Kids Playhouse Coop & Cattle Panel Run...Updated

[Dawn419]

DH bought me a prefab kids playhouse from a "truckload sale" back in November.





I used recycled 1/4" hardware cloth to cover the open windows and to close in our ventilation area...



DH did a screen job this summer so we recycled the old screen he brought home and used a section to close in the front porch (to keep the chickens in should one get past me when I go into the coop).



We were originally going to build a wood and wire run but decided to go with a cattle panel "hoop house" run. I spent countless hours attaching 1" chicken wire to the individual panels with a pair of crimpers and J-clips. When I had 2 individual panels wired, I used electric fencing wire to sew them together. DH used the SawzAll on the 4' ends of the panels, to make "stakes" to pound into the ground.





Almost finished....



Added 15' x 20' tarp to keep coop dry and give them a nice shaded area in the run...



I also have a small area where I can keep the feed cans, their first aid kit, etc...



We spent the entire 3 day weekend (DH works 6 days a week) finishing up all the BIG little things (getting coop ready for them, adding hardware cloth to bottom 3' of run, laying chicken wire around the perimeter, etc). The flock turned 4 months old on Monday and got the best present, EVER....more room!







Links to the entire chaos...
The Hen Den
The Main Yard
Almost Done
We're Done!!!

 

[Wooden_Pony]

I LOVE the hog/cattle panel idea......

We are still working our how to add wire pannels to our hen run, this might work for us since we want to use weld wire not chicken wire on our run.

 

[Dawn419]

DH and I set the first panel hoop up by ourselves...it wasn't a pretty sight...the hoop was fine but it frazzled us completely!

When I got the next section ready, we got smart and called in a set of extra hands. We also should have started at the back end with setting the panels as it was tons of fun getting new sections past the ones already in place.

We should change the name of the coop to Potty Mouth Palace cuz we sure bleeped alot!

 

[Wooden_Pony]

HEHE sounds like it would have been fun to watch

I am lucky I do not need to hoop them, I only need "walls" for my run luckily I have a roof already over the run.

 

[FluffyChickenMama]

Heres a couple websites I have been looking at for hoop coops.. might help give you guys some ideas... these things are cheap.. but Im still wondering how they would work in the winter as a "coop". Not gonna be much element protection will there??

http://hollygraphicart.com/misc/wirehoopcoop.html

http://www.plamondon.com/hoop-coop.html



I really like what you guys done with your run... I love good ideas..

 

[Dawn419]

Quote:
I actually showed DH both of those links before we started building the run. Thinking about making a couple hoop tractors since I have a few panels left over...

Our winters are usually mild but one could probably build a small coop that attaches from the outside, for when winter actually visits.

We moved our 5 EE's, 5 Mottled Cochins, 3 Silver Sebrights, 2 Black-Tailed Buff Jap's and our Silver Spangled Hamburg into this coop/run so the 5 Silkies have the modified Chick-N-Barn/Yard to themselves now.

 

[Dawn419]

Wanted to add a few more pix, measurements, etc...

The coops overall measurements are 78" x 78" x 78". Actual indoor living space for our
Banties is 5'10" (70") by 4'2" (50") which is equal to 20/21 square feet for 16 birds. We'll be culling 5 extra roos soon, which will leave 11 birds in this coop/run.

The run is roughly 18' x 18', or 324 square feet.We would have added one more panel section to give them even more room but we ran out of level ground on the back end.

Inside the coop...roosts are 2 x 4's with a DE whitewash (1 cup DE to half a gallon of water, stir often).





The coop...


Storage area on the left/north side...

Rearranged the storage area that is connected with the run...

Used an old section of soaker hose to protect the tarp from sharp corners/spots of coop roof...

If we had this to do all over again, we'd do many things differently...but overall it was a great learning experience.

Dawn

 

[greginshasta]

Quote:
ok, I'm confused. That long DE thread last month seemed to say that DE is made inert when wet. So how, if you mix it into water, does that help?

 

[Dawn419]

Quote:
ok, I'm confused. That long DE thread last month seemed to say that DE is made inert when wet. So how, if you mix it into water, does that help?

Hi Greg!

I don't have an answer for your question, I read about using it this way (from the Wolf Creek/DE link) and decided to give it a try.

Dawn

 

[greginshasta]

ok, aside from the confusion as to moisture, what's the purpose of doing this? To keep bugs off the roosts, which will eventually have poops all over them?