Hurricane Harvey coop rebuild (Picture heavy)

[aart]

I meant outside but I agree. Not worth breaking my back over.

They might make a great fire pit(like next winter).....if you're into that.

 

[Tesumph]

They might make a great fire pit(like next winter).....if you're into that.

Haha we have plenty of fire pits on this property. There’s really no use for them as no one here is interested in landscaping. Not really sure why they were bought.

 

[aart]

Haha we have plenty of fire pits on this property. There’s really no use for them as no one here is interested in landscaping. Not really sure why they were bought.

Maybe you can sell them?

 

[Tesumph]

Maybe you can sell them?

They’re not mine to sell unfortunately. I don’t own the land we live on, but I’m free to use the scrap materials here.

 

[Tesumph]

Holy crap I am exhausted. Yesterday I almost talked myself out of getting chickens before husband told me to snap out of it. Knuckled down today and got a LOT done, thanks to finally getting some extra hands.
The old coop is gone!!! With hubby in the tractor and mom and I making sure we didn’t bust the water line, it went as smoothly as it could have.

I thought I’d seen cockroach heaven in the run but no, this was next level. Picking up any given piece of wood would have dozens scurrying out over your feet. Ugh.

AND, the “new” coop is here! It’s a fixer upper but thankfully my father in law built it well. Today we focused on cleaning it.
Before:

After: (bleached, pressure washed, and old chicken wire pulled out)

Tomorrow I’ll be by myself so I’m going to focus on this little coop. We decided not to put it inside the run because we want to take it with us when we move and it’s too much hassle. So, the wall shown above is going to be mostly cut out and fitted up to the run and screwed in. There will be no pop door, just a giant hole for the chickens to jump in and out of.
The big door on the other side will need it’s hinges replaced. The entire thing is going to be sanded down a bit and repainted, and the ventilation holes will need new hardware cloth coverings.

I’m pumped haha. We’re so close, just need to keep the momentum going. We just have to fix up the coop and rewire the run + add rafters and that should be it!

 

[aart]

 

[Kiki]

Awesome work!

The only problem I see is the run is not fully predator proof...so I worry that cutting the one coop wall out and there not being a way to secure them up at night might be a problem.

 

[Pugsabi]

It's looking great! Roaches creep me out so eww. I'm sorry I'm no real help but maybe we can put together a playlist for you how about "Eye of the tiger" by Survivor?

 

[Tesumph]

Awesome work!

The only problem I see is the run is not fully predator proof...so I worry that cutting the one coop wall out and there not being a way to secure them up at night might be a problem.

Oh I know, it will be predator proof when we’re done. Or, at least close to it. The entire bottom half of the run will have hardware cloth, possibly the top half as well, not sure yet. Big plywood boards will be put up in certain places around the wooden deck part of the run for added wind and rain shelter. The roof will be fully wired with some added rafters to support it.
I’m depending on the run being predator proof for this to be truly “hassle free,” so I won’t be skimping, don’t worry.

 

[ChickenyChickeny]

"Phase 1: cleanup. Weed whack all overgrowth and possibly spray perimeter with weed killer and fire ant killer."

I don't know if you have already done this (this is a long thread; don't judge me), but don't use any weed killer or ant killer or ANY type of pesticide! Your chickens will wind up with anything you put into your lawn through bioaccumulation, and if that stuff kills ants and weeds, it will kill chickens. Beware!