Ah, the joys of having a blank canvas... At least with the coop & run prefab setups you don't have to worry about this.
Now that the area of the run has been finalised, I can start thinking about what to put in it and where. I plan to have as much as possible off the floor, so that the full floor area is available. I'm not sure what I'm looking for with this post... Further suggestions, reassurance, a way of focusing my thoughts? Suggestions and comments would certainly be nice though.
This is the space I have to work with. The wall (in grey) is 6ft high, and the whole run area is 21ft long. The top of the picture is to be read as north, though it's NNW or a little more. The wind mostly comes from the west and blows east, with some being directed up the side of the house to blow north against the southern end of the run.
There is some slope on the roof, but I've shown everything as box-shaped.
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This is where the run is going. It's sitting on blocks for two reasons. One, it raises the height of the ceiling. Two, it gives me something to retain the deep litter.
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Same view, but shows the frame up and partially meshed. Looks like it's been there forever already! The roof will be meshed as well, and so will the earth.. I'm not yet sure what will be going on top for keeping sun and water off. Ideally the waterproofing would be proof against drizzle and short showers, but let through some water to moisten the litter. I'm thinking about cotton dust sheets, at least initially. Once they expire, they can be ripped up and added to the litter.
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This is more of a 'work in progress' shot.
You can see where the wind comes up the side of the house, the size of the coop (see below for more details), and the eventual location of the second half of the run (edited black lines onto the photo). The ground slopes down slightly towards the house, with the little corner behind the coop's nest box being a few inches lower than the blocks.
You can also see how the mesh is held on. At the moment it's just stapled, but it'll be covered in a veneer which will be screwed down with washers.
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The coop:
No detailed photos of this. It's one of those dollhouse coops with attached nestbox. I'm planning on ignoring the nesting area and extending the roosts to the former nest box area just to use the space, because the sleeping and laying areas aren't going to end up in the same place. The coop itself can go... wherever. There will be an open-air roosting area for summer, and if it's cosy enough they'll probably carry on using it all year round. That'd be better than a little creosoted box.
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A quick pic with suggested furniture placements. The eggs are near the house and away from everything else, the roosts are near the run door, and the water butt is nearly tucked away in the corner. The feeding area is also near the door, but the placement of that is less of a concern. For the laying area I have a small wooden box, though honestly I think the hens will be fine with crisp packet boxes. I can get loads of those from work as well.
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Some of the stuff I'll be using for litter. It sounds proper foresty when you crunch across it. I also have cut-up double-ply cardboard, five sycamore's worth of shredded leaves from last autumn, and some shredded newspapers (they use soy ink in the UK). I need about 120 cubic feet. More shredding is required.
Now that the area of the run has been finalised, I can start thinking about what to put in it and where. I plan to have as much as possible off the floor, so that the full floor area is available. I'm not sure what I'm looking for with this post... Further suggestions, reassurance, a way of focusing my thoughts? Suggestions and comments would certainly be nice though.
This is the space I have to work with. The wall (in grey) is 6ft high, and the whole run area is 21ft long. The top of the picture is to be read as north, though it's NNW or a little more. The wind mostly comes from the west and blows east, with some being directed up the side of the house to blow north against the southern end of the run.
There is some slope on the roof, but I've shown everything as box-shaped.
----------
This is where the run is going. It's sitting on blocks for two reasons. One, it raises the height of the ceiling. Two, it gives me something to retain the deep litter.
----------
Same view, but shows the frame up and partially meshed. Looks like it's been there forever already! The roof will be meshed as well, and so will the earth.. I'm not yet sure what will be going on top for keeping sun and water off. Ideally the waterproofing would be proof against drizzle and short showers, but let through some water to moisten the litter. I'm thinking about cotton dust sheets, at least initially. Once they expire, they can be ripped up and added to the litter.
----------
This is more of a 'work in progress' shot.
You can see where the wind comes up the side of the house, the size of the coop (see below for more details), and the eventual location of the second half of the run (edited black lines onto the photo). The ground slopes down slightly towards the house, with the little corner behind the coop's nest box being a few inches lower than the blocks.
You can also see how the mesh is held on. At the moment it's just stapled, but it'll be covered in a veneer which will be screwed down with washers.
----------
The coop:
No detailed photos of this. It's one of those dollhouse coops with attached nestbox. I'm planning on ignoring the nesting area and extending the roosts to the former nest box area just to use the space, because the sleeping and laying areas aren't going to end up in the same place. The coop itself can go... wherever. There will be an open-air roosting area for summer, and if it's cosy enough they'll probably carry on using it all year round. That'd be better than a little creosoted box.
----------
A quick pic with suggested furniture placements. The eggs are near the house and away from everything else, the roosts are near the run door, and the water butt is nearly tucked away in the corner. The feeding area is also near the door, but the placement of that is less of a concern. For the laying area I have a small wooden box, though honestly I think the hens will be fine with crisp packet boxes. I can get loads of those from work as well.
----------
Some of the stuff I'll be using for litter. It sounds proper foresty when you crunch across it. I also have cut-up double-ply cardboard, five sycamore's worth of shredded leaves from last autumn, and some shredded newspapers (they use soy ink in the UK). I need about 120 cubic feet. More shredding is required.
