Building a new area for the birds - Please Help me do it right.

[Brahma Chicken5000]

2 in the new structure - 2 in the old was what I was thinking.

That should be fine

 

[Enchanted1s]

This wind! I cannot put the roofing tin on when there are 20mph winds every day!

I don't think I mentioned it on this thread - within a couple of days of the babies hanging around the hens - Tootie went broody - in everyone's favorite nest box (in the old coop/run)! The last two nights - I moved the two pullets from the old coop to the new one. Tonight, they went to the new one on their own. I have the divider wall in place and the babies in the front of the coop - pullets in the back. AND this evening I removed Tootie's nest from the wall and carried Tootie, nest and eggs to a much safer location in the new building! So, now we have ALL 6 of the hens in the new building. Poor Rudy seemed a little confused when he went to bed alone in the old coop.

I still have a quite a bit to do on BOTH sides. Hopefully Tootie will be better now. At least we can keep the pullets from jumping in the nest with her.

 

[Enchanted1s]

Finally got enough of a break in the wind to get the roofing tin on!! The roof is DONE! The roof now connects the old structure to the new one. I am hoping to get the nest boxes and access door to the run done this week. Maybe even get the doors on the storage end.

When I put the old structure up, I didn't have any lumber to work with. I picked up several pallets and used them for much of the walls and under the coop. Now I am thinking this was a pretty bad idea. I think mice are making nests in the pallets. The ones I used for the walls shouldn't bee too bad to replace. The one under the coop is going to be a challenge. BUT, the worst part remains that I will have to dig under the walls to bury HW cloth. The new structure is done right, but now that I am connecting the two...

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

It looks really good I can’t wait until it’s completed

 

[Enchanted1s]

Just in time! Tootie did it! I moved her to the new structure where she and the clutch would be safer. I calculated that last night was her 21st night sleeping on the eggs. Today, we have a new baby! I have only seen one so far. She was sitting on 6 eggs. She is a very small hen. ANYWAY - I got the nest boxes in the wall and a Pop door for access to the run. I don't have the run (the old structure) completely re-done and it has been pretty much open for about a week now. But, just in time for babies - the new structure is finally secure - not done, but secure.

It's kind of hard to see in the pictures. I shrunk the nest box to 2 instead of 3 and put in access to the old structure - should we ever need to keep them locked up for a period of time. For now, I am using a piece of stove pipe for the Pop door. I don't have the door on the nest box yet. The stain is drying - hope to have it on before sun down.

QUESTION - Is it OK to put the food and water inside the nest box with Tootie and the baby? She was coming out every day to eat, but since this little one hatched - she is not coming out but has been drinking and eating since I put it where she could reach it.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Yes it is fine that you put the food and water in the nest box for Tootie. What a cute picture of the proud mother and her new chick

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

The coop is looking great I absolutely love following this thread.
I have a suggestion...maybe make the area in the outlines box into the only henhouse so that the chickens will all roost together and the waste will be in a single location and they will be able to generate more heat together in the winter. I also suggest that maybe you should move the wall that the green arrow is pointing to and place it where the red arrow is pointing. That way the run is larger and you have an seperate coop to integrate or isolate chickens. Just my 2 cents

 

[Enchanted1s]

The coop is looking great I absolutely love following this thread.
I have a suggestion...maybe make the area in the outlines box into the only henhouse so that the chickens will all roost together and the waste will be in a single location and they will be able to generate more heat together in the winter. I also suggest that maybe you should move the wall that the green arrow is pointing to and place it where the red arrow is pointing. That way the run is larger and you have an seperate coop to integrate or isolate chickens. Just my 2 cents View attachment 1295150

I would very much like for the new building to be the Hen house and the old coop to be Rudy's bachelor pad. However, I have yet to be able to convince the hens of that!

There is no way I am moving the wall you have marked with green. That is the north wall of the building - the end wall. That wall (all the walls of the new structure) have hardware cloth attached to the base and buried 18 inches under the wall. When it is finished - both are being combined into one. In the rare event that they would have to be locked up, they will have all the way to the end of the old structure for the run.

I'm tired! Tootie has two babies hatched for sure. We will see what tomorrow brings.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

What breed is Tootie? She looks like a Marans

 

[Enchanted1s]

What breed is Tootie? She looks like a Marans

I don't have a clue what she is. Barnyard mix I would guess. Here is a picture of Tootie with Rudy (the Dad) when she came out for her broody break the other day. I know little about chickens, but Tootie is smaller than our babies (15 weeks). That is a pretty good sized stump she is stretching on.