Helpful hints for building coops

[Butchers Wife]

I don't have any trouble with phillips heads if the screws are of good material with proper depth slots....just gotta keep your bit axis and screw axis in line.....but those cheap soft zinc screws that come with smaller hinges and other hardware are ridiculously worthless.

One trick I use for screws longer than 2'" is to use some beeswax on the screw,
I keep a chunk of it on hand and scrub the threads with it, makes a world of difference.
Drilling a clearance hole thru member being attached helps huge too.

Soap works too, bar or liquid. And definitely pre-drill.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

Yes, waste can build up ammonia which can be bad for us and the birds. It does not pay to seal up every crack and crevice as long as predators can not reach in to grab your birds. I plan to have a vent high on two walls, plus two windows, and a walk in door and pop holes for the chickens.

Good Morning Chicken People!
I have to ask, whats a 'pop' hole? maybe it meant to read peep hole?

 

[Butchers Wife]

Make the run door open out rather than in, and if you are in a snow area make sure you have the bottom of the door higher than ground level so that you are not cussing ice that may build up in front. Poop boards are a must as are large doors for cleaning.
View attachment 1105098

And make sure the bottom of the door overlaps the door frame. Set in doors don't work when they are full of crusty hay. And overlap it far enough that predators can't make themselves a usable gap. I really like your coop. It's got a nice clean modern cool style.

 

[aart]

Soap works too, bar or liquid.

Used soap for years....Wax is way better, doesn't get anything else slippery.

 

[3KillerBs]

Good Morning Chicken People!
I have to ask, whats a 'pop' hole? maybe it meant to read peep hole?

The pop door is the little door that the chickens pop out of when you open it in the morning.

Mine goes up and down in it's slot, some drop down, or swing to the side. It's important to make them secure against predators.

 

[Butchers Wife]

that's a professional set painter's trick, we always did that, especially when the slop sink was half a mile away. ;-)

I almost can't remember the last time I washed a brush. I keep them in the fridge and freeze. Polyurethane, stain, and oil and latex paints. But don't try to save polycrylic brushes. In fact, that's the only brush I do wash.

 

[Butchers Wife]

Just laid out the frame for the skylight. Disregard the supports laying at an angle, they are to keep the boards off the dirt while i build.View attachment 1107794

We built a little gate house/feed room as a secure entrance to our flight pen. We added a skylight with an acrylic roof panel. Love it! We'll be adding a skylight to every chicken shack and shed we build from now on. What a difference that makes!

 

[Butchers Wife]

Great thread! I check in every night now. It seems we are constantly evolving our coop and run. Some of the things that have worked to make things easier for us and the flock:
View attachment 1111973
I added 4 removable for cleaning 2x3 roosing bars at 12" x 12" intervals. You could use 2x4's with larger breeds. We also use trays under roosts and hanging feeders. Trays available at
http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/category/s?keyword=garden+tray or at:
https://www.chewy.com/s?query=dog+crate+replacement+pans&nav-submit-button=

View attachment 1111975
I originally wanted plastic 2x4's but realized they would sag over a 6 ft span.
View attachment 1111976
I added window screen over the predator screen on vent holes today to keep out mosquitoes (not shown). We put vent holes along the sides and at the rooftop. I have plexiglas squares to cover the holes by the perches in cooler weather.
View attachment 1111978
Added raised bed herb boxes around the coop for nibbles and whatever benefits they may supply. Note the wire fencing arch over the bed to keep girls from tilling the bed.

View attachment 1111981
We added a 275 sq ft run made of dog run fencing (2 gates) and dried it in with 2x4 rafters and corrugated Polylite at a 7 degree pitch for runoff. Once we are finished with the adjacent garden, we open the gates and let the girls enjoy the leftovers and till in this year's compost. The compound is surrounded by an electric Premier 1 Poultry Mesh, which hasn't been breeched in the 18 months we have used it.

I love so much about this. I'm going to move my Premier 1 fence to run around my garden like you have. Today! I've been weeding that fence line! Uggh! As if I don't have enough to do! We also have solar Premier1 fences but we've learned that we need to plug them in to an outlet in the winter. I'm in southeast Pennsylvania and we've had a few remarkably mild winters in a row, but this past winter we had a significant amount of snow that stuck around for a while. Unfortunately our Premier 1 solar fences failed. The solar panels and batteries just would not hold a charge. We charged the batteries in the house but they died as soon as we plugged them in to the fence. We even swapped out a mother board with excellent customer service help from Premier 1, but still nothing. Unfortunately during this extended solar power outage in February we lost 9 chickens and 28 ducks to a pack of coyotes. After the first attack that took every chicken except the rooster, my husband and sons tried round the clock guard duty to protect the ducks. Hubs came in for coffee on the 3rd night and they ran off with over a hundred pounds of ducks and the rooster in the 20 minutes he was warming himself by the fire. We ordered the plug in adapter and got ourselves secure again, but the most amazing thing is that during spring cleaning we tested those solar chargers before chucking them and, gasp! They Work! So our fields and flocks are all protected by solar charged fencing again. But come October we'll be switching them over to extension chords from the new barn. And of course we replaced all the chicken wire and plastic mesh crap with 1/2" hardware cloth. Fort Knox is our new mantra. Live and Learn

 

[3KillerBs]

I love so much about this. I'm going to move my Premier 1 fence to run around my garden like you have. Today! I've been weeding that fence line! Uggh! As if I don't have enough to do! We also have solar Premier1 fences but we've learned that we need to plug them in to an outlet in the winter. I'm in southeast Pennsylvania and we've had a few remarkably mild winters in a row, but this past winter we had a significant amount of snow that stuck around for a while. Unfortunately our Premier 1 solar fences failed. The solar panels and batteries just would not hold a charge. We charged the batteries in the house but they died as soon as we plugged them in to the fence. We even swapped out a mother board with excellent customer service help from Premier 1, but still nothing. Unfortunately during this extended solar power outage in February we lost 9 chickens and 28 ducks to a pack of coyotes. After the first attack that took every chicken except the rooster, my husband and sons tried round the clock guard duty to protect the ducks. Hubs came in for coffee on the 3rd night and they ran off with over a hundred pounds of ducks and the rooster in the 20 minutes he was warming himself by the fire. We ordered the plug in adapter and got ourselves secure again, but the most amazing thing is that during spring cleaning we tested those solar chargers before chucking them and, gasp! They Work! So our fields and flocks are all protected by solar charged fencing again. But come October we'll be switching them over to extension chords from the new barn. And of course we replaced all the chicken wire and plastic mesh crap with 1/2" hardware cloth. Fort Knox is our new mantra. Live and Learn

Were the fences in contact with enough snow to drain the batteries?

 

[jvls1942]

Keep it in the freezer for long term storage. Leave it in the sun for 5 minutes and you're good to go. It works with oil based paint, stain, and polyurethane as well. I've kept an assortment in my freezer for years. Front door, back door, bathroom door (kids are hard on doors).

X2
after wrapping it in plastic bag I also freeze it.