Coop being delivered tomorrow...help!

[Molpet]

I have a HC apron around my coop, just sod staples holding it down. at first the grass grew through it until I got more chickens. Does not seem to bother their feet any

 

[micstrachan]

My skirt is on the outside of the pen, adhered to a base with screws and washers. It is buried a few inches deep and extends outward from the coop a couple of feet. My chickens don't have access to hurt their feet on it, unless the scratched and dug enthusiastically (and unburied it) right outside the pen. Usually if they're outside the pen for freerange time, they don't hang out right near it.

 

[flipflops]

How far should the apron extend from the side? To make the HC go further we thought of cutting the 3ft roll in half and then that would leave 1.5 feet outward. Is that enough?

 

[pennyJo1960]

I would go no less than the 3ft costs more but peace of mind is worth it

 

[flipflops]

Coop is now in our yard just working on a few things before we put chickies in. Ok should we do a solar powered light inside the coop and hen house? Is it best to hang the feeder and water inside the house? Is it ok to hang them with rope versus chain?

 

[pennyJo1960]

Solar is great saves you money also.. hanging with rope is good do not want you birds swinging on it and pooping there again I use cinder blocks

 

[flipflops]

But put the food and water inside the hen house? I was afraid putting outside would draw in critters. Sorry for all my questions.

 

[pennyJo1960]

all questions are good this is how we learn right... I keep all inside as yes not as liable to draw attention of wild birds mice

 

[heather9084]

I'm not sure what region you live in but ours we dug out about 4 inches inside the run area, put down rock then sand on top. The chickens will destroy the grass but they love dust bathing so having the sand helps. Mine dust bathe in there rather than digging up part of my yard. Also the sand is easier to clean if you want to clean it out (think giant cat litter pan).

If you live somewhere with a lot of raccoons or bobcats or anything you might want to bury some chicken fencing around the outside. We did and we are glad we did because one morning I found something rather large had tried digging into the pen and kept hitting the chicken fencing we buried. Predators wont tunnel so about 6"-1foot is plenty.

That may be over-kill but I grew up on a farm with a lot of chickens and we buried the fencing. Never lost a chicken to a predator then or now but a local friend of ours lost her entire flock to some raccoons one night and she didn't have the fencing buried.

 

[flipflops]

Yes I want to be very cautious I know we have coons and possum around so I do not want them to get these girls after we have spent so much time raising them from babies! Is it ok to do like one person did and put the wire skirt on top of the ground all the way around? Our yard and dirt is pretty hard and may take a while to dig up even 6" down.