Greetings from Sedona, Arizona

[Fire Captain]

Let me introduce myself. I am a retired Los Angeles County Fire Captain now living in the Village of Oak Creek near Sedona, AZ. We live in a rural area along with some great neighbors. Some of them have had chickens but gave up due to the predators, e.g., coyotes, bob cats, hawks etc. It was their experience that prompted my wife and I to create a chicken run that is near impenetrable. We converted a former 10 x 20 chain-link dog run to house a flock that is yet to be acquired. To protect from the aforementioned predators we excavated the entire interior and perimeter of the run and embedded 1/4 inch wire fabric at a depth of 8 inches. Construction sand was added to a depth of 6 inches. A corrugated fiberglass roof was placed to protect from hawks and the relentless Arizona sun. An elevated coop was constructed inside to accommodate 6 or more chickens. An automatic watering system and feeder will allow us to take an occasional weekend off. Wood shavings have been added inside of the coop along with a roost and nesting boxes. We recently wired the run and the coop for nighttime convenience and security along with motion detectors to light up the exterior.

The construction took almost a year and was delayed due to illness but it is now complete and awaiting our first chickens. We plan to purchased baby chicks in early March and house them in our garage until it is time to introduce them to their new home.

 

[NickyKnack]

Hello!

Welcome to BYC and the coop! There's a lot of great peeps here! Feel free to ask lots of questions. But most of all, make yourself at home. I'm so glad you decided to join the BYC family. I look forward to seeing you around BYC. Wonderful coop! You did an amazing job and you thought of every possible contingency.

 

[Teila]

G’Day from down under Fire Captain

Welcome!

Great job on the Fort ... sorry, Coop

I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun. Unlike non chicken loving friends, family and colleagues, BYC’ers never tire of stories or pictures that feature our feathered and non feathered friends

 

[ejcrist]

Let me introduce myself. I am a retired Los Angeles County Fire Captain now living in the Village of Oak Creek near Sedona, AZ. We live in a rural area along with some great neighbors. Some of them have had chickens but gave up due to the predators, e.g., coyotes, bob cats, hawks etc. It was their experience that prompted my wife and I to create a chicken run that is near impenetrable. We converted a former 10 x 20 chain-link dog run to house a flock that is yet to be acquired. To protect from the aforementioned predators we excavated the entire interior and perimeter of the run and embedded 1/4 inch wire fabric at a depth of 8 inches. Construction sand was added to a depth of 6 inches. A corrugated fiberglass roof was placed to protect from hawks and the relentless Arizona sun. An elevated coop was constructed inside to accommodate 6 or more chickens. An automatic watering system and feeder will allow us to take an occasional weekend off. Wood shavings have been added inside of the coop along with a roost and nesting boxes. We recently wired the run and the coop for nighttime convenience and security along with motion detectors to light up the exterior.

The construction took almost a year and was delayed due to illness but it is now complete and awaiting our first chickens. We plan to purchased baby chicks in early March and house them in our garage until it is time to introduce them to their new home.

Looks nice! Over time you might want to replace the roof panels with corrugated metal because the sun will eat the fiberglass up. I've only ever used metal but I've heard a lot of members on the Arizona thread say that. Anyway, congratulations on your move and welcome aboard.

 

[Fire Captain]

I visited your website and enjoyed the visit immensely. 40 years ago I acquired a pen pal from Tennant Creek/Alice Springs region of Australia. Alan wrote a letter to the Los Angeles County Fire Department seeking a pen pal. We communicated for years until he suffered a illness similar to Alzheimer. He was an author, a nurse, and a well decorated paramedic with St. John's Ambulance Service and had great stories. He loved American paramedics and firefighters. I miss him.

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, Fire Captain, and

! Great to have you aboard! That's a fine coop and run you have built. Best wishes and thanks for joining BYC!!

 

[drumstick diva]

I imagine you may have local critters that can get through the openings in a chain link fence. You may want to augment with 1/4 or 1/2" inch hardware cloth from the ground up maybe 18"-24" inches to keep those out - as well as paws or jaws that like to bite off any part of birds dumb enough to sit against the fence.

You have done a remarkable job. Please update when you get your birds. Would love to see them.

 

[N F C]

Good job on your coop and run, thanks for sharing photos.

If you would like to 'meet' other members from AZ, you can find a link to your state thread here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/270925/find-your-states-thread

It's nice to have you here!

 

[BlueBaby]

Hello, and welcome to Arizona and to the BYC site!

 

[QuackSpeak]

, @Fire Captain !
Good job with your run! I love that you love your chickens, lol
Good luck!