Coop is here, needs adjusting

[niter]

Okay, our coop is here and we love it!! There are a few things we need to address and I would love both input and inspiration as needed. It is a modified Garden Coop. Some of the changes I requested when it was built, some the builder changed for me without asking (for better and for worse).

1) Level and apron.
We are working on making the coop level and then adding a hardware cloth apron. Currently, a vinyl apron is present and it is doing a fair job but we have dogs and coyotes in the neighbor hood. I would not have thought of the latter but a neighbor called me to let me know it was running about at dusk. We would like to take this apron and cover it with heavy gravel or large river rock and a border of landscape timbers. What would be the best way to level the coop? Moving it probably is not an option, unfortunately. We could use advice and some inspiration here.




2) Add side doors to hen house
This one I need less advice on but my spouse had one question. I would love having a door on each end of the hen house so that I can access any point in it. He thinks it would make it too drafty. Would it?

3) Sealing and predator proofing the hen house.
Unfortunately, the top layer of hardware cloth was NOT added to the upper most portion of the run (grumble) and hen house (double grumble). Snakes and rodents could get in. The run is easy enough, we just need to add it ourselves and can do so. The hen house presents a bigger challenge. There is not a great way to get in there and do this. The areas that need sealing are not huge, could we caulk them? Any suggestions here are GREATLY appreciated.




4) Perches
The builder reversed the run orientation so that the 1x4 in the center are outside. I actually like this a lot as we use this surface quite a bit when visiting the chickens. However, adding perches is a bit less easy. Any suggestions would be great. I am tempted to just hang a branch on chains as a chicken swing like I have seen on this forum.

5) Lastly, I have a stinker!

One hen keeps removing all the bedding from the nesting boxes and has relocated the nest to just out of reach in the hen house. How can I discourage this?


Overall, though, we LOVE LOVE LOVE our coop. Instead of being discouraged by the work needed to be done, I am excited to do the modifications. We would have loved to build it ourselves but time was not on our side particularly since we also would have had to include time to learn how to do many of the things needed to be done to build the coop.

Thanks!!

 

[jetdog]

My first thought was to move it to a more level spot but maybe you can dig it down on the high side. If you have a good size clean out door you can get inside and screw some hardware cloth over the openings, or have a teenager do it they tend to fit into awkward spaces better. Caulking is fine as long as it's done neatly so they can't pull it out. The swing sounds good or a saw horse type of structure. I have shavings on the floor and tried soft hay in the boxes and they pulled the hay out and made a huge mess so I use shavings in the nestboxs now and problem solved, or you could remove the box you can't reach I mean how would you get a egg laid there.

 

[TomGallopavo]

Get one ground contact 4x4 (you will cut it into 4 pieces). Raise the coop so it is level and screw the cut 4x4 into each corner. Going by looks I would want the coop wood off the ground 6 inches or so. Get 3 foot hard wire and put it 1 foot up the side and 2 feet on the ground just folding, not cutting. Get some thin wire and wire the tops of the hard wires together. Wire squares onto the ground at the corners. Pile rocks around the outside of the coop. That is what I would do anyway. Nice little coop BTW.

 

[Primo]

If ventilation is not an issue get a can of "great stuff" expanding foam sealant to fill those voids.
I see the floor is tiled with nothing else on it. Do you just clean off the tiles? I think if the floor and the nesting boxes are covered in the same material (pine shavings, straw ect) they won't remove and just use the nesting boxes most of the time to lay.
You don't have to level unless for aesthetics (it would bug me cause I hate things that aren't level) If you level there are several ways to do this. The poster above had a very good suggestion. You could also block it up on the low corners in back with inexpensive concrete cast block then fill in the resulting voids with cut to fit landscape timbers, or pressure treated deck boards as a simple apron. You should ditch the vinyl screen and go with something metal (chain link fencing, hardware cloth ect) You don't have to cover the entire inside of the run with the mesh apron. Just extend it out about 18" or so

 

[RWD]

Answers to your questions -
1. Site preparation. Level the site before you set the coop on it. Spread dirt and gravel to create a pad area. Set coop and your done.
2.No larger than the elevated house is, a single center door in the rear would be more than sufficient.
3.Not wanting to scare you, but your not going to keep snakes or mice out of a chicken house. Closing off all the areas beneath the metal roofing will greatly reduce your ventilation.
4.You have a valid idea with the tree branch.
5.Eat that hen, if her behavior is objectionable.
The largest problem you will ever have with chickens is to try and over think raising them. They are very forgiving creatures and survived for 1000's of years before we decided to "improve" their standard of living. Sit back and enjoy your new coop, and enjoy your chickens. (Don't eat that hen, send her to me)