Helpful hints for building coops

[jvls1942]

good morning,
killing a little time before going to meet my youngest DD for breakfast.

I never built a hoop coop.

I never fermented chicken feed either.
If I ever went that far, I would go ahead and distill it and make something useful out of it.

the corn and oats I get is ground real fine, like that used for cow feed..
I like the texture and flavor of chickens raised on the c/o .. I don't like the crumbles..

I start baby chicks out on the c/o and keep them on it right up to butchering time.

I don't have any problems with heart attacks or bowed legs with it with my cornish/X .
but they are totally free rangers and don't just lay by the feeder..
I think having them with regular chickens helps them to learn how to free range.

I never got the hang of CADD..

 

[fightingbunny]

What type of latch do you use for the run if not the gate type? Just a barrel bolt slider type? I thought about doing that and then have a little eye hook thing that I could then use to hold the door shut when I was in the run. I have a dog that will herd/torment/pluck any loose chicken, so I have to be careful that the run door can firmly close behind me. With the gate latch that I have, how do people run that nifty pull line up and through? I need to somehow do that as I don't want to get locked in!!!

 

[aart]

I use screen door springs for 'auto-closing' and hook/eye and another type of gate latch that is not self latching.

 

[jvls1942]

Hi all,
I have a steel door on the outside and a screen door on the inside of one of my coops. the screen door has a spring on it. and since it swings in I don't have to latch it.
the chickens can't push it open..

today felt like Sunday to me. I almost missed the garbage truck. went out to breakfast with youngest DD, that is probably what sent me off kilter.

I found a crooked piece of 2x6 and planed it straight. sawed it down to 5" wide .
tacked on a lip and sent it through the planer about eight times. the slanted sill turned out just like I hoped it would. now all I have to do is notch it and fit it into the window openings

If it is not too cold, I might paint it first.

the chicken feeder is working very well with the ground feed. this is the first time I tried ground feed in it.
I have the material to make another feeder.
I should make one and take pictures as I go.

......jiminwisc......

 

[CapricornFarm]

Hi all,
I have a steel door on the outside and a screen door on the inside of one of my coops. the screen door has a spring on it. and since it swings in I don't have to latch it.
the chickens can't push it open..

today felt like Sunday to me. I almost missed the garbage truck. went out to breakfast with youngest DD, that is probably what sent me off kilter.

I found a crooked piece of 2x6 and planed it straight. sawed it down to 5" wide .
tacked on a lip and sent it through the planer about eight times. the slanted sill turned out just like I hoped it would. now all I have to do is notch it and fit it into the window openings

If it is not too cold, I might paint it first.

the chicken feeder is working very well with the ground feed. this is the first time I tried ground feed in it.
I have the material to make another feeder.
I should make one and take pictures as I go.

......jiminwisc......

Please do, Jim. Glad you got your sills done like you wanted them.

 

[CapricornFarm]

What type of latch do you use for the run if not the gate type? Just a barrel bolt slider type? I thought about doing that and then have a little eye hook thing that I could then use to hold the door shut when I was in the run. I have a dog that will herd/torment/pluck any loose chicken, so I have to be careful that the run door can firmly close behind me. With the gate latch that I have, how do people run that nifty pull line up and through? I need to somehow do that as I don't want to get locked in!!!

My husband did one of those in FL on our privacy fence. He ran a string from the part that needs to pull up to open the door. He ran the string through an eye hook on top of the fence and down through another eye hook lower down the inside of the fence. Then tied a washer on the end. Worked great!

 

[NancyNurseCxMama]

My husband did one of those in FL on our privacy fence. He ran a string from the part that needs to pull up to open the door. He ran the string through an eye hook on top of the fence and down through another eye hook lower down the inside of the fence. Then tied a washer on the end. Worked great!

Beware the string!!!
We did the same thing. My DH got trapped in the run a while ago when the string broke. He tried to McGiver his way out of it but failed. I came out of the shower and noticed the dog staring out at the coop and thought a predator was out there and ran over to the window.
Uh, no. I saw my DH making a bizarre set of repetitive movements, trying to weasel his shoe lace through the hardware cloth to snag the thingie that lifted the latch. I watched for a while and then started laughing, ###ch that I am.
So....the string has now been replaced by a piece of braided wire. On a hook INSIDE the run is a nice piece of sturdy wire with a hooked end that can be fished through the hardware cloth and will lift the latch thingie very nicely should the wire thing fail.
It's funny now but I would imagine the humor would be lost in the middle of winter.

 

[CapricornFarm]

So the next thing i am building will be a hoop coop similar to the one Aart codesigned on another thread.
So far i bought 4 cattle panels and a roll of welded wire. I already have a bunch of hardware cloth and chicken wire. I will need some lumber and a door. And a few panels of roofing, maybe some clear and some tin. I already have some tposts and some pallets.
Going back to the doctor tomorrow in Danville so i can get another load of stuff on the same trip.

 

[jvls1942]

cap farm, maybe if you would just get rid of all that ready building material, you could have a little time off.

I have a hoop type coop, but I didn't build it.
it is 4 ft x 8 ft and had a wire mesh bottom .it was a rabbit containment thingy.
I used it like a tractor for baby ducks.

I once used it for a place for two hen turkeys to hatch their eggs.

it is built with a nice wooden frame and covered with hdwe cloth. I added a tarp over one end for rain protection and shade.

gonna stay cool here today. about 59F for the high.. good working temps..

.......jiminwisc......

 

[CapricornFarm]

cap farm, maybe if you would just get rid of all that ready building material, you could have a little time off.

I have a hoop type coop, but I didn't build it.
it is 4 ft x 8 ft and had a wire mesh bottom .it was a rabbit containment thingy.
I used it like a tractor for baby ducks.

I once used it for a place for two hen turkeys to hatch their eggs.

it is built with a nice wooden frame and covered with hdwe cloth. I added a tarp over one end for rain protection and shade.

gonna stay cool here today. about 59F for the high.. good working temps..

.......jiminwisc......

I had some time off, it has been raining and my ear is bothering me.
I do enjoy building. I am taking a break from siding the coop to build that scratch tower for the cats. But my chickens really need a bigger space so the guineas have to go somewhere. They were supposed to go in the goat shed but the guys are slow getting started.
I am off to see the doc. Will pick up more pallets if possible. Have a great day all!