through that size area are usually small enough for the chickens to kill and eat, and there has to be some clearance for doors and stuff.

Enjoy your fun new chickens!!!!

Oooo, I like the idea of the trim boards. It would match the trim on the coop. I'm not sure anything could actually get ahold of the edge of the HC. I stapled every 1 to 1.5 inches. I can't even get a screwdriver under it without a lot of work. These aren't your typical staples. They're construction staples.

I'll definitely be looking at better ventilation come spring. For this winter, I'll just monitor and make corrections if I find it necessary.

 

[Boom-Chicka-Boom]

That looks awesome!!! Dream chicken paradise!!! That setup is amazing!!!

One thing mine like is food skewers. They sell them on amazon - metal skewers with chains/hooks on the end - you thread food onto the skewer, hang it in the coop, and the chickens fly up and peck at the food. Mine love this!

I'm in north Alabama, and I'll second what Dobie lover has said - You may need to remove that whole area above the clean out doors and frame it out with some hardware cloth over the entire opening, and probably do the same on the other side if you can. You'll need some good cross-breeze over their heads in the heat of summer. I did the calculations, and basically, the upper third of any enclosed coop would need to be hardware cloth open area to get enough ventilation over the chickens' heads for the southern summer heat. But since the weather is heading towards cool, you've got several months before this could be an issue - just keeping moisture out of the coop so they don't deal with frostbite on combs, wattles, or feet is all you'll need to worry about for winter - if you see issues, open more windows.

Mine live in a hardware cloth enclosed covered run year round (hoop coop / greenhouse frame hoop coop with a tarp over top), with no actual enclosed coop. They've been fine for multiple winters, including the really cold ones. I put some 6 mil plastic up on the ends of the hoop coops sometimes to cut down on the wind, and make sure there's no water that they can step in and freeze their feet, or their wattles, and mine have been fine overwintering "outside". They acclimate to the weather.

I'd recommend taking some boards and covering all the areas where you've secured the hardware cloth to the wood with a trim board - screw the trim board in place over the edges of the hardware cloth/seams. Kinda make it like a picture frame, where the wood sandwiches the hardware cloth "picture". Racoons will literally grab hold of the edge of the hardware cloth and pry it off of the treated wood, if you've secured it with staples or anything but radial washer and screws. Covering the joints so they can't get ahold of the edge to pry it up using the picture frame method also works. Dogs will get their teeth into any loose (non-taut) hardware cloth and pull also, but it doesn't look like you've got any of that, so you're good there.

I'm assuming you've got an apron under all that lovely mulch. If not, I'd strongly recommend putting one down. Mine extends 3 ft from my coop, and I've seen critters digging 2.5 feet away. That being said, most folks do about 18"-2ft, and it's fine.

Make sure that any openings or cracks anywhere into your coop / run (around doors, ventilation, nest boxes, etc) are less than 1/2" in width. The predators and pests that can get through that size area are usually small enough for the chickens to kill and eat, and there has to be some clearance for doors and stuff.

Enjoy your fun new chickens!!!!

I actually have an eye screw on a chain to attach cabbage or pumpkins. It's just hooked up high out of the way right now. I'll check out Amazon for the skewers

 

[thecatumbrella]

One thing mine like is food skewers. They sell them on amazon - metal skewers with chains/hooks on the end - you thread food onto the skewer, hang it in the coop, and the chickens fly up and peck at the food. Mine love this!

Seconding the skewers!

We have vegetable cages as well, but the skewers are much easier to clean and take up less space in storage. Also, good idea at hanging it higher. I'm going to try that the next time I give apple. They eat a little too much too fast!