This was built out of scrap material-including parts of a desk and some TREX 2x2's-which made up the frame underneath. this had been out in the central TX weather for 2 years and needed a tune up. here is a photo from underneath showing how haphazard it is.
it has been used for 4 full sized chickens, then for 5 silkies with a broody mom & babies. I decided to make it safer for babies by putting 1" hex wire on the bottom-the babies could get out from underneath on uneven ground. I had to put 1/2" wire all around the base after a coon was able to grab 2 bantams through the 2x4 wire on another cage. this is inside before I repainted/caulked it.
I caulked and painted the whole inside this time. On further reflection-off white is not the best colour choice for inside a coop (see doorway stoop).
after 4 babies ended up missing one day I put 2 and 2 together and figured out they probably flew through the 2X4 wire from the roost outside. there had been a fox seen charging my cages several times that week. in addition, its not the cardinals that get in and eat the food that bother me as much as the rotten tree rats that can fit through (I didn't know till I saw it) the 2" hex wire. the cage is frame-less at the top-this has an upside in that it is lighter but the downside is that a tarp on top will cause it to collapse somewhat in heavy rain. I have adjusted the coop by adding smaller wire to the exposed sides and tarping the rest. Clips allow me to access the wire door when I need to.
a handle up front is what I use to move it with. Since most of it was made from scrap, this cost me less than 50$ to build and 'tune up' this year.
it has been used for 4 full sized chickens, then for 5 silkies with a broody mom & babies. I decided to make it safer for babies by putting 1" hex wire on the bottom-the babies could get out from underneath on uneven ground. I had to put 1/2" wire all around the base after a coon was able to grab 2 bantams through the 2x4 wire on another cage. this is inside before I repainted/caulked it.
I caulked and painted the whole inside this time. On further reflection-off white is not the best colour choice for inside a coop (see doorway stoop).
after 4 babies ended up missing one day I put 2 and 2 together and figured out they probably flew through the 2X4 wire from the roost outside. there had been a fox seen charging my cages several times that week. in addition, its not the cardinals that get in and eat the food that bother me as much as the rotten tree rats that can fit through (I didn't know till I saw it) the 2" hex wire. the cage is frame-less at the top-this has an upside in that it is lighter but the downside is that a tarp on top will cause it to collapse somewhat in heavy rain. I have adjusted the coop by adding smaller wire to the exposed sides and tarping the rest. Clips allow me to access the wire door when I need to.
a handle up front is what I use to move it with. Since most of it was made from scrap, this cost me less than 50$ to build and 'tune up' this year.
