Some pictures of the new build. I thought it should have been bigger but it's not my farm, I'm just lodging here. There is a plan to put some external nesting boxes in from the main shed.
Some pictures of the new build. I thought it should have been bigger but it's not my farm, I'm just lodging here. There is a plan to put some external nesting boxes in from the main shed.
So this morning thor decides it would be a great morning to go off his na na at 5.30am. It's odd for thor to bark at that time of the morning and not stop so i race out and what do i find him barking at but the sensor light hubby set out under our bbq area yesterday. Guess he doesn't like change lol. He'd bark when the light came on run back and then go forward again which would set off the light again.. Would have been funnier if it was not so darn cold.
Naw, how cute.Ok, ramp still needs attaching, but here is how the nest/sleeping box will look when complete. I finished painting it today! This one is for my larger chickens, Ada and Annabelle. The bantams will have one of their own, about the same size. Today we also worked on the roof of the run, attaching shadecloth and a tarp over it (the shade-cloth to help keep the tarp in place, and the tarp for easy waterproofing). We also marked out where to put the posts to divide the run into the two pens (with one of these nest boxes in each pen).Isn't it cute? It looks like a little house (actually seriously it looks like our old house, though that was completely unintentional).
The windows have aluminium fly mesh attached, as well as the back of the box. It has a cut out section with mesh covering it to allow plenty of air flow during those god-awful hot summer nights. I will be putting curtains across the entrance to further help keep mozzies out. For the bantams box, we might put guard rails on the ramp to help Aggie if her eye sight deteriorates further. Those plants I will plant once the our shed is constructed, that goes down in the next fortnight I think. I want to make the yard more jungle like, with plenty of shade and cover for the girls, I'm sure I'll end up needing more plants.
The front doors open for easy cleaning. Originally it was only going to be a frame with the fly screen attached, but that would have made getting in to clean it out a little tricky. The front half of the roof also lifts up (I took this photo before we moved it out into the yard and moved all that wood out of the way).
Inside, there is a plastic drop tray to collect and shake out the poop! That'll make life much easier. That's also not the perch they will be using, it was to test the position and length. We're going to try and use suitable branch, go the natural route. The divider comes out, in case of squabbling over nest boxes, or if I crack the ***** with it just being there. I used the girls to check the sizes and placing of everything.
I plonked Ada on the perch so you can see what it looks like in use. Dad's original measurements were for something half the size, which wouldn't really be as cool and comfortable for the girls (plus, always take chicken math into consideration). I'd probably widen it a bit more actually, but it's hard to know until it's in front of you what something will be like. Overall I'm really very very pleased with it. And yes, those hinges there are for the ramp, and that bit of wood I think will be used to help secure the perch when it's been selected and is in place. Anyway, hope you like what we've done so far. The bantams box will have three nest areas, they'll be a bit smaller, and it will have two perches, a high and a low one (good luck trying to hog BOTH perches at once Esme, you cheeky Pekin!).
