Howdy

[georgem]

Hey there everyone, I'm new to this site and just getting started in chickeneering, in fact, I'm still very much in the dark on the subject. Backyardchickens.com looks fantastic and I have this sinking feeling that it might end up being added to my long list of vices, nevertheless, what a wonderful resource!!!

At this point I don't even own any birds however a friend of mine is going to pass along a few of his youngsters when they are ready to leave their mother.

Here are two pictures of the coop I'm putting together -- while I understand the name of this web page implies a specific culture within the realm of fowl and those who care for them, I must admit, this coop is actually in my front yard.

Any suggestions would be welcomed, hopefully I'll finish up most of the carpentry portion of the project tomorrow. So far, the entire structure is put together from salvaged wood and even some salvaged nails and screws, I actually found the roofing tin laying in a pasture lol... it will need a few patches. I did buy a role of chicken wire and will probably buy some hinges... so far the tally is $10.65. I'm not entirely sure what kind of latches to install on the doors but a trip to the local farm store will in all likelihood present a workable solution.

thanks

 

[ranchhand]

So far, so good!

 

[georgem]

Thanks RanchHand, I was a bit concerned that the first reply might point out a major blunder regarding some esoteric rule I had ignored.... so far so good!!! thanks!!! Awesome!

 

[Dawn419]

Hi and Welcome to BYC!

Lookin' good to me, too!


And you're not alone as I have front yard and side yard chickens at this time.

Eventually our crazy weather will straighten out and I'll finish the hoop coop and run in our backyard!

Dawn

 

[georgem]

ahh cool... Thanks Dawn

A hoop-coop aye... I'll have to search for your threads in conjunction with the word hoop. I was actually thinking of using a few greenhouse hoops to construct a run however I really would prefer to actually use them for a green house haahaa.

I'm on 40 acres and plan to allow the chickens free range most of the time. The pen and coop will be primarily for night and extremely cold days.

I know very little about chicken breeds but the birds my friend is passing along are apparently called Roundhead Game Fowl. He said they are fairly robust and manage to free range well in his rural environment in the presence of predators. I guess they even roost outside in the top of cedar trees in the summer.

 

[Dawn419]

Ahhhh, 40 acres, I'm envious!

We're renting our 2 acres of rural heaven for the time being but "one of these days" we'll be moving out to the family farm in Arkansas on 30 acres.

We have alot of predators here so I don't free range ( everytime I think about letting the gang out for a bit I find a Red Tail Hawk hanging out on the fence line and freak!!!) so we decided to go with a hoop design for our main run. We double up 16' cattle panels and it's just perfect for our Banties...more like an aviary for them since they are able to fly around in there.

Here's the page I made for our hoop run:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1560-Playhouse_Coop


Dawn

 

[#1California Chick]

Welcome to BYC!!!

With OVER 20,000 members, there is always someone who knows the answer to your question (and many answers are already in the archives!!!)

You have a great looking coop there! How many chickens are you going to start with? The common wisdom here is that each chicken needs 2 sq feet to 4 sq feet of coop space (more if they have to spend a lot of time in the coop in the winter).

Good Luck and Welcome!!

Cindy

 

[georgem]

Your set up looks great Dawn, I'm tempted now to steal a few hoops from the future greenhouse.

Thanks #1CaliforniaChick, I'm currently familiarizing myself with the search feature trying to determine whether I should worry about the chickens trying to eat my crops of wild and cultivated mushrooms. They might need to be jailed during morel season.

This coop will initially be housing one rooster and one or two hens. If and when a growing flock is established I'll build a larger coop. The current set up is ten square feet.

I'll be on the look out for more wood to utilize in a future project to increase interior space... I hate buying lumber when so much gets thrown away. I'm not terribly satisfied with the appearance of this coop as I didn't have enough scrap 1xX boards to cover the sides and had to go with the composite plywood siding. A bit of trim and perhaps some wacky paint would help.... I can see it now... teal background with black trim, werd

 

[rooster-red]

 

[georgem]

I read some of your posts yesterday regarding opossums. one lives under my porch... i'll have to keep an eye on him