Hello from Tallahassee, Fl

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Well, guess we'll both be experiencing the joys of chicken ownership at the same time!

My coop is at one end of the run. It was in bad shape and needs some TLC to fix it up for the chicks.it is not fancy by any stretch of the imagination! I'm going to attach the coop to the end of the run and put a cover over the first 3-4 feet for days that it rains. I mainly want to leave most of the run uncovered.The entire run will be surrounded by hardware cloth on the sides and chicken wire on the top. The coop will be up on a small platform and will also be surrounded by the hardware cloth.

The coop and run are about 3/4 of the way back to the end of my yard, not quite centered in the yard. I live in a subdivision and did not want them right next to my neighbors!

I'll take a pic of my work in progress this evening.

What about your coop and run?
 
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Good luck with your poultry raising adventures,and I hope you find everything you need to know. Don't forget to take a look at BYC's very useful learning center (If you haven't already)! The learning center as well as the forum should answer your questions! Glad to have you here! Enjoy your chicks!
 
Oh Kalli, your baby chicks are SO fluffy and cute!!!! Mine already had wing feathers when I got them home, so they weren't as fluffy as yours, but still cute!!!

My coop is an old storage shed that was used as a tack/feed room for several years then sat empty while we did some repairs to it. Hubby built some boxes in it a couple years ago and it's sat since until this spring. It's truly nothing fancy either, but hopefully it'll turn out decent when we're done!
It's an 8x12 and we put a new shingled roof on it last weekend and wanted a complete covered run because we have a LOT of predators here that can either swoop in and carry them off (hawks/owls/eagles) or can climb (raccoons), plus fox, coyotes, and stray or irresponsible neighbors with dogs up to no good. We figured the cost of a metal carport vs building a run of our own and the carport wound up being $3 cheaper! So, do all the labor ourselves or have metal (never rots) and save $3!! lol

Here are some pics of the coop - will be getting modification this weekend and the carport;

This was the re-roofing process ~ The coop will be painted a tan color and trimmed in a brick red. It will match the carport colors as well as another storage building we have.


Done!!


We goofed by putting the roosts down low ... there are 16 nesting boxes. We are going to have roosts on the back wall and along the right side where we'll remove the 8 boxes there. The big black tub is an old water trough that I transferred the babies to because they outgrew the other one in a week!!! Lord they grow fast!



This was put up on 4-3-14 and we will be enclosing it with lumber and small welded wire. We will eventually snub it up against the coop and are taking old sheet metal that is 38" wide (I think) and burying it 12" into the ground to keep critters from digging in. We'll also be putting metal all around the outside of the coop to keep them, and snakes, from housing under it since it sits low to the ground.



It's a work in progress and I can only hope it turns out nice.
Since you live in the city will you let your girls free range in your back yard, or keep them in the run all the time?
 
Good choice of materials for your coop and run! They will look great when you are finished, plus should do the job of keeping the critters out. You and hubby did a good job.

I live in the last subdivision right near the county line. My back yard butts up against a preserve area, so I have critters also. I've trapped 7 or 8 raccoons and hauled them to St. Francis Wildlife Rescue. The armadillos dig up my yard, and the possums live on my picnic table. The one thing I'm not bothered with in my back yard are my neighbor's dogs because I have a privacy fence. Notice I did not say "my front yard" because that is a problem!

I'm going to paint my coop to match my house: red roof with tan siding. I kid you not!

Have you decided on a name for your coop? I think I'm going to call mine either "The Red Roof Henn" or "The Chicks Next Door." That was my DD's favorite movie to unwind with after a long day at school. I can't quite decide on the name.

I need to hurry up and finish the coop. Two of the White Leghorns flew out of the tub today on my back porch, and I didn't think I was ever going to catch them. I might have to put them in my wire dog kennel if they keep getting out.

When do your chicks move in?
 
Thank you! I hope it is as good as I envision it, but I think my hubby is kind of becoming suspicious of my intentions
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We were at Hobby Lobby tonight when I asked the lady, "Do you have any metal signs that would be good for an outside chicken coop with cute chickeny sayings"? He gave me the look LOL I shall go back when he's working next week and can meander undeterred!!

Oooh I love either names for your coop and both are great choices! Wow, you really have a lot of critters sharing your backyard lol The most I deal with is WAY out in my pasture; armadillos are notorious for digging these massive dens and of course they all venture this direction, skunks too, but they don't really tear up my yard. Coons would be the biggest concern and my neighbor lost several chickens a while back to one. Ever talk to your neighbor about their dogs?? If they're like some of mine it falls on deaf ears! HUGE pet peeve of mine is dogs running loose!

I have not decided on a coop name yet and probably won't until I'm finished with it and can 'see', 'feel' it's personality. I know, that sounds weird, right? LOL

Mine haven't flown out yet and they look bigger than yours!! How in the world did one fly out??? My trough is fairly deep, but it won't be long before they are getting out. We are painting tomorrow and hopefully putting the windows in and framing them by tomorrow afternoon. We should be working on the roosts Sunday and maybe by Monday I can re-paint the floor, interior and after the fumes subside they can move in. Another week perhaps ....
 
We got a Hobby Lobby here in Tally about two years ago, and I love it! I don't think I've seen any chicken signs there. I was looking for knitting signs several times, and don't think I saw any for chicks.

I can't really talk to my neighbor about his dogs. He's not very friendly.

My 6 Leghorns are much bigger than my 4 RIR chicks, and they were jumping up on the feeder and waterer and flying out. With my friend's help, i finished up most of the coop this morning, and the 6 LH moved in. So far, so good. I have hardware cloth, locks, and latches on just about everything. It's not painted, but at least they can fly around inside the coop. I've checked on them several times, and they were either roosting on the small oak limb or hopping around in the nesting boxes. They won't get to go in the run for a few days until they get used to the coop. I read that somewhere on this site!

Your coop name will come to you when you "feel" it. I know exactly what you mean.
 

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