Denver based flock :-)

[mtnchickens303]

Hi,

Im finally posting my coop and flock pictures now that I'm all done. The coop took about two weeks by myself and only cost about $100! All the wood is completely free and recycled so it was just time collecting it from piles. My friend really wanted chickens but wanted to clean up wood piles first so this is the end result. The coop is 5x8 and the run is 5x20, most of the time they roam around the yard. I grew up raising chickens for FFA so its very cool to share it with my friend. We have two different sets of birds, full grown hens and two week old chicks. Its just too fun to not show him how to raise chicks.

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[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided join our flock. You did a great job using recycled materials. One thing you might need to spend some money on however; if you've got any predators in your area (dogs, cats, racoons, snakes, rats , weasels, etc.), you should cover that chicken wire with hardware cloth as these and other predators can either tear through chicken wire, or squeeze through the openings in the mesh. Adding hardware cloth will add some expense to your coop, but it's cheaper than replacing your flock. Also, if you have racoons in the area be sure and use a padlock or a double action latch on the coop door as racoons can easily figure out how to open a single action latch. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck with your flock.

 

[mtnchickens303]

Thank you for the advise, later on i plan to add a bit more defense. During the day they have the sweetest big dogs that keep them company and for night defense i went ultra defense. The run door weighs 30lbs built into the wall with pullies to make it easy and is 4 inches thick. The window has a cover and the door is built to always close with gravity and weighs alot. I grew up on a ranch in NW colorado so i built the coop to even be badger proof (none in the city of course). The base is 12×12 cut logs with 4x4 oak walls and a metal tin skirt. Vent shafts are built in to the walls and during the day the coop is very cool. This was a coop style i made to last him a long time and easy to clean. I have 5 black Aust. and 1 bard rock. 2-3 years old i traded for feed and i bought chicks almost two weeks ago. Right now he gets to learn the easy stuff like daily care while I get the harder part done raising chicks to 8 weeks old. So far we are getting 3-4 eggs a day so he gives me updates and closes them up at night. I live 20 minutes away so i do the cleaning and major stuff once a week. Our goal is to get 6 new hens raised for december and rotate out these old hens. I got Rhode Island red chicks and black opingtons. I hate loss and made this coop to withstand a big animal by city standards. Lol

 

[Michael OShay]

Thank you for the advise, later on i plan to add a bit more defense. During the day they have the sweetest big dogs that keep them company and for night defense i went ultra defense. The run door weighs 30lbs built into the wall with pullies to make it easy and is 4 inches thick. The window has a cover and the door is built to always close with gravity and weighs alot. I grew up on a ranch in NW colorado so i built the coop to even be badger proof (none in the city of course). The base is 12×12 cut logs with 4x4 oak walls and a metal tin skirt. Vent shafts are built in to the walls and during the day the coop is very cool. This was a coop style i made to last him a long time and easy to clean. I have 5 black Aust. and 1 bard rock. 2-3 years old i traded for feed and i bought chicks almost two weeks ago. Right now he gets to learn the easy stuff like daily care while I get the harder part done raising chicks to 8 weeks old. So far we are getting 3-4 eggs a day so he gives me updates and closes them up at night. I live 20 minutes away so i do the cleaning and major stuff once a week. Our goal is to get 6 new hens raised for december and rotate out these old hens. I got Rhode Island red chicks and black opingtons. I hate loss and made this coop to withstand a big animal by city standards. Lol

You're welcome. Sounds like your experienced at predator protection. You have some good breeds. Black Australorps are my favorite standard breed. I raised them for years (along with dozens of other breeds), and they are extremely hardy, calm and gentle (my children and granddaughter made lap pets of them), and excellent layers of large, brown eggs. Good luck in protecting your flock from the predators.

 

[N F C]

Welcome to BYC!

I really like the look of the older wood used for your coop. It must be fun sharing the raising with your friend, sounds like you have a good plan for taking care of them equally.

Good luck to you and the friend. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

It's nice to have you here!

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[drumstick diva]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens - great that a friend is also involved. I think people do better with buddies just like chickens do.

 

[nj2wv]

welcome to BYC !!