Fencing Help

[AmyJane725]

Oh, so there's not an L on the inside and outside, just one outside with the corner at the junction between the ground and the fence.

Your coop is very pretty by the way. I love the paint job.

 

[blackdog043]

That's a good point about them not thinking about it. I think I'll go with the skirting then. Chickens don't ever hurt their feet on the ends of the wire on the inside of the pen, do they?

Yes, no wire should be on the inside of the run, chickens need to be able to scratch the ground.

 

[aart]

I do have some apron on the inside of run walls in places where the chickens would have otherwise dug under the outer apron....but mostly have boards and pavers on the inside to deter that....because chickens are excellent excavators:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/excavation-by-birds-a-word-of-warning.1086535/

 

[AmyJane725]

Here's a question, and I know it should be fairly obvious, but I'm having issues. The guy who is going to build my fence is also going to build me a nice new coop. Where do the roosts go?

Here is a video showing a design I like pretty well (minus the run, and the double windows are probably overkill), but since there are nesting boxes on both sides, I don't get where the roosts attach. Above the nesting boxes? Because as I understand it I'm also supposed to have windows above the roosts to get the ventilation without chilling the birds. And what direction am I supposed to have the windows? On the N, S, E or W sides? I feel like I read there's one direction you're NOT supposed to have windows, and the rest are ok?

And sorry, this is a 3 part video. Maybe just skim it?

As I posted this I think I answered my own question. I think it's those two things that make a V shape that are just kinda propped up in the center of the coop. Are those good? I've read cylindrical dowels aren't as good as 2x4s. Also, shouldn't they be higher than that? I thought chickens like it up high? Would a good height be if you just had boards running straight across at the height of the top of the nesting boxes? Like if you took the point of that V, pinched it between your fingers and just lifted it up to be a straight line across?

And is it ok to have him use treated wood? We get rain basically 24/7, 365, and I'm worried it'll rot if he doesn't, but I'm worried it'll poison them. Not that they should be eating the wood of the coop, but you know what I mean.

 

[paneubert]

Roosts above nest boxes so they don't sleep and poop in nests. There is a good article on "stacking" that I am sure someone will post. I am on my phone, so hard to find. @aart or @jthornton might be the author? Can't recall.

 

[aart]

Here is a video showing a design I like pretty well

That design leaves much to be desired, tho the 3 videos are well produced.
They blocked the eave ventilation and there's little keeper access.
I just watched that the other day, was on another thread.

Roosts above nest boxes so they don't sleep and poop in nests. There is a good article on "stacking" that I am sure someone will post. I am on my phone, so hard to find. @aart or @jthornton might be the author? Can't recall.

T'was I:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/coop-stack-up-how-high-stuff-works-well.73427/

 

[Peppercorngal]

I am a 70 year old woman and I built my own run. Not the coop, but the fenced in run. I bought round posts, dug holes and cemented them in. I used chicken wire for the walls and also put a chicken wire top on it. (Hawks here) It's a walk-in run, 8 feet tall. I used 2 feet of hardware cloth at the bottom of the "wall" to keep predator hands from reaching through the chicken wire. I skirted the run and put big rocks (we have tons of rocks around here!) on top to keep chickens in and others out. My husband and son built the coop for me. It's a shed like structure 8x10 feet. We used some old 2x4's and "roofed" with a tarp 1/2 the run to protect from rain. All this to say that, yes, it can be expensive, but keeping your flock safe and having no stress thinking about predators is worth it for you. You CAN build a good enclosure without paying for labor. The fencing costs enough. I would post some photos but I got a new computer and don't have any. maybe I should take some! Good Luck! It's going to be fun!

 

[AmyJane725]

How about water de-icers? I looked at your DIY plan, and it all looks solid except for the heating unit itself. I found it on amazon, and it seems a lot of people say that it gets rusty or stops working and the chickens either won't drink because of the rust or can't drink because the water freezes. I can't seem to find a product that gets decent reviews anywhere. What do ya'll use?

 

[aart]

How about water de-icers? I looked at your DIY plan, and it all looks solid except for the heating unit itself. I found it on amazon, and it seems a lot of people say that it gets rusty or stops working and the chickens either won't drink because of the rust or can't drink because the water freezes. I can't seem to find a product that gets decent reviews anywhere. What do ya'll use?

Whose DIY plan did you look at?

 

[AmyJane725]

@aart - You have a good point. It is kind of weird to not be able to get inside the coop if you need to. I'm assuming you'd advise having a keeper door for emergency access, as well as cleaning.

Do you have any input on the ventilation direction? Like, which side of the coop the window shouldn't be on, or doesn't it matter? How tall should a coop be overall? I know this is a broad question, since people have all sizes of coops, but if we assume the litter is about 6 inches, then the nesting boxes area foot, and the roosts are a foot above the nesting boxes, how high above the roosts should the vents be? 2-3 ft maybe? So total 4.5 - 5.5ft tall, and maybe just round it up to 6 feet tall inside? Then maybe up on 2ft stilts?

I've been trying to find the post where the guy posted his de-icer, but I can't find it now...I only have two boards, so maybe it was on one that someone else had linked. Basically, it used this heater: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001E8X2CA/?tag=backy-20

Update: Here, I found the post. It was actually an article by blackdog043 https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ock-tank-deicer-and-horizontal-nipples.74609/