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

[paneubert]

More progress. Ran three wires from the deck to the fence. Now that I look at it from above, I think I am going to run one more that goes just to the left of the big tree trunk. Total of 4 wires. Plan is to see if we can get the 40 by 40 foot netting on top tomorrow.

Eye screws and deck end of the wire...

Showing the three eye screws (only one with wire attached)

View of the three wires. I think I am going to raise the center wire up higher by attaching a 2 by 4 to the existing fence 4 by 4. Give myself a little more head room. Right now it is at about 6 feet.

Another angle. Just as hard to see the wires....

 

[paneubert]

More thoughts after looking at the aerial photo are that I may cut down the big branch running from the tree to the fence. It is just something to hit a head on currently. The far left wire is secure.....but that 2 by 4 does flex if you put some weight on the wire. Thinking of ways to make that a little more solid. We will see what happens in the morning.

Also just for informational purposes, figured I would mention that while the wire is permanently crimped on the deck side, the fence side uses turnbuckles to tension the wire. I just undid the turnbuckles as much as I could. cut the wire to be just the right length, then hooked the turnbuckle to an eye screw and tightened. So I can loosen or tighten the wire if I need to on demand.

 

[paneubert]

Moved the attachment for the far left wire to be outside the fence so that it is more secure. Cut down the big limb that was running from the tree to the fence (but left a stub about a foot long for future "hanging of items" opportunities) and then ran a 4th wire just to the left of the trunk. I put a screw into the trunk right below the wire so it is held high and wont sag down if the tree moves in the wind. Sort of hard to see in this photo.

Used the limb to make a little roost out in the yard. Just for fun.

Added cleats to the ramp in the coop. They were larger than I thought they were, but I think it should still work.

Wife suggested we wait to do the netting until closer to when the chicks will be allowed into the run, so that is on hold for now. Guess my next goal needs to be deciding what to do with all the bagged leaves I have in the coop.

 

[aart]

What's the height difference between fence and deck?
Looks like a pretty steep slope not seen in previous pics taken from above.

How will you arrange netting around tree?

Put leaves on your flower beds, like the one I see along fence in 3rd pic in post 53....
...and some in those compost bins in run area....and a thin layer on wood chips in run.

 

[paneubert]

Not actually sure about the overall slope of the wire. I have to stand on a short step ladder for the deck side to reach the eye screws, but not for the fence. But it is more complicated than that since the ground slopes down naturally as well. I'll have to toss a level on there and see if I can measure how many degrees off horizontal the wire is. Maybe I will go outside the fence and take a photo looking up towards the deck. Then it would be easier to eyeball it.

The netting around the tree is going to be interesting. I plan to start attaching from the deck and move "down" towards the fence, ideally as one large, single piece net. I could just slit the netting when I get to the trunk and then mend it on the other side. But I have two trunks to deal with, so would have to work with 2 slits, or leave the area between trunks open. May just run solid square/rectangle of netting down from the deck that covers from the far left fenceline to the left most trunk, then another square rectangle that fits the narrow area between the right most trunk and the right fence line. Mend the two as needed. Since I have wire right against the left most trunk as well as the right most trunk, I do have an attachment point for two chunks of netting if I wanted to do that. Then it is the small area between the trunks that needs to be closed up.

I feel like we will be doing a lot of flying by the seat of our pants when it comes time to do it!

 

[paneubert]

Also, I am sure you notice I still have not reinforced the new gate @aart . I will get to it! I swear! Haha. I actually found a 10 foot long pressure treated 2 by 4 that I forgot I had. So that has the length I need to make a diagonal brace for the gate. Don't remember the math, but it is a 4 foot wide gate. So takes a long piece to span the diagonal.

 

[paneubert]

After writing....

"May just run solid square/rectangle of netting down from the deck that covers from the far left fenceline to the left most trunk, then another square rectangle that fits the narrow area between the right most trunk and the right fence line. Mend the two as needed."

....realized the two separate chunks of net would make more sense to do on the "high" side of the tree, then the second chunk on the "low" side. The two trunks would then pose much less of a gap issue since the missing section would only be as wide as one trunk instead of the width of both trunks plus the space between the trunks. Makes sense in my brain. If I do it left to right instead of "deck to fence", may be able to still stick with one large net sliced when hitting the trunk and mended on the other side. There is only maybe.....2 feet that would need mending on the far right side of the run between the right trunk and the fence.

 

[paneubert]

Crap, at that height, 3 trunks to deal with. Haha. Well.....it will be ok.

 

[aart]

Might want to do something like this under the door....the chickens will dig the gravel out around there.(and scratch all those wood chips into the gravel path way).
I started with just the pavers, they dug under them.
Added the row of bricks, they dug under them.
Finally put pavers on edge and rebar to hold them in place...that has held up.

 

[paneubert]

Might want to do something like this under the door....the chickens will dig the gravel out around there.(and scratch all those wood chips into the gravel path way).
I started with just the pavers, they dug under them.
Added the row of bricks, they dug under them.
Finally put pavers on edge and rebar to hold them in place...that has held up.
View attachment 1649091

Smart. I have some large rocks buried under the threshold of the gate right now, just below the surface of the gravel, but there is still plenty of opportunity for them to excavate some of the gravel I am sure. I should see if I took any photos when I was doing it. I "THINK" I was smart and made sure that the rocks were high enough to stop them from excavating enough to dig out into the backyard, but I am not 100% sure now that I covered it in gravel. Hmmmmmm....