Fort Friggin Knox???

[Aunt Angus]

With a good plan and a good execution, you can prevent nighttime predators. My biggest problem both day and night has been stray dogs. Fencing and a coop that is hard to penetrate has stopped the dogs. I use an automated door that pulls shit and cannot be easily pulled open. If opened after the closing for the night, I am alerted by the smart technology I added to the coop.
Spend the time, the effort, and the money to secure your chickens. They will reward you.

Sage advice, indeed. We are working on it now. The roof is proving tricky, but the coop itself is done. It's 93° right now, and we are getting a lil too close to heat exhaustion. Gotta stop for a bit.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I really just want to start over from scratch. But I don't have the energy for it right now. I envision a big barn with room for goats in one half and a big coop in the other. On a good cement slab foundation. And a big run made of cedar posts and hardware cloth. All surrounded by a tall electric fence.

Sigh... Someday.....

 

[IamRainey]

Sounds like a good plan and I'm sure you won't regret any step you take. When the coyotes howl in the middle of the night you'll be able to turn over and go back to sleep AND your flock will be able to get up in the morning and go about their days.

Have you considered a Dutch door into your run? That's something I wish I had done when my coop got built. If you do, make sure you have secured latches on both the top and the bottom!

 

[Aunt Angus]

Sounds like a good plan and I'm sure you won't regret any step you take. When the coyotes howl in the middle of the night you'll be able to turn over and go back to sleep AND your flock will be able to get up in the morning and go about their days.

Have you considered a Dutch door into your run? That's something I wish I had done when my coop got built. If you do, make sure you have secured latches on both the top and the bottom!

Funny you should mention a Dutch door. I'm actually going to HAVE to have one. The door on the shed we are converting is actually too tall to open fully open with the kennel run thing attached.

Haven't heard any coyotes, but I have seen a gray fox. And saw a big ol' king snake.

 

[StinkinFeathers]

Ok, here's my 'fort friggin knox'...just finished with the electric fence wiring....put 2 ground rods in 11' apart and through the apron that extends out a couple feet from the run. So I'm thinkin' that now the welded wire is grounded too...I don't think that's a bad thing. I'm fairly confidant that nothing is getting to these hens. Now I just have to do some electrical wiring in the coop, a couple receptacles and some lights. We're off-grid here and that building down to the left is our power house so power is close by. Also will run some plumbing over here for drinking water. Right now I've got the 5-gal buckets with the little red waterers. They actually work pretty good. But I'll probably put a more permanent system in later. It's been a push because we got these hens from Hoover in the middle of June and it was time to get 'em out of the 100-gal watering trough. So I had 'em in the coop for a couple weeks while I was finishing the run and when I finally cut the hole into the coop they were so timid coming out...It was kinda cute. I was looking for a piece of wood in the scrap pile and lifted a piece up and there was a whole pile of red ants and their larvae. Grabbed the shovel and brought that into the coop and put it on the ramp...they came out for that! They stayed pretty close to the door for a couple days but as you can see here they're now roaming all around the run. They're just fun to watch and I can sleep at night knowing they're safe.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Ok, here's my 'fort friggin knox'...just finished with the electric fence wiring....put 2 ground rods in 11' apart and through the apron that extends out a couple feet from the run. So I'm thinkin' that now the welded wire is grounded too...I don't think that's a bad thing. I'm fairly confidant that nothing is getting to these hens. Now I just have to do some electrical wiring in the coop, a couple receptacles and some lights. We're off-grid here and that building down to the left is our power house so power is close by. Also will run some plumbing over here for drinking water. Right now I've got the 5-gal buckets with the little red waterers. They actually work pretty good. But I'll probably put a more permanent system in later. It's been a push because we got these hens from Hoover in the middle of June and it was time to get 'em out of the 100-gal watering trough. So I had 'em in the coop for a couple weeks while I was finishing the run and when I finally cut the hole into the coop they were so timid coming out...It was kinda cute. I was looking for a piece of wood in the scrap pile and lifted a piece up and there was a whole pile of red ants and their larvae. Grabbed the shovel and brought that into the coop and put it on the ramp...they came out for that! They stayed pretty close to the door for a couple days but as you can see here they're now roaming all around the run. They're just fun to watch and I can sleep at night knowing they're safe.
View attachment 2271332

That looks great! And I see how you managed the electric and the door to the run. Nice work! I am jealous. I told hubby last night that we will have to shell out the big bucks come spring for a better, more permanent set up. This is more like what I had in mind!

 

[StinkinFeathers]

That looks great! And I see how you managed the electric and the door to the run. Nice work! I am jealous. I told hubby last night that we will have to shell out the big bucks come spring for a better, more permanent set up. This is more like what I had in mind!

Thanks! And I look at it like if I do it right the first time it will be a long time before I have to do anything else with this setup. And actually, it's not the 'first time' for us because we had a coop at our old house and it was swiss cheese and we had racoons and bears end our efforts there. I felt so bad for the chickens because I let 'em down by not protecting them. I vowed that the next one would indeed be 'Fort Knox' so that's why I was attracted to your post. And if you have any other questions about how I did it feel free to ask. Good luck!

 

[Aunt Angus]

Totally agree with the idea of doing it right the first time. Just gotta get them set up here at the new house for a bit until we have time and resources (aka money) for a bigger, more permanent deal.

I'm deciding how I want that permanent setup to happen. Buy a good coop (not a cheapie prefab)? Buy a big shed and convert it? Build from scratch? I built my last one from scratch, and it was so difficult. Decisions, decisions...

 

[TARDIS37379]

Totally agree with the idea of doing it right the first time. Just gotta get them set up here at the new house for a bit until we have time and resources (aka money) for a bigger, more permanent deal.

I'm deciding how I want that permanent setup to happen. Buy a good coop (not a cheapie prefab)? Buy a big shed and convert it? Build from scratch? I built my last one from scratch, and it was so difficult. Decisions, decisions...

My first coop was a prefab that fell apart in two years. I decided to make the next coop much stronger and safer.
I bought a plastic shed and modified it to be a coop.
Automated doors, exhaust fans, lights, and connection to two fully enclosed runs.
Spend your money wisely and buy what works for you. One of my next coops will be a 40’ storage container. I’ve been working on that plan for well over a year. Now it’s just a matter of economics.

https://www.lifetime.com/lifetime-60127-20-foot-x-8-foot-outdoor-storage-shed

 

[Aunt Angus]

I'm really liking the idea of a barn: maybe 16 x 20. So I'm thinking a tuff shed or something similar. I'd section off the inside to have 2 areas of about 10 x 10 and leave the rest (a long 6 x 10 hallway) for storage, a brooder/isolation area, a milking station (for goats, obviously), and a utility sink. Get that bad boy on a cement slab with electric fencing and a LGD named Leman.

Now to win the lottery...

JK. I think I can pull it off if I work extra hours until next spring.