BecksNesting
Songster
- Dec 28, 2022
- 125
- 307
- 109
Hey everyone,
I am new at raising chickens, but I (... we, my husband too) take it very seriously. We started with a young rooster that was given to us for "dinner". So, upon seeing him, I named him HAROLD. That lead to what do we do with him now .... to buying a small chicken tractor. Then I didn't want him to be LONELY, so as ya'll probably guessed it, we now have 10 young hens that were born mid-July. Naturally, that lead to we needed a chicken run, that has turned into a 6'x9'x32' long run that is so reinforced from varmints, it's almost laughable. We had to because .... we do live in the woods in rural Mississippi. Of course, that meant we needed a chicken coop for the winter months, and my husband made that impenetrable too. When I say impenetrable .... try hardward cloth on the ground under the edge of bull panels, that are also wrapped around with MORE hardware cloth AND a short skirt of bull panel on top of all that .... AND chicken wire all across the entire thing! Plus ... we have an electric wire we can wrap around all this monstrosity if we see any signs of critters attempting to get in ... anywhere. Anybody falling on the floor laughing yet? Now ... to that we have two chicken pop doors (battery opereated, and they are GREAT), and in the spring we will add a SECOND run the size of the one described above so we can ALTERNATE back and forth for access to fresh grass that will be planted. We have both said ... we should have just eaten the first chicken!
Now to the moisture control success inside the chicken coop that is 6'x10' with a sloped roof that is over 6' on the shorter side, that sits on top of two 6'x10' recycled pig slabs. We lined the decked floor with large plastic sheets that are both glued and screwed down and also have that on the back wall where the branch roosting areas are located. The WINNING COMBINATION FOR MOISTURE CONSTROL IS .... FINE HEMP MIXED WITH POTTING SOIL. It's a great combination for soft landing, odor control, and moisture control. We are to add two exterior nesting boxes in the spring, since building the coop ran into deer season. For those that may be asking if we are getting eggs, GLORY BE ... YES WE ARE .... 15 and still counting!
I am new at raising chickens, but I (... we, my husband too) take it very seriously. We started with a young rooster that was given to us for "dinner". So, upon seeing him, I named him HAROLD. That lead to what do we do with him now .... to buying a small chicken tractor. Then I didn't want him to be LONELY, so as ya'll probably guessed it, we now have 10 young hens that were born mid-July. Naturally, that lead to we needed a chicken run, that has turned into a 6'x9'x32' long run that is so reinforced from varmints, it's almost laughable. We had to because .... we do live in the woods in rural Mississippi. Of course, that meant we needed a chicken coop for the winter months, and my husband made that impenetrable too. When I say impenetrable .... try hardward cloth on the ground under the edge of bull panels, that are also wrapped around with MORE hardware cloth AND a short skirt of bull panel on top of all that .... AND chicken wire all across the entire thing! Plus ... we have an electric wire we can wrap around all this monstrosity if we see any signs of critters attempting to get in ... anywhere. Anybody falling on the floor laughing yet? Now ... to that we have two chicken pop doors (battery opereated, and they are GREAT), and in the spring we will add a SECOND run the size of the one described above so we can ALTERNATE back and forth for access to fresh grass that will be planted. We have both said ... we should have just eaten the first chicken!
Now to the moisture control success inside the chicken coop that is 6'x10' with a sloped roof that is over 6' on the shorter side, that sits on top of two 6'x10' recycled pig slabs. We lined the decked floor with large plastic sheets that are both glued and screwed down and also have that on the back wall where the branch roosting areas are located. The WINNING COMBINATION FOR MOISTURE CONSTROL IS .... FINE HEMP MIXED WITH POTTING SOIL. It's a great combination for soft landing, odor control, and moisture control. We are to add two exterior nesting boxes in the spring, since building the coop ran into deer season. For those that may be asking if we are getting eggs, GLORY BE ... YES WE ARE .... 15 and still counting!
