Coop of the Piedmont

[Roxbird]

Dear BYC,

I've just recently joined BYC Forums because this year I'm starting up my first ever poultry project. It's an ambitious plan. I'm making two coops with the plan to have the 4 major types of poultry, chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys. I've already mentioned this in my introductory thread and the photos I'll be posting are already in an album on my profile, but if it's alright with you folks, I'd like to dedicate this thread to documenting and showcasing my progress with this project. Thanks for having me

. Photos and details will be coming shortly.

 

[Roxbird]

The place is the northern Piedmont of North Carolina, in Person County. Winters here are cold but usually not severe and summers are hot and humid. I'm still living with my parents at the moment, but I've undertaken this project with their blessing and my Dad's help. We chose a spot right across the driveway from the house. My dad is a mechanic and has a quonset hut nearby that has power that I can use for the lamps in the coop. The area we have chosen for the pen is mostly on a gentle slope so I think it should have good drainage. The photos here were taken late last summer. Most of the trees seen here are what we call "stink trees" or what some people call Tree of Heaven. It's a weed tree and an invasive species that always makes the place stink like a tom cat in summer, so now we've cut them all down and the place will stink like chickens in the summer. So win win really.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Subscribing. Nice spot. We have shrubs here that smell that way. I DESPISE them.

 

[Roxbird]

In January we began to cut down all of the trees and brush that we would be removing. We waited until winter so all the foliage would die back and it would be easier to get into the area to cut down the trees. My dad has a wood furnace he uses to heat his shop so we saved anything firewood sized and piled the rest into two piles. We burned the first pile in February and second one just a couple of days ago. After we cut down all the brush we were able to move some old dilapidated farm equipment that was in the way.

 

[Roxbird]

Thanks 21hens, I figured what better way to kill several birds (no offense) with one stone. This little spot has sat unused for years and has served as nothing but a haven for weeds, mosquitoes and junk. Now we'll be putting it to good use, mitigating the spread of an invasive species, my birds will be close by where I can keep an eye on them, it's near a power source, and now mosquitoes won't be swarming so close to the house. Assuming I keep the area clean and in decent condition, I don't think it will smell worse than the stink trees will.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I think it will smell much better than the stink trees. Nothing can smell as bad as them except a skunk maybe.
What breed/breeds of turkeys are you getting? I sure wish I could have turkeys here.
I viewed the pictures WOW you guys cleared that stuff right out. NICE.
Looking forward to all the progress you will be making.

Congrats on such a great spot for the birds!

 

[Roxbird]

We are actually going to be making two coops, but we are only building one from scratch. The second coop we are going to re-purpose from an old dog kennel. On the 13th of March we set up the four corner posts for the 1st coop. We put two 10ft posts in the front (the end nearest the tractor) and two 8ft posts in back with 2ft deep post holes to give us an 8ft tall front and a 6ft tall back. We mixed a 50lb bag of concrete for each post. The front of the coop faces approximately East. My Dad's shop is to the South so it might block some of the summer sun. The basic design comes from a plan in Storey's Guide to Raising Poultry by Glenn Drowns. I imagine many of the folks on BYC might be familiar with Mr. Drowns' work if not his name. He owns and operates Sandhill Preservation Center which preserves and supplies rare heritage breeds of poultry and heirloom vegetable seeds. His plan, however, calls for an 8ft x 7ft structure. Our coop was expanded to a flat 10ft x 10ft as I plan to be getting more birds than the original design would accommodate. On the 15th of March we put up the top and bottom frames of the coop and we nailed down the rafters on the 16th.

 

[Roxbird]

I think it will smell much better than the stink trees. Nothing can smell as bad as them except a skunk maybe.
What breed/breeds of turkeys are you getting? I sure wish I could have turkeys here.
I viewed the pictures WOW you guys cleared that stuff right out. NICE.
Looking forward to all the progress you will be making.

Congrats on such a great spot for the birds!

Thanks for asking. For this first go around our turkeys won't be anything special. Half broad breasted bronze and half broad breasted white. My favorite color is the bronze because it makes me think of the wild turkey and I love the sheen from their feathers. Depending on how things turn out this year, the next go around I might get some of the naturally mating varieties and I might try to breed them. If I may ask, what keeps you from having turkeys? Weather? Regulations? Or just not the space?

 

[21hens-incharge]

EXTREMELY NICE!

I think you have an awesome start there.

No turkeys for me is the regulations. (I am in town) It did not stop me from having 42 chickens though LOL.

 

[Roxbird]

EXTREMELY NICE!

I think you have an awesome start there.

No turkeys for me is the regulations. (I am in town) It did not stop me from having 42 chickens though LOL.