Indispensable Features?

[aoxa]

Why locks? I have a carabiner on the people door and a clasp hook (because I got this first and the carabiners at that store were WAY expensive) on the chicken door. I tied strings to them so they hang when not is use so I don't have to remember where I put them down

Elevation to clean sounds like a great plan for a small coop. If you can reach all the places you generally need to without going inside, you don't even need to wear your coop shoes!


Oh, one more thing for the OP (if I forgot to mention it). I put self closing hinges on the people door so we can't accidentally leave it open. After the hardware cloth, they were the most expensive single item in my "horse stall to chicken coop" conversion. Of course, that means if I WANT it open, I have to hook the carabiner to the wall to hold it open. Another good reason to have the carabiner on a string. A determined predator like a raccoon could pull the door open but at least they can't just walk in. We TRY to remember to latch it with the bolt and carabiner every night but you know how that goes.


Bruce

Oh that hardware cloth is brutal on the pocket book! Also, use gloves when working with it. That stuff hurts!

 

[bruceha2000]

We are thinking about adding a door to the back, screening in the porch (dutch door) and either making the run in the front of the back (undecided). We are adding (probably) staggered roosting bars and nesting boxes along the opposite side. A heating lamp and hopefully a nipple watering system (Thanks Bruce). It has two windows opposite of each other (screened).

Any other possibilities for this? Gutters --> rain storage/container is a great idea!

Very cute! I can see the chickens hanging out on their front porch, sitting on the railing watching the world go by. Chicken TV from the chickens' point of view.

The current coop will still be useful when chicken math kicks in and the next group of day-olds arrive in the mail.

You can move the nest boxes from the old coop to the new since they are external. I would skip the heat lamp. Look for the "how do you heat your coop in the winter" threads. No heat needed, nor is it desirable. Already dressed in perfect fitting down coats, they need only food, water and draft free ventilation. My girls were out this weekend, it was about 40F (not particularly cold if you are a fully feathered chicken) with a decent breeze blowing up their chicken butts and pushing their feathers toward the front of their bodies. They didn't even notice. At night, they all hunker together, fluff up as needed and are plenty comfortable. No different than all summer long, except they don't need to fluff. Save the heat lamp (and your electricity) for the old coop, now brooder pen. When did you say the new chicks are coming?

re. placement of the run. What time of day was the picture taken? Gist of the question is: which way is south? I would put the run on the side that gets the most sun, they can always go in the coop if they need shade in the summer. If that is the back, then I would put the run and chicken door on that side. If on the front, a people door on the back so you don't have to go through the run to get into the coop. Of course, if the run is big enough, location probably doesn't matter much, other than for your convenience, as there will always be sun in some part of the run. You might choose to have it where you can see it from the house or on the other side where it is less visible and for some, more aesthetically pleasing. However you place it, put the chicken door in a position you can open it without having to go into the run. You might go in often but there will be days when you are in a rush and want to spend zero time letting the chickens into the run for the day. And you KNOW that would be the day the chickens all rush into the run and you can't get out because they are just waiting to escape into the yard.

re. enclosing the porch and the Dutch door. I liked the Dutch door idea when I read it earlier. If you enclose the porch, I would move the existing door out and convert it. It already looks like it COULD be a Dutch door anyway. I don't think you want to have to navigate 2 people doors to get into the coop. You could just leave the current door opening empty and make "winter panels" to cover the screened porch IF NEEDED. I was going to use plexiglas for that until I found out it is $125 for a 4x8 sheet. 8 mil very clear plastic on a frame you make will be affordable. You will need to make sure you have winter ventilation up high in the coop so the birds are not in a draft.

I've read 'yes' and 'no' on the gutter rain water system idea. Some say there might be nasty stuff coming off the roof. But then, my girls don't really seem to care what they eat (or try to eat) so it likely isn't a problem. Just make sure it is properly screened for larger stuff with a finer screen for smaller stuff, both easily accessible and cleanable. The outlet on the container should be high enough that anything that makes it past the screens can settle to the bottom and won't get into the nipple system. Whether you collect water off the roof for the birds or the garden or don't collect it at all, gutters would be good if the nest boxes are on the non gable walls. Last thing you need is rain pouring off the roof onto your head as you collect eggs.

