Coop Ideas ...

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Rozzie: I have tryed offten enought to clean it out, I think I may have another go! We have a "Bob-Cat" but there is a wall about 2 feet high around the front of the Big Chicken Pen, so it wouldn't be able to get inside .. if it could ... man that would be AWESOME!!!
Hey, I got an idea, we are renting a small digger thing with a claw, if we took the front of the Big Chicken Pen OFF then that claw thingy could get inside and get some of the bedding out! I wonder ... the bedding is pretty hard.

PineappleMama: I will do my best!

:

chicksbestfriend: Wow, sounds like you REALLY deserve your coop!

The guys had to go do some work for someone this morning, but when they get back I'm gonna ask'em!

Wow, thanks for all the advice.

If we were to fix the run, I'd cut that stupid ol' tree down!

You can see in one of the pictures that there is an old roll of Large chicken wire, it's about twice the size of ragular chicken wire so it's not very sturdy, we could put hog panels around the whole run area. Humm, my smaller pen ... Every week or so I clean off the top layer of bedding, it's not very deep so it isn't too hard, but you see if I lift stuff too heavy then my back hurts like crazy!

But .... "Where theres a Will, Theres a Way!"

 

[bburn]

Girl....that is why they call it Girl Power!

All above was good advice. Take it and run with it. Start digging and they will come....maybe not the first day....but they will come. It is a man thing. My DH is working out of state. He came in for the weekend last weekend and I had started a new run for my Lone Rooster. He laughed! He said it would never hold up and would just fall down. THEN he said why didn't we put up that 7' chain link fence I bought at an auction.....well....last Sunday his daughter came up for Rooster and Dumplings and to visit with her dad. She got in some real good dad time, that is for sure. We all three got out there and put up the fence. It is really heavy duty chain link....like to protect a pawn shop....and that was where the auction was. I realize I have to go around the outside bottom with good wire and there will be that plus the galvanized metal roofing from the old barn. We secure the roofing so it can't be lifted.

He left to go back to work and I got out there and put the top on the 7' run....guess what? Started working on it and my husbands nephew showed up and started helping. It is a man thing Girl! You know, it can't possibly be right if we are doing it! Also, I had bought temp housing for the Lone Rooster....big dog house and put a roost in it and he only goes in there to eat....sleeps on top. But that was not good enough for DH either....when he comes home for good the middle of November he is going to attach a new coop to the old coop and it will be for the Lone Rooster and his girls.....perfect timing as they will be out of quarantine by then. I even got a freebie from a floor covering place. The crates that floor tile comes in. Built really sturdy but not enclosed. Put metal roofing on top and call it the Chicken Cabana. Mostly the rooster gets on top to see the world and crow but I have caught him inside a couple of times. I put a roost in there too!

Just start working every spare moment.....drag inside at the end of the day and when they ask tell them you have to do this for your chickens!! You just have to give them a safe environment to live!!

You can do it!!! Get to work!

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Keep up the good work girl!

I'm headed out to the barn RIGHT NOW!

 

[Rebecky54]

I don't think your existing buildings look that bad. They are not "pretty" but you don't live in the suburbs (neither do I -- my coops are great for me, but wouldn't work in the city.) If they are dry and cool in summer and warm in winter, then they should work. I started learning how to do things when I was a teenager, and while not the best carpenter, I can get done what I need to get done. If I waited for my son and husband, I wouldn't get anything done. If you have a passion (I like that term better than addiction) then you have to learn to be responsible for your passion -- most others won't understand unless they have the same passion.

I agree you can and should start cleaning out the coops the hard way -- it can be done. I would work on making the existing pens more secure -- tighter wire and fewer holes so predators can't get in. It would be easier for you to work with what you have instead of trying to build a new coop from scratch unless the family will help.

Once you have the pens cleaned and more secure, you can spray/dust the coop for lice and treat the birds -- you should be able to get it under control. You may also want to consider the number of birds you can reasonably care for and keep in good condition. If you don't have time to feed/water/clean pens/treat XX number of birds, then you need to find the number that works for you.

I really like your big coop with the large ladder type roost -- it's neat. So, it's all how you look at things -- I'd love to have your big pen!!

Becky

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

I haven't worked on the coop yet, I had to clean out my "Guin-Guin Hutch" cause it rained and got the shavings all wet!

Yes, the space is AWESOME, just not the mite infested ground.

Once I get some progress I'll post pictures. IF and WHEN I get the stuff out of the pen then I will be able to keep it clean, heck I could even get the water hose and spray it out, since there is concreate under it!

 

[Rozzie]

Mrs. Fluffy Puffy :

Keep up the good work girl!

I'm headed out to the barn RIGHT NOW!

Good for you! You can do it! Your girls will thank you, too. Just remember, this is NOT a job you'll do in a day. Give yourself an amount of time to work at it each day - maybe a half hour, maybe an hour. So long as you remove more stuff each week than gets added (as bedding and the donations from your birds...) you'll eventually get done!​

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Well I did start to clean out the coop, then my mom told me to stop because she didn't want me breathing in the nasty air.

She .al.also told me not to hatch anything else out and not to get anymore new chickens and to let mine just die off and not get anymore ... While she was talking I was having a hard time holding back the tears ... I locked myself in the bathroom and while I took my shower I was crying so hard I couldn't see ... my heart is broken ..

 

[Tdub4chiks]

I'm so sorry. But, you still have over 100 birds that need you to take care of them. Chickens can live a long time and the ones you have will give you many years of pleasure. That's a lot of birds to care for and maybe one will go broody where no one will notice ...oops.

Good luck with you and your flocks.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

That's what I told her, she just said just because they had a few mites didn't mean I had to clean out their coop .. ahem .. they are about to DIE They have so many mites!

I just can't explain it to her .. she won't listen to me!

 

[Tdub4chiks]

Have you tried Seven Dust? I hear it works. You have to do the coop & the birds.