Conversion of "3 sides totally open" aviary to a "good for chickens" coop.

[paneubert]

Cross beams are in. Did 2x6 at ground level to give some retention of whatever deep litter or other ground cover I have in there, a 2x4 roughly 32 inches above that, then another 2x4 32 inches higher for a top rail. The overall height is 6 feet from bottom of bottom rail to top of top rail since I am working with a 6 foot roll of chicken wire (you can see I already covered the exterior yard fence with the chicken wire). I still need to put the wire on the new fence, and also beef up the gate. As you can see, the gate is currently just a frame with no supports within it. It works...but definitely wobbles under its own weight. Need to install a latch, some pulls, etc... Also about 99% sure I am going to cover the top of the run with netting, so that would be incorporated to fill any distance between the top rail and the actual top of each 4x4 post. Then lots of filling in of smaller gaps and cracks. Like between the staircase and that first 4x4 post, and under the lower end of the gate. Not sure how I want to handle that lower gate side since I want to be able to wheelbarrow thru there..don't want to just stick a cinder block in the gap or anything. But might come to that. The lower end is the hinge side, so at least that is a plus. Most movement thru the gate will be on the high side. Ohh, and then I have a separate roll of 2 foot wire that I am going to run about 1 foot up the fence and 1 foot skirt. So the bottom foot of fence will be double thick and there will be a skirt. Still NOT trying to make this predator proof at all. The skirt is to keep the chickens in, not predators out.

 

[aart]

Not sure how I want to handle that lower gate side since I want to be able to wheelbarrow thru there..don't want to just stick a cinder block in the gap or anything.

Build a threshold, width of door by maybe 18", with 2x8x16 pavers on edge.
Dig down to put tops of pavers level with bottom of door, then fill with dirt and maybe even 'pave' with pavers haha!..... grade dirt into ramp on outside.
Not sure that makes sense, but best I can do this late in my day.

 

[paneubert]

I am back! Not sure if I posted any of my progress somewhere else or not. Have not been on here in a while. Sometime a few months ago I put up a layer of 2 by 4 chicken wire around the entire interior of the existing/old/property line fence. For that portion of the run, I did it just to make the gaps between fence boards a little smaller. But I also continued with the same wire on the "new" fence section I had built (and the gate). After getting it all up, I was not impressed with it at all. Which is not surprising. The wire was so thin that when stretching it to tack it up, the "diamond" shape of the holes in the wire got all stretched into weird patterns. And it was flimsy enough that it stretched forward and back as well, if that makes any sense. Like it was loose/large enough of a weave that some parts sag into or outside of the fenceline. It is partially due to how thin the wire is, and partially that is is a really large weave (2 by 4 holes). Would have worked a lot better if it was a smaller diameter hole, even if the wire guage was the same. So I am going to take it down from the "new" fence line, but leave it on the existing/old/property line fence. For the portion I remove it from, I am going to put up the heavy guage 2 by 4 welded wire rectangular type. Should hold shape much better and be much more robust.

Still have not dealt with adding hardware to the gate or leveling out the ground under it. Just been yanking it open by the frame. But I will probably deal with beefing that up when I put the new wire up. Figuring out how/what I want to bury to make a good threshold for it, etc...

Still not planning for any chicks until Spring, so still a lot of time to get this done. No progress on the coop. Finally called it quits on hatching and brooding quail in there, so right now it is more of a storage room for me. Will need to clean it out and build a roost system and nest boxes over the winter.

 

[paneubert]

Pulled down the "2 by 4 chicken wire" that I had on the "new" fence. Replaced with 2 by 4 rectangle 14 gauge "welded wire". Used poultry staples this time. Much more secure. Since the fence slopes down towards the "exterior/roadside" fence, I still had some issues getting the wire to lay flat on the frame. But it is much better than the wobbly/thin/weak chicken wire. Still have not dealt with better handles and supports for the gate. It is still really tight in the frame and requires some rough handling to open and close. But I have a bunch of handles I can screw on. Might make a cross brace for it so I can attach a handle to that, as well as staple the wire to the cross beam for a little bit of a less "wobbly" look. Otherwise I have a 6 foot by 4 foot section of wire that is only secured around the perimeter.

Helpers spent their time pulling bark off my big log I have in the run area. Other items of note. Layer of grass clippings and layer of fallen redwood needles/cones are currently spread on floor of run to compost over winter. Fenceline for exterior/road fence has large cement chunks on top of wire apron extending into run. Keeping chickens in, not predators out. The newly completed fence section will have the same. Chunks of concrete lining the interior of the fence line, over a bit of wire apron.

Left side of run looking down from second story deck.

Center of run looking down.....

Right side of run looking down....

Sort of a "side shot" from further along the deck, looking towards the rest of the backyard/side yard.

 

[aart]

Still have not dealt with better handles and supports for the gate. It is still really tight in the frame and requires some rough handling to open and close. But I have a bunch of handles I can screw on. Might make a cross brace for it so I can attach a handle to that,

You're going to need more lumber framing on that gate. The 'L' brackets are not enough to keep it square and stiff. At least one diagonal brace is needed, and probably more clearance all the way around. Here's a rough diagram:

 

[paneubert]

Yep. I just need to stop being lazy and get out the saw to cut some at an angle. Not in a rush quite yet.

 

[paneubert]

Sometimes "when it rains, it pours". I made a post on my town facebook page asking for people to let me have their fallen leaves so I can make a nice thick layer in the run to sit over winter. Bad idea. Haha. I hauled about ten full 30 gallon paper yard waste bags, 4 round plastic garbage cans (looked to be probably 20 or 30 gallons each), and gave out about 10 more bags to people who are going to fill them for me. The lady with the 4 round plastic garbage cans says she can fill those at least once per day for me....haha.

I have another house I am going to Sunday morning to fill some bags. Then my father in law has a massive purple maple tree (about 35 years old and probably 40 feet tall) that is going to start dropping soon.

Combine that with my fresh grass clippings for the next few weeks and possibly my mucking out the old quail aviary (which is probably about 75% dried quail droppings mixed with sand and some Sweet PDZ), and my carbon to nitrogen ratio should be pretty good for composting. I will be interested to see if it turns into a slimy mess over winter, or what.

Even with all those leaves I got today, I still could use a lot more. I have the leaf litter about 4-6 inches deep in some spots, but still "bare" soil in others.

EDIT: Forgot I also borrowed someone's full 60 gallon rolling yard waste cart that was full as well. Haha. So many leaves today!

 

[aart]

Be careful of too many leaves and grass clippings,
they can turn into a sodden mass of slimy nastiness.
BTDT.
Best to mix with larger dry wood chippings and twigs.

 

[paneubert]

Be careful of too many leaves and grass clippings,
they can turn into a sodden mass of slimy nastiness.
BTDT.
Best to mix with larger dry wood chippings and twigs.

Yeah, I have been putting off trying to find some people to split a load of arborist chips with. My problem is that the "free" wood chip service around here comes with a "you can't specify quantity" clause. Could have anywhere from 1 to 10 yards dumped. I would be fine with 1 or 2 yards. But I am worried I would get stuck with 10. Haha. We turned our front yards into arborist chips, so this would be our fourth load of chips. The first 3 always were on the larger end.

 

[paneubert]

I'm actually entertaining the idea of keeping all the "paper bagged" ones in the shed over the winter and then putting them down in the Spring when I have the energy to coordinate some wood chip delivery splitting with other local people. So far the only leaves I have spread on the chicken run are the ones from bins that I had to return. So the "saving" plan actually could work! Dump the ones I can't save and store the ones I can.