First coop. Finished!!!! (mostly)

[cityfarma]

I finally finished(construction that is) and it only took about 2-3 weeks. Plus I was on a very low budget(I didn't spend a penny), using about $60 from my DF's wallet to get 4 2x4s and some hardware cloth. Most of the wood was scrap wood, the plywood came from the roof(15 yrs old since it had been redone) b/c we had it done during the time i was starting to build the coop. It probably would have taken longer if i didn't get any help from my uncle. Through all the hard work I was able to make this exceptional coop, get a tan(sunburn), and a sore back

.



The space I had to work with. About 4x6. It was a mess until I came to clean it up and it was where a pool filter use to be until it broke(a long time ago, I didn't even get to use the pool

) and I took it out with extreme caution b/c of the electric wires that were still running.


Construction on the stage that now covers the pool.





I wish was was allowed to make a real run, but i wasn't allowed to, and this isn't even in regulation to the law :x , I'm such a rebel. But thanks for looking. Criticizing is always welcome.

 

[chicksbunsdog]

Good for you! When do the chickens arrive?

 

[cityfarma]

I already had the chicks since the 8th and they were about a week old when i got them

 

[mickey328]

Looks great! We put the cart before the horse too...er, the chickens before the coop Since the weather's still nice, they did fine in a rabbit hutch till their house was done, LOL.

Will you be able to let them range around the yard from time to time? The little "run" under the coop will be nice for them to get some nice shade.

 

[cityfarma]

I would like them to be able to range the yard but I worry they will get into the garden and eat the plants, plus I don't want poop all over

haha
but I might let them roam a couple times when they get bigger, I don't want them to get eaten by some animal.

 

[mickey328]

I agree. we built a portable run for them which we move around the yard periodically. It's covered so we don't have to worry about hawks, which are our main predators here. As soon as our garden is finished for the season, we'll be turning ours loose in it for a fair amount of time. The run won't fit in that area so we plan on making a makeshift pen for them. We use 3/4" conduit and chicken wire for that...sort of weave the conduit thru the fencing and then pound it into the ground a few inches. It's not covered, but we'll plan on letting them into it when we can be out in the yard with them. They'll gobble up what the want of the plants left, bugs, weeds...and as they poo and scratch, they'll condition the soil very nicely for next spring.

The poo in the run is a bit of an annoyance, I agree. When we move the run we sort of scrape up what we can and toss it in the compost. The rest we hose off a bit and in a day or two it dries out nicely and actually ends up fertilizing the yard. We also have 3 dogs, so in our place poo is just a fact of life, LOL. My main concern is odor; we're in a residential area and the neighbors on one side are quite um...fussy about things, hehe. So far, no complaints, so we must be doing okay

In our estimation, a little poo is a fair trade for all those lovely eggs!

 

[cityfarma]

Thats very smart. Maybe I'll build a portable run if i get the chance.

 

[mickey328]

DH put it together in about 3 hours and it's very lightweight. He used 3/4" metal conduit as the frame with PVC tees to join them. We had a roll of sort of like chicken wire, but stronger stuff, and he cut it to size and used nylon zip ties to attach it to the frame, all 4 sides and the top. It's about 20" high or so...plenty of room for the girls to stand tall and not touch the top.

 

[cityfarma]

Nice. How big is their run?