Any reviews here for this Pawhut coop?

[Hypertay]

Thanks to everyone for the replies, and especially Bruce, for your advice and insight. Your posts have given us a lot to think about.

We have surrounded the pen with cinderblocks completely. We have to fix the nest box and perch(reminds me of a parrot perch) and are shopping today for the stuff we need. We did use the regular staples, I put them in every other wire on every piece even the ventilation hole in the top front, but we'll beef that up more. We really don't have many chicken eating predators around, it's mostly wild birds and deer and I think there are some moles or voles in the front yard. They don't come this far up the hill. There are hawks here though, so there has to be a cover on everything, no free ranging. We have ants that make hills all over, I usually try to drown them out so they move away from traffic areas. I don't know what kind they are, would the chickens eat ants if they tried to build an anthill in the coop? I won't put poison on anything unless it's sevin dust, I don't want to kill the wild birds. It's almost a sanctuary here, with the robins and cardinals hitting the windows if we let the feeders run out.

The wheels are useless, we tried to move it as designed but it is impossible. The ramp is made of much heavier wood than the rest of it and when lifted at the front it broke away from the tiny strip of wood it was attached to. We have to reinforce that and attach the bottom of the ramp to the bottom side of the run. We set the bottom of the ramp on a 2 inch concrete stepstone to raise it and make it less steep.

There will only be 3 chickens in it, after we rehome the 2 roos. So far there have been only a little chest bumping and hackle raising as they adjust to living in there. They were used to living in their brooder box in our kitchen since we got them in November, and this coop and run are only a bit larger than that cardboard box. The bottom was open completely so we got 2 rolls of 1/2 inch hardware cloth and unrolled them flat. We spaced them about 1 foot apart on the ground and set the whole coop on top, then cut off the excess wire at the long ends and used it under each end to make it surrounded. It sticks out 1 1/2 feet all the way around the run flat to the ground. We then set concrete cinder blocks all the way around the run including the door, which i roll away when I have to open the door. The run gave them 1 foot down the center to scratch at the dirt and grass without the wire in the way, but after the first night and a very heavy rainstorm the dirt turned to mud, and the chickens didn't want to walk on it. They complained when I tried to get them outside. So I spread a 50# bag of play sand in there, it was just enough to give a nice deep layer of dry sand to walk on and will drain when it rains.

We live almost on the Gulf Coast so it freezes for a day or 2 and then warms up again. So far the winter has been very mild if wet. I am looking into the nipple waterer system and a way/place to hang the feeder. I might build one of those pvc feeders. It looks like this chicken coop and run will not be moved after all, so I am still in the market for a larger run.

I think I probably want one of those plastic coops that snaps together and never chips or warps next! And I'm thinking about a small dog run, something short in height but long and narrow, and completely enclosed made of welded wire.

Time-Out, if you want to post your pics of improvements, please do! It's definitely not boring!
Thanks again for all the advice.

 

[bruceha2000]

We did use the regular staples, I put them in every other wire on every piece even the ventilation hole in the top front, but we'll beef that up more.

We really don't have many chicken eating predators around, it's mostly wild birds and deer and I think there are some moles or voles in the front yard.

We have ants that make hills all over, I usually try to drown them out so they move away from traffic areas. I don't know what kind they are, would the chickens eat ants if they tried to build an anthill in the coop? I won't put poison on anything unless it's sevin dust, I don't want to kill the wild birds. It's almost a sanctuary here, with the robins and cardinals hitting the windows if we let the feeders run out.

Sounds like you have done a great job of thinking through everything. If you don't have weasel, fox, coon, coyotes, wolves, dogs, etc the Arrow staples might not be a problem. No chicken eating gators, right? Actually, I don't think it matters, a gator could rip the hardware cloth apart no matter how well it is fastened.

Regarding the food and water, since you don't have a lot of room in the coop, look into the PVC feeders people have made. I'm thinking of the kind with a piece of pipe (maybe 4" diameter) running horizontally along the wall (so they won't sit on it) with the top of the pipe cut away for the chickens to eat. If you make that with a street ell (because it has a longer radius curve) connected to a vertical length of pipe that goes up a wall to the roof, it will take almost no room in the coop and be easy to fill since the top of the coop opens. Mine is 5" pipe (I think. It was a piece of scrap), < 3' long ending in a plastic pot tray and hangs from the ceiling but I have much more coop space. It holds three 52 oz jars of food which is way more than you'll need. I have 12 girls and filled it twice a week through the summer. Its about every other day now because they can't forage in the snow. And with 3 girls, a 1' piece of 3/4" pipe and 2 nipples about 8" apart will be more than enough. Again, with the source outside the coop. A 1 or 2 gallon bucket will last 3 birds quite a while.

