Help! Need advice on coop roof---Edit: Coop is almost finished--Chickens are installed! Now Chick

[bjones1128]

Thanks for the input! I'm glad to hear that my chicken wire should work, and I agree, I'm really glad we insulated the roof! There is no shade out there, so they needed some extra insulation, I figured.

BTW, I should really give my daughter Emily the credit for over 1/2 of the building work! She also had lots of good ideas for how to do things that I wouldn't have thought of, too!

I just spent all morning priming the coop. Phew! It's going to be a tan color with some green trim. I also want to add some bling...I recently got a scroll saw from a guy on Craig's List, and I'm going to cut out some silhouettes of chickens and maybe make a sign for the coop. I'll probably paint them green too.

I might just leave the saw horses out there! The chickens love to take naps under them.

I love the idea of chicken silhouettes for decoration. I don't have an artistic bone in my body, though, so mine would probably come out looking more like vultures, lol.

 

[RedPonyAcres]

So, the chickens are loving their new living arrangements! We've painted the coop tan, and I'm going to add some trim and paint it green to match the roof.

We also got another 4 x 8 piece of plywood to attach to the fence for a windbreak and to screen them from our dogs. The dogs get very excited when we let them out in the backyard, and sometimes they scare the chickens through the fence. The plywood gives them a privacy screen.

We drilled holes in the plywood and attached it to the fence with wire so it wouldn't fall on the chickens.

Plus it gives them more shade at certain times of the day. I've noticed that the chickens really stick to the shade most of the time.

We also got a gate frame kit to make a gate for the run area. We had left a 4' gap for a gate, and I was going to get a chain link gate but couldn't find one the right size. Then the guy at Home Depot showed me this kit. It is an expandable metal frame, and you use your own wood to make it whatever size you want and fill it in with wood too.

It's like this one, but it was only $50. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Adjust-A...60-in-by-36-in-AG36-36/202024400#.UZJn2bU3v4w I could just build a door, but I'm kind of tired of building things to be honest! I think this will be perfect.

The chickens are so much fun to watch! Last night I was watching tv and didn't realize that it was getting dark. I went out to put the chickens away just after sunset and they were already all in there, up on the highest roost all in a row.

The first 3-4 days they would get upset when it started to get dark and run around peeping, trying to figure out what to do. Some tried to get in the window that has a screen over it. One ended up on the roof. lol But now they've got it. <3

 

[insanity]

Glad to hear they are happy in the new digs.Sounds like you did great.

 

[DuginMT]

RedPony, I had the same issue with my chicks, the first week after putting them in the run. We had to round them up after 9 each night because they weren't in the coop yet! Now, they are mostly all in the coop by 8:30 except for two who like to perch on the threshold of the chicken door, looking out! These are the same two who like to go to sleep for the night in the straw on the floor of the coop. I still have to push them into the coop, close the chicken door, then open the main door and put them on the roost! I am hoping one of these nights these last two will finally get it. They seem to be buddies - a Black Australorp and Buff Orpington pullet.

 

[RedPonyAcres]

Hehe. I've noticed that certain chickens have buddied up with certain others. We have a gang of 3 hens (2 Gold Sexlinks and 1 Buff Orpington) who are always the first to explore everything and greet you when you walk in to the run.

Our 1 leghorn hen likes to perch on the outside of the window looking in at the others as they are getting ready to roost for the night. I think maybe she thinks she can get in through the window, but of course it has hardware cloth over it. Silly hen.

I'm sure your chicks will get it. They probably already have, since that was over a week ago.

I think it's adorable that they all line up on the same (top) roost together. When they get bigger they're not all going to fit. I guess that's when the pecking order kicks in.

 

[gardendufus]

Your coop looks great and you had some of the same type of problems I (never constructed anything before). When I built my frames, I neglected to account for the 4" timbers on the corners. I was building alone (64 YO woman here) and thought I'd NEVER get all the plywood lifted up into position so I could screw it in. Had to make some little blocks high enough for it to sit on while I screwed it in.

The first year I had my coop I used common bird netting over the run. Comes in 14' X 14' pieces at Home depot but I think you can order other sizes online. I attached one side to the coop using eyelet (?) screws, and the other side to my fencing, with zip ties. Works real well.

