Building my first coop

[joan1708]

I thought most people used electric fences to deter bears. Not so?

 

[Jeepman]

That would probably work problem is my fiancee watches 4 other kids besides my 10 y.o. They range in age from 3 - 9. I'm more nervous of the fence not getting turned off when they are there and getting turned on when they aren't. I may come up with a plan to use it up high enough to not worry about it.

On my game camera I have seen that same problem bear cause all kinds of issues. Neighbor used my game cam on his garage while he was gone and that is where he had pictures of just that bear breaking the entrance door and it ripped the door of his freezer that was in his garage.

There is a woman down the road that has been feeding the bears off her deck.She is what we call a Shacker. A person who comes from the city and has no clue what they are doing in the country and usually causes a problem either by accident or intentionally thinking the people from the the country are morons. I've been telling her for years that since she has been feeding them that if she was not there to feed them, then the bears will go into houses to get the food. All because she started feeding them. Then she gets mad when they destroy her bird feeders or get into her garbage. She just calls me a moron and tells me that we live in their environment and that by feeding them it will keep them peaceful. I've turned her into the DNR and the conservation dept for illegally baiting. The conservation department gave her a written warning. The DNR did nothing.

 

[joan1708]

yep, electricity is not an option around kids. Sorry about your moron neighbor. I won't put out wild bird feeders because it brings in rats. I can't fathom feeding bears!

 

[Jeepman]

Ok starting over. Someone gave me a new 6ft dog fence panel. I will be changing my chicken run fencing idea.

Ordered new set of chicks.

 

[joan1708]

Good luck!

 

[Jeepman]

19 new chicks arrived. 6 browns, 6 blacks, 6 white leghorns and one brown rooster. New fencing will be up by Sunday.

Have not had any bear problems since they trapped the problem bear. I used to have my bird feeders and garden destroyed at least three times a year. It was always the same bear according to my game camera's. The other bears stay away from the house and dogs. They are loving the 8 gal frosting tubs I put out on the hunting land which is 1/2 mile away. They eat almost 4 a week. Friend works at a large bakery and when the food gets close to expiration the staff can get up to one pallet of whatever they are getting rid of.We use my truck and haul it for him and I also haul the non-expired stuff to the food pantry.

My brother-in law has been applying for a bear permit for 4 years and next year is his year. There is one male bear that is darn near 550lbs or better on the bait piles this year.

 

[Jeepman]

Well things are going better but not great. I lost one chick to the heat at a week and a half old and I lost one hen to an owl in broad daylight this Saturday. .

It was a snow owl and flew right into the run. Before I could get outside it flew off, but the hen was dead. I will be putting some cable across the coop to deter the aerial predators. The only good thing was the rooster tried going after it as small as he is. I was glad to see that.

I have yet to get the siding on my coop as I have been working on a habitat for humanity house. The roofing is on and I need to go pick up the soffit, fascia, and trim to complete it out. I also bought the electric outlets lights and wiring for it. I'm thinking I might run my return line from my outdoor wood boiler into the coop for the harsh winters here being it's only on the other side of the wall. The coop is attached to my garage and that line runs from the wood boiler to the house back through the garage and to the wood boiler. I was thinking I may create a plywood box over a section of 1" copper pipe 6' long and put a perch over the top of it giving them a heated roost from September to early May. It'd be easy for me to bypass but the bad part is the water going through the pipe is going to be about 165F on the retun line to the wood boiler.

The chicken run is coming along nicely and I have been coming up with a plan for the coop door using a dental chair motor. Just trying to decide if I want to use a photo eye or timer. The motor is capable of 350lbs and is worm drive meaning it cannot be raised by predator's once it is down.

On a lighter note I was cutting firewood and my daughter let the chicks out. The sawdust around that area is about a foot deep as I generally cut 13-18 cords of wood a year. They were in heaven with the ants and crickets and grasshoppers they were digging out of the sawdust. While I was cutting and stacking.

 

[Jeepman]

I'm changing my roosting area in my coop and came up with an idea. My outdoor wood boiler lines that run from my wood boiler to my house are on the other side of my coop wall that is attached to my heated garage. I figured out it would be an extra $45 in fittings to run the return line under my upper roost board providing radiant heat to the roost board. Would this be a bad idea?

Is having a heated roost board bad for my chickens?