FINALLY DONE--our second coop. designed by a mama!

[rriveramri]

Are the doors for your little ranch hand?? I added a little door too for my 8 year old.

 

[haTHOR]

Quote:
i may be wrong, but was thinking a coon or possum could take off/tear through the screen, but could not get through the narrow opening between two of the jalousie panels...they open and close like blinds, so there's only a few inches of space between them when open. but i think we could hardware cloth over it just to be sure.

thanks!

 

[haTHOR]

Quote:
no, i found the doors at a habitat for humanity store and just thought they'd be the perfect thing for me to be able to get in and out if needed, and especially for cleaning out the DLM twice a year. i learned a hard lesson with my ark, which was great and cheap but HARD to get into for cleaning, and for getting to the chickens when needed. i figured the more doors, and the bigger the doors, the better this time--especially when i found these that matched for $4 each!

 

[haTHOR]

Quote:
thank you! i am proud of it so far.

i got 5 eggs today out of 7 layers, and 4 laid in the new nest box, so i feel it is going to work out great with this method. the droppings board is high enough above the nest boxes to give them (and me!) room to access them easily, but low enough that there is a feeling of safety, dark, and enclosure for them, i think.

we took off the shavings and added linoleum to the droppings board tonight and i LOVE it. no more wasted shavings, and i am keeping a great deal of poop out of the deep litter i use. i plan to take it out and scrape it every day or two. i have a pile of shavings in the corner of the coop from DLM removal, and i'll just toss them in that. my coop is adjacent to my garden so i'll wait it out and add stuff as i go to get more heat and action going in the pile, to help break it all down, and use it next year most likely (in my garden).

more doors is just better (IMO). it means you can clean easier, and keep them open in the summer if need be, for ventilation (in the day). i could even create a hardware cloth screen for each of them if we have a super hot summer (i'm in the south) to really maximize the air flow and cooling, which is great for the chickens AND the DLM.

i'd be honored for you to try this 4x6 coop yourself. i am pretty stoked about it. i have a link that shows the whole process and i'd be happy to email it to you if you are interested.