My only suggestion: Once you have rested up, start thinking about providing more shade. I always thought my girls would LOVE sunbathing. It's not true. If it's not shady, they are pretty much not there. I was broke after building the coop and run, so I went to a second hand store and bought some old sheets. Attached them the same way I did the bird netting, except that I got some baling type wire and before I put up the sheets, I zig zagged wire from the coop to the fence to provide a little support so the sheets would have some support underneath them and wouldn't sag so much I couldn't get under them. Those sheets lasted all summer and winter and I just replaced them this week with some shade cloth remnant I got here:

http://www.teksupply.com/contractor/supplies/ScroungeCentralDisplay?catalogId=12051&categoryId=51357&group=$ALL$&subGroup=555&top=N&breadcrumb_trail=|Shade+Remnants&breadcrumb_categoryIds=|51357&maxRecords=40

Good luck with your chickens.

 

[RedPonyAcres]

Your coop looks great and you had some of the same type of problems I (never constructed anything before). When I built my frames, I neglected to account for the 4" timbers on the corners. I was building alone (64 YO woman here) and thought I'd NEVER get all the plywood lifted up into position so I could screw it in. Had to make some little blocks high enough for it to sit on while I screwed it in.

The first year I had my coop I used common bird netting over the run. Comes in 14' X 14' pieces at Home depot but I think you can order other sizes online. I attached one side to the coop using eyelet (?) screws, and the other side to my fencing, with zip ties. Works real well.

My only suggestion: Once you have rested up, start thinking about providing more shade. I always thought my girls would LOVE sunbathing. It's not true. If it's not shady, they are pretty much not there. I was broke after building the coop and run, so I went to a second hand store and bought some old sheets. Attached them the same way I did the bird netting, except that I got some baling type wire and before I put up the sheets, I zig zagged wire from the coop to the fence to provide a little support so the sheets would have some support underneath them and wouldn't sag so much I couldn't get under them. Those sheets lasted all summer and winter and I just replaced them this week with some shade cloth remnant I got here:

http://www.teksupply.com/contractor/supplies/ScroungeCentralDisplay?catalogId=12051&categoryId=51357&group=$ALL$&subGroup=555&top=N&breadcrumb_trail=|Shade+Remnants&breadcrumb_categoryIds=|51357&maxRecords=40

Good luck with your chickens.

Thanks for the ideas! I think the bird netting would be easier to work with than the chicken wire. I'll have to look for it.

I have noticed that about the shade. I didn't think of using sheets or shade cloth. Thanks!

I can't believe you managed to do it alone! That wood is heavy and it was hard enough with just 2 of us. Wow, that was an accomplishment to do it yourself!

I was really lucky to have my daughter building it with me. She had lots of good ideas, is stronger than I, and it was a good bonding experience.

 

[RedPonyAcres]

DuginMt, how did you fare in the storms yesterday? We got hit really hard out here in Pompey's Pillar! Wow, I just couldn't believe the amount of hail, rain and lightning! There were 3 waves of hail, getting worse each time, and then a wave of heavy rain. I heard that a funnel cloud was a mile or two north of us, just across the highway. Being here alone, I have to admit I was pretty scared. Luckily there is no real damage, just lots and lots of mud.

The chickens hid under the coop during the storms, but their run ended up awash with about 2" of water. Their feeder and waterer were covered with mud. They were not happy chickens. lol

 

[DuginMT]

Sorry for the late response RedPony. Luckily my coop is on the SE side of my house and the storms have been coming out of the NW. They have just been scooting under the coop during the storms. Didn't get nearly as much hail as you did, but had a doozy of a storm come through here the morning before last - wind gusts up to 65 mph and marble sized hail. Lost power for 2 hours. Didn't seem to faze the chickens though! It looks like you got the same storm, hopefully not with bigger hail.

 

[gardentlc]

You can order hardware cloth from Wayfair.com and it will be less expensive than buying It from the local hardware store or big box stores. I got a roll of it 3' wide, 100' long and it was I think 87 dollars, and free shipping....WAY cheaper than buying small bits....Learned that from another post on here!! Nice looking coop!!