Bruce

 

[hennotrooster]

The PVC nipple waterer is great and we love them but we have one hen who has figured out a way to peck the nipples just right so that the water will drip continuously. I go out often during the day to unstick the nipple. She will stand and watch me as though to say "I will do it again if I feel like it." that being said she is doing it less and less. Have fun there is a genius in each flock she is the one that taught the others how to use it, only showed her once and she caught on.

 

[aoxa]

The PVC nipple waterer is great and we love them but we have one hen who has figured out a way to peck the nipples just right so that the water will drip continuously.  I go out often during the day to unstick the nipple.  She will stand and watch me as though to say "I will do it again if I feel like it."  that being said she is doing it less and less.  Have fun there is a genius in each flock she is the one that taught the others how to use it, only showed her once and she caught on.

This post made me laugh "She will stand and watch me as though to say "I will do it again if I feel like it." 

 

[bairo]

tried to skim the posts but missed quite a few. So I'll be brief as I am sure it has probably been mentioned

I love all of your ideas with the following exceptions or additions.

• I think you are over thinking it on the mesh floor. I understand you are very worried about smell but a mesh floor will be more trouble than it is worth and the poop will never fall through the way you envision it (IMHO) I would do a nice wide poop board with a 1/2 of cleaned play sand and a thin layer of stall fresh on that. Chickens poop 90% of what they are going to do while on the roost. You can spend 5 minutes each morning with a kitty litter scoop and it will never smell...I promise. I would do a linoleum or similar slick lining on the floor and use pine shavings.
• I don't know how elevated you had planned for the coop but can tell you from experience that chickens that just start to lay will sometimes just find a corner they feel secure in. It is usually under the coop...you might want to think about it being high enough to crawl under to retrieve those eggs and rake once in a while ( 36 inches? )
• I am a huge fan of water nipples. Water stays clean, fresh, and poop-less. Chickens love them and I hardly ever get spills from them playing with the nipples.

 

[MissusC]

• I am a huge fan of water nipples. Water stays clean, fresh, and poop-less. Chickens love them and I hardly ever get spills from them playing with the nipples.

We put a nipple system in right before it got ungodly hot here and the water in the storage tank just slimed right up. We tried ACV, but no dice. The hubs is really wanting to use Oxine. This makes me really nervous since we will be eating the eggs (whenever they decide to start laying). What do you do to keep your nipple system clean?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/441322/hydrogen-peroxide-in-water/10
you might like post #17 as Mac is a professional

 

[colburg]

We put a nipple system in right before it got ungodly hot here and the water in the storage tank just slimed right up. We tried ACV, but no dice. The hubs is really wanting to use Oxine. This makes me really nervous since we will be eating the eggs (whenever they decide to start laying). What do you do to keep your nipple system clean?

Is your tank clear, or white, or yellow? Can you paint it black, or enclose it so that no light gets in? Choke out the light and the slime oughta go away.

 

[bairo]

Quote: I use 1/8 teaspoon (2/3 of one ml) of unactivated oxine per gallon of water. I mix up 5 gallons at a time with about 3 1/4 ml of oxine mixed in. I do not use a storage tank though and change the water every 2-3 days. I use the 2 gallon buckets from TSC. I have 5 of them at different heights and with 3 nipples in each. I dont see a need for a central tank system with pvc pipe unless you have over 100 birds. My set up easily serviced 40 birds all of different ages (the reason for staggered heights) and will last 40 birds 2 days.

 

[aoxa]

I use 1/8 teaspoon (2/3 of one ml) of unactivated oxine per gallon of water. I mix up 5 gallons at a time with about 3 1/4 ml of oxine mixed in. I do not use a storage tank though and change the water every 2-3 days. I use the 2 gallon buckets from TSC. I have 5 of them at different heights and with 3 nipples in each. I dont see a need for a central tank system with pvc pipe unless you have over 100 birds. My set up easily serviced 40 birds all of different ages (the reason for staggered heights) and will last 40 birds 2 days.

Oxine is also used to purify drinking water. People drinking water. I'm sure the eggs are safe!