Finally!

I think I'm done building...at least until we move out of the city and have more space . We started out with a raised coop from craigslist with plans to build a detachable run and to move it every week or two. We built the run, did this all summer long, and we realized that the coop is too heavy, chickens tear things up way faster than we expected, and it just doesn't work. So we made new plans to park the coop and build a tractor. This week (on top of building a garden shed for us), I dug out a trench and made a cinder-block foundation to park it on (left it a bit raised so I won't hit the wood with my weed-eater), built a sand box for under the roost inside the coop, built a door for the end of the run with a shelf for their treadle feeder and attached grit and oyster shell tubes, finally parked the thing, and put together an 8' x 4' tractor out of a couple 2x4s and pvc. We attached a water jug with a nipple inside the door so they can stay hydrated while foraging. I'm sure I'll catch some flack for using chicken wire on everything, and I considered hardware wire but I have a few neighbors with chickens and I scoped out their set-ups, asked lots of questions, and we're in such an urban area none of them have had issues with anything busting through their chicken wire in the years they've had them, so I decided the extra expense wasn't worth it. Here are some pics!

Sand box w/linoleum base..but no sand yet.



Coop and run....we originally built the run on grass, so putting it on the level cinderblocks not everything matches up anymore, but the gaps are small enough I can't get a finger in, so no worries.


Another view


The reason for all this....chilling in the shade and eating my hostas while I work my tail off.


They were very afraid of the sawdust we lined the run with...they've only ever been on grass!


Door tilted out for easy filling and cleaning of food, oyster shell, and grit tubes


Indoor view, I'm thinking of trying to grow some grass out of the holes in the cinderblocks, though I'm sure it won't last and they'll just end up full of poop and dirt.


The tractor...picked up some clearance fabric (sealed it with Camp Dry) for the cover, the lady at the fabric shop was horrified that I would use something so nice for chickens..but I figure if I have to look at it, I might as well use something nicer than a tarp.


They love it!

 

Thank you! It's been a lot of fun putting it all together...but I'm happy I can move on to other projects. My husband built most of the run and the watering system, and I did the treadle feeder, the hinged wall, and the tractor. The water system holds about 5 gallons, I top it off every week but it's usually only down to the top of the elbow by then, so I could probably leave it alone for two if I wanted.

 

The roofing panels are just the corrugated polycarbonate stuff they sell at HD, I think they're 26" x 8' and ran us about $20 each...unfortunately we couldn't find any used ones at the local re-sale shops, so even though we only needed a couple, they were one of our bigger expenses. I'm on the Hilltop now, we bought our place here about 4 years ago...it really does get a bad rap, I tell people where I'm at and they won't come over for fear of getting shot up or their cars stolen, but demographically, it's mostly young couples with children, retired folk, and halfway houses for ex-cons. The last doesn't sound so good, but honestly you wouldn't even know it except for the occasional boycott of a new one coming in because we're already saturated. Nobody wants to go back to prison, and the neighborhood has a really good watch program and a reputation for taking care of itself, so I feel perfectly safe walking to the 7-11 at 2am. At least, I've had less problems living here than I did in the year I lived in University Place . I think the coons must have all turned into possums, I've never seen a coon in Hilltop the whole time I've lived here, but possums are everywhere. They're pretty lazy and haven't messed with the neighbors' chickens in similarly secure set-ups, so I'm pretty confident mine will be fine.

The little drizzles we've had just beads up and runs off, but I'll know for sure how effective it is when our regular NW rain comes back...I'll let ya know when that happens