- Oct 30, 2008
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Here's my coop my DH built over christmas. We have been using the dog run as the run for just over a year with a rabbit hutch inside but as my hen numbers keep getting larger and temps can get cold in central Texas thought we needed something larger (and warmer) for my girls. Attached the new coop to the outside of the pen which really opened it up in there and have a few roosting branches in the run along with a ladder to the coop for my girls that don't fly much. So far has worked out GREAT. (I also wanted to be able to check for eggs from the outside without entering the run). All of the siding & trim were scrap wood DH had, then the frame was 2X4's on clearance (I think 50 cents a board) and the paint was "oops" so very cheap. Tree branch roosts inside run & ladder I made from cedar trees we cut down on the property so were free.
We still need to finish siding the bottom to use for storage...just ran out of wood.
inside view of roosts (the nesting boxes were attached to the opening on the right...not attached in the picture yet)
There are also windows on either end that can be closed during hard rains or freezing nights.
view inside the run...the chicken entrance door is cut out of the larger doors that I can open to access inside to clean. I just use pine shavings on the floor in there, then hay in the nest boxes (there are 3).
Here is the whole thing...
On the back side of the run I have trellises to grow vines (morning glories)...I don't let them attach though where the chickens can reach. It looks very different in the warmer months when those grow where it looks more green & garden-like
The floor of the run is also concrete so critters can't dig in and I've recently added sand on top of that (whoever suggested that on this forum is my hero). I have 1 large rabbit in there that shares the run with my 7 hens so the igloo is for her...lol
We still need to finish siding the bottom to use for storage...just ran out of wood.
inside view of roosts (the nesting boxes were attached to the opening on the right...not attached in the picture yet)
There are also windows on either end that can be closed during hard rains or freezing nights.
view inside the run...the chicken entrance door is cut out of the larger doors that I can open to access inside to clean. I just use pine shavings on the floor in there, then hay in the nest boxes (there are 3).
Here is the whole thing...
On the back side of the run I have trellises to grow vines (morning glories)...I don't let them attach though where the chickens can reach. It looks very different in the warmer months when those grow where it looks more green & garden-like
The floor of the run is also concrete so critters can't dig in and I've recently added sand on top of that (whoever suggested that on this forum is my hero). I have 1 large rabbit in there that shares the run with my 7 hens so the igloo is for her...lol
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