The chickens may kill the voles if they catch them. I found one in my girls outdoor run that was pretty ripped up. That said, the little bums were tunneling into the coop at night when the girls were asleep. And they drove a chipmunk nuts when it was trying to get through the barn. I don't think chickens like rodents much (at least not when they are awake and can see them). I figured the coop was safe from underground predators since the floor is covered with 3/4" rubber horse mats but the voles just tunneled until they got to the edge where the mat met the wall and came up there. I had to put hardware cloth poultry staples or screwed behind plywood on the walls to keep them out. Fearing those ermines using the tunnels you know. Really cute, really small and they kill chickens while they sleep.

I believe chickens will eat the ants. Just bring the chickens to the ant hill and see what happens. Chickens are omnivores and will eat almost anything. One of my girls got up on the workbench in the barn today and knocked a container of random screws on the floor. Several of them tried to eat the screws (or at least see if they were edible) when I was picking them up. Also, related to bugs, most of my girls liked earwigs this summer, some went nuts over them. As far as my chickens are concerned, if it moves, it is food, at least until they find out it isn't. So, while not all of your chickens might eat ants, some might. This could be the solution to your ant problem! I'm assuming they aren't red ants that sting. Don't know if a chicken would even notice though. They don't chew, they just swallow.

Bruce

 

[Time-Out]

Here is the album with photos of the little coop. It was actually the biggest of its type that was made. They may make a bigger one, but I doubt it; this was only 2011.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152325756520015.932754.618370014&type=1&l=952568e9ed

I've made it public for a little while so you can browse.

 

[bruceha2000]

Here is the album with photos of the little coop. It was actually the biggest of its type that was made. They may make a bigger one, but I doubt it; this was only 2011.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152325756520015.932754.618370014&type=1&l=952568e9ed

I've made it public for a little while so you can browse.

It looks very nice but I am concerned about the size. TEN chickens? But your earlier post said only 3 (phew). Where did the other 7 go (or maybe we shouldn't ask

)?

And the foil faced insulation. I don't know about your chickens (er, chooks) but mine rip that stuff apart. I don't know what it is but they LOVE to peck at rigid insulation. I have insulation under the nest box and had to put a piece of plywood under that. I knew they pecked the blue stuff but figured they would leave the foil faced stuff alone - NOPE! Besides not doing any good to HOPEFULLY keep the eggs from freezing if the girls ate it, I'm pretty sure foil and rigid foam are not on the "chicken treat" list

Good "through time" modifications. The low perch was probably nice for the little ones so they could see out the window, but as you note, no longer needed. Same thing with the ramp. When they are big enough to hop up, the ramp is just in the way (and probably covered in chicken poo).

Thanks for making it public, some of us don't "do" Facebook.

Bruce

 

[Time-Out]

Hi Bruce. The chicks were only in there a couple of weeks as a step towards moving onto our allotment. Being Winter, they took a bit more acclimatising.

That insulation is just like bubblewrap coated in foil. It doesn't really do much, to be honest, but it does cut down on condensation. They have pecked the areas they can reach (on either end of the perch), but all they've done is pop the bubbles, not eaten it. It's the bubble wrap thing... no species can resist it!
I can't remember if there's a photo, but it's in the walls too. It was the only insulation that would fit in the tiny gap between the ply and the wall.

In Summer, the coop goes on the lawn. That ramp is too steep for the chickens, so it needs to go on a plant pot. I also liked to remove it at night, thinking that it was basically a red carpet for a fox to open the door. All of those things together meant that I kept losing the screws and the lawn around the coop never got mowed properly. The perch solved everything. The chickens happily go in and out all day and even the one with poor eyesight manages fine.

The main reason for moving the perch to the other side, was so that I could leave the vent open without a draft blowing over them. I'm thinking about further increasing the ventilation by raising the roof ridge and leaving a gap there, so I can close the vent on windy days. My only concern is that the wind might rip the ridge off.

 

[Smithyard Farm]

I just receieved on of these for Christmas. I needed a smaller coop for a grow-out and/or quarentine pen. Thanks for all your suggestions I guess we have a little work to do before putting any little chickies in. I like the water proofing/paintng idea. That is a great one. I have an old rabbit hutch that looks like that it is made out of the same wood. It is not water prrof at all. I never thoguht of painting it or caulking it - (how dumb!)