Give Me Ideas! *Pic Heavy* Updated 5/8/11

[MissJenny]

The building needs ventilation -- crucial. And the roost needs to be rebuilt. The roost bars need to be flat -- the way this is fashioned will damage their feet. -- bumble foot is only one staph infection away.

A window would be wise. As would a poop board/tray. When you rebuild the roost, consider going higher -- some of them seem to like going as high as they can.

I am not quite sure where the thinking comes from but I have often heard people remark, "Oh, they don't need anything special -- these aren't show birds, they are eating birds." I would think any bird going in my mouth, into the mouths of my family members, ought to be kept as clean and content as possible.


It's a nice building, but it does require some planning and work. Enjoy!

Jenny

 

[Connorrm]

Quote:
Okay, this might be a silly question - but how high can a chicken go? I have "red pullets" from TSC and Speckled Sussex going in there. Should I make the roosts steeper? or longer? They are Six feet long and three feet wide at the moment. I have TONS of 2x4s laying around that I can use.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Quote:
Okay, this might be a silly question - but how high can a chicken go? I have "red pullets" from TSC and Speckled Sussex going in there. Should I make the roosts steeper? or longer? They are Six feet long and three feet wide at the moment. I have TONS of 2x4s laying around that I can use.

I've seen people with there chickens perched in the top of garden shed crossbeams. And they flew up there. I had a RIR named Houdini who could get out of anything. She even used morning glory vines to climb up and over the run fence!!

You could build them like you have, just wider and with the flat side up. Lots of birds like to rest on top of their feet. The wider flat side gives them a bit more room to balance on. You could also attache them to the wall with a hinge so you can lift them up and out of the way for cleaning. Nest boxes don't have to be anything special. Milk crates, 5 gal. buckets, kitty litterboxes.

Ventilation and light are the biggies

 

[Connorrm]

Thanks for the tips!

Five gallon buckets? Do you just bolt them together in a pyramid shape? That actually sounds good....I don't think they would roost on them probably too slippery?

Yes, I'll definitely rebuild the roost. I have the lighting covered, two 4' double bulb fluorescent lights hanging on the ceiling. Can't wait to get it done! It's too dreary today to do anything, unfortunately.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Quote:
You could bolt them together, but mine just sit on the floor on their sides. Some folks use half of the lid to keep the nesting materials in the box. I have milk crates, litterboxes and even old rural mailboxes that I use as nest boxes. Anything will basicly work and still some nest on the floor!

 

[quintinp]

they should be kept pretty warm in the winter

i like the coop

 

[Connorrm]

Okay....how do you keep the buckets from rolling. Sorry I'm asking so many questions - it's just home depot buckets are like 1.50 each

 

[Connorrm]

Okay, I'm getting there. Here is the Semi-updated coop now. I have a bunch of old real metal screens I'm using instead of hardware cloth. It's a window about 5 feet off the ground on a slick metal building. So, I'm hopeful it will keep out raccoons/skunks since they shouldn't be able to reach. I also added a screen to the main door so the that window is now open. When I shut it there is a nice breeze blowing through the building, from the back window to the front.

I also redid the roost. That is Six feet long with seven three foot cross beam 2x4s for them to roost on. It's also about 2.5' off the ground. That should be enough for 12 chickens right (assuming all are girls and not destined for stew

).

You can also see the hanging feeder suspended from the ceiling. I tried to get a shot of the lights but it was just too bright for the camera, but you can see it's pretty bright in there and the glare off the top of the ceiling from the fluorescent lights.

In the left corner ignore all the 2x4s near the door - those are eventually going to become a nestbox frame. I'm going to use 5 gallon buckets for 1.97 each from Lowes and cut the lids so only 2'' are left to hold in nesting material. I just wanted to build them up off the floor a bit.

Also, how do you guys make sure the coop stays rodent free? I know that rat poison would be idiotic to use, but I can't see the kill snap traps working either.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Quote:
Looking good! Most mice don't survive long in the coop before the chickens get them. Rats can be a pain in the butt if you have chicks. I put poison in the holes the rats borrow and cover them with milk crates for a couple days then fill in the holes with dirt.

Just set a brick or something next to the buckets to stop the from rolling

 

[Buff-Island-Australorp]

Quote:
You beat me to it KansasBoy.....I work with stainless steel every day, and uhhhh, unless you have access to industrial type cutting machines, you're gonna have a chore ahead of you. Stainless is extremely tough to cut.
I don't mean to bust your chops, and make you feel like you've made a poor decision because it's a great idea to use re-puropsed materials....I just hope you're able to find a way to cut through it.