Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[Beekissed]

 

[FuzzyButtsFarm]

Bee is right. Hog panels would be better for a 10' span. I tried to make it without the pvc but it's too floppy. The pvc helps hold its shape untill the end pieces are put on which also helps keep it's shape until it's tie wrapped together I use this for a grow out pen, isolation pen, ect. The base is 4x4x7s with lap joints in the corners.

 

[therapydoglady]

Hi Everybody! Brie here! Boy have WE been busy! The contract on my mother-in-law's (Therapydoglady's) house and land fizzled, so Bryan and I have decided to buy it! We have moved to Kermit, and kids have started school.

When I finally caught up with "my reading" I thought is was kinda funny. We are in the process of refurbishing some of the chicken coops/houses/runs, building new nest boxes etc. And we are building new coops under the scrutiny of my 9 year old son who knows everything since he helped his grandmother make one this past summer. LOL. Anyway, the cattle panel and welded wire runs (thank you, Fuzzybuttsfarms, for the pictures) is very timely advice. We will be making some of those to keep the kids breeds separate. At least temporarily until we can get proper runs/coops made. I hope to have coops and runs completed before we buy chickens, but we are going to our first show in Abilene this coming weekend. I hope to make contacts there, but not necessarily buy chickens. Husband and children are champing at the bit. I usually am outvoted on ventures such as this.

Glad this thread is still up and going. I have enjoyed it all.

Brie

 

[bruceh]

good to see you brie. glad all is well. good to have you back here. so just ask away with questions.

i am glad you are going to start up with your own chickens to carry on the tradition. just keep in mind a goal of what your need is. eggs, meat, meat and egg, pretty birds, self sustaining flock etc.

one very important WARNING chickens are addictive. chicken math is a science that no scholar has been able to figure out.

I will look forward to seeing you at chicken addicts meeting. " Hi my name is Brie and I am a chicken addict "

 

[hereorthere]

Sure...



This is two panels side by side and nailed to lumber.



And formed into the bones of a coop:

Bee,
Would you be willing to post another pic of the finished coop? How did you secure all the edges where the cattle panel met up with another edge of panel? You couldn't have zip-tied it together - or was it wielded? In the last pic with the door (? - rectanular with a cross-beam) and what I'm guessing are nest boxes on opposite sides, did you piecemeal cattle panel in between the woodwork? How stable is the entire structure? What would you change/improve upon if you had to re-build another new one? I'm just trying to picture in my head how it all came together at the end...and forgive me- I'm not skilled in carpentry or tools of any kind...but would try to make something like this work if I had to....

 

[therapydoglady]

Good morning! I have a question about guard dogs. My mother in law had a Great Pyrenees that she loved, and it did a great job protecting the animals. BUT she worked on that coat almost every day to keep it from matting. I am afraid that I won't be that dedicated, and I don't want the dog to suffer, especially out here in this heat. Is there a breed that you guys recommend that will be good at guarding goats and chickens? Opinions on Anatolians? I would like to let it grow up with the chickens and goats.

We definitely need one out here. There are many varmints, and dumped dogs looking for an easy meal. Walt, I seem to remember you recommending some type of dog. What do you run?

Thanks, Brie

 

[therapydoglady]

PS. Beekissed, I forgot, last night, to thank you for our pictures as well. Yours looks big enough to be permanent! I love it!

Brie

 

[neopolitancrazy]

Good morning! I have a question about guard dogs. My mother in law had a Great Pyrenees that she loved, and it did a great job protecting the animals. BUT she worked on that coat almost every day to keep it from matting. I am afraid that I won't be that dedicated, and I don't want the dog to suffer, especially out here in this heat. Is there a breed that you guys recommend that will be good at guarding goats and chickens? Opinions on Anatolians? I would like to let it grow up with the chickens and goats.

We definitely need one out here. There are many varmints, and dumped dogs looking for an easy meal. Walt, I seem to remember you recommending some type of dog. What do you run?

Thanks, Brie

Dear Brie,
I am not a chicken OT, but I do have several Livestock Guardian Dogs protecting my sheep, who are also poultry-friendly. (Actually, the sheep and dogs are both poultry-friendly. The lambs love to sneak up behind a chicken then snort/blow a puff of their breath into the fluff under the chicken's tail feathers and watch the chicken jump, squawk and carry on. They find it endlessly entertaining and I still laugh my head off watching them despite several years of seeing each lamb crop do exactly the same thing.) I love my Great Pyrenees, but their coats do require a LOT more work than my Anatolian Shepherd. I bought my Anatolian specifically because he was poultry-friendly (all LGDs are not! )and I had a Pyr puppy who played too hard with (i.e. killed) the chickens until she finally grew up and got her head together. My adult Great Pyrs were not known to be poultry-friendly when I got them, they just happily turned out that way. I can recommend the Anatolian's low-maintenance coat without reservation, but each individual dog may or may not feel poultry are worthy of their guardian efforts. I would recommend starting with an LGD known to be safe with poultry then let the adult dog train any puppy you may acquire later.

I also strongly recommend getting the best fence you can afford around all your livestock ASAP.

Just my two cents worth,
Angela

 

[Smarcebird]

Thanks for the help Bee!

 

[Beekissed]

Bee,
Would you be willing to post another pic of the finished coop? How did you secure all the edges where the cattle panel met up with another edge of panel? You couldn't have zip-tied it together - or was it wielded? It was zip tied together! In the last pic with the door (? - rectanular with a cross-beam) and what I'm guessing are nest boxes on opposite sides, did you piecemeal cattle panel in between the woodwork? Yes. How stable is the entire structure? Stable enough that in the recent storms with 70-90 mph winds, this thing didn't budge..even the tarp flaps that were unsecured didn't move. What would you change/improve upon if you had to re-build another new one? I would have kept it more simple and lightweight...this one turned out so heavy that I had to move it with the truck and could not move it by hand. I'm just trying to picture in my head how it all came together at the end...and forgive me- I'm not skilled in carpentry or tools of any kind...but would try to make something like this work if I had to.... I'm not that skilled either and a true carpenter would look closely at this and snicker loudly...but he'd have a devil of a time getting it torn down. I built it pretty solid, if not with a lot of finesse.

I'll give you a link to the whole build, step by step, and the finished coop:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/cattle-panel-hoop-coop