This is my first step into the jungle of raising chickens. Picking up my 7 week old 2 Buff Orpingtons and 2 Lavender Orpingtons on Monday 11/20. I have been prepping for months, not done yet! I need to know if there is more I need.
At this point I have an Innovation Pet's Deluxe Farm House which has what I believe are thin walls. You can see one in the reviews section on here. The egg collection door locks well but not snug so I am attaching 2 bolt locks to pull it in so raccons cant get a grip along an edge and pry it down. There is a small gap around said door which will cause a direct draft so I an screwing in thin in inch wide wood strips inside to cover those gaps when the door is closed. I'm putting pine shavings thickly in the nesting area but blocking it from them with small crates so they dont poop in there. I estimate they wont lay till end of February or early March. The pine should act as a bit of insulation from the empty nest area. The roost is only a few inches above the metal removable tray so I can't DL until next year when I plan some coop renovations. The attached run is 7ftx3.5ft with half that under the hen house. I'm concerned about rain getting in the feed no matter where I put it so I enclosed the bottom part under the hen house to have a dryer area. The henhouse has an open vent area at the roof between the henhouse and the run that is higher than their heads, basically the wall stops at the "ceiling" height leaving a gap up to the point of the roof. Ok thats the coop.
I have black bear, fox, hawks, raccoons, and some sort of weasely cat thing here besides neighborhood cats. I'm surrounded by woods. So...I bought a chain link dog run 10x10x6. Covered the rooftop with 1x2 wire 2 ft wide (yes, I connected 4 lengths of 12 ft long strips together myself to make it a 12x12 cover) held up by 2-2x4 boards and one old metal pole I had laying around which I laid across the top first. I made an apron of the same 1x2 wire, wrapped the entire bottom 4 ft in 1/2inch hardware cloth, wrapped the top 2 ft in more 1x2 wire. Oh...and before erecting the dog pen run I put an apron around the coop.
Now...winter is coming, these gals are young, and I am not heating them. Should I insulate? Should I tarp the run? Any suggestions are most welcome but I am running out of cash flow for this project. These ladies will have to produce eggs for the next 20 years to pay for their fortress! (Joking!...sortaLOL)
At this point I have an Innovation Pet's Deluxe Farm House which has what I believe are thin walls. You can see one in the reviews section on here. The egg collection door locks well but not snug so I am attaching 2 bolt locks to pull it in so raccons cant get a grip along an edge and pry it down. There is a small gap around said door which will cause a direct draft so I an screwing in thin in inch wide wood strips inside to cover those gaps when the door is closed. I'm putting pine shavings thickly in the nesting area but blocking it from them with small crates so they dont poop in there. I estimate they wont lay till end of February or early March. The pine should act as a bit of insulation from the empty nest area. The roost is only a few inches above the metal removable tray so I can't DL until next year when I plan some coop renovations. The attached run is 7ftx3.5ft with half that under the hen house. I'm concerned about rain getting in the feed no matter where I put it so I enclosed the bottom part under the hen house to have a dryer area. The henhouse has an open vent area at the roof between the henhouse and the run that is higher than their heads, basically the wall stops at the "ceiling" height leaving a gap up to the point of the roof. Ok thats the coop.
I have black bear, fox, hawks, raccoons, and some sort of weasely cat thing here besides neighborhood cats. I'm surrounded by woods. So...I bought a chain link dog run 10x10x6. Covered the rooftop with 1x2 wire 2 ft wide (yes, I connected 4 lengths of 12 ft long strips together myself to make it a 12x12 cover) held up by 2-2x4 boards and one old metal pole I had laying around which I laid across the top first. I made an apron of the same 1x2 wire, wrapped the entire bottom 4 ft in 1/2inch hardware cloth, wrapped the top 2 ft in more 1x2 wire. Oh...and before erecting the dog pen run I put an apron around the coop.
Now...winter is coming, these gals are young, and I am not heating them. Should I insulate? Should I tarp the run? Any suggestions are most welcome but I am running out of cash flow for this project. These ladies will have to produce eggs for the next 20 years to pay for their fortress! (Joking!...sortaLOL)
