So, I have the following - 1 15-month-old rooster, 3 15-month-old hens, 3 3-month-old cockerels, and 3 3-month-old pullets. Yeah, bad me, I let a hen hatch eggs from the other hens. The main house is 36 ft2 and some 9' high with lots of roosts. It has electricity and heated water bowl and ceramic heater in the winter. I had the 27-year-run torn down, rebuilt, and enlarged. The main run is 251 ft2 and 8' high. There is a little quarantine run of 56 ft2 with an area that was supposed to be a quarantine house of 27 ft2, all 8' high. There are roosts all over that I mostly put in. I bought the best wire, and it runs parallel to the ground out from the run so it's predator-proof. The contractor left on his last day last September and left the wire off the top without telling me he wasn't going to finish. I was not happy when he blamed me and won't use him again. He never finished the quarantine house so it is missing 1.5 sides and a solid roof so it's not weather-proof.
It looks like I'm keeping four roosters. Nobody wants them. I have some leftover wood and tons of wire. I'm not a handy person (46-year-old woman whose father did all the handyman stuff) but have learned to use a miter saw, hammer, drill, pneumonic stapler, etc. in this last year to work on the chicken pen. I work full time. My father died so I have to be home when I hire people, and there are just not any good handy people out there. At the worst, I will need four different areas for the boys. It looks like it's up to me!
So, I'm looking for something, not expensive, but not built like crap that would provide a spot for a separated rooster (if and when I have to separate them) that would give him enough room in which to roost and keep out of the weather. Everything I see on-line is tiny and cheaply made. I almost need to suspend a large dog house in the air or something (yeah, that's easy!). I can run wire here and there on boards to make separate runs but I need areas protected from weather as well so am looking for ideas on how to provide weather-proof roosts for single big roosters. If there were something with an included run that was actually predator-proof, I could put some of the roosters outside of the current chicken pen. I have 5 acres of woods so tons of room. However, looking at the offerings on-line, I don't see a single one that a fox wouldn't get in to with a single try. We have foxes breeding nearby. So, if you know of a simple house and run that you can buy for a good price that would fit a single large/tall rooster, let me know. I expect my flock will get along until spring when the new roosters' hormones go wacko.
Thanks.
It looks like I'm keeping four roosters. Nobody wants them. I have some leftover wood and tons of wire. I'm not a handy person (46-year-old woman whose father did all the handyman stuff) but have learned to use a miter saw, hammer, drill, pneumonic stapler, etc. in this last year to work on the chicken pen. I work full time. My father died so I have to be home when I hire people, and there are just not any good handy people out there. At the worst, I will need four different areas for the boys. It looks like it's up to me!
So, I'm looking for something, not expensive, but not built like crap that would provide a spot for a separated rooster (if and when I have to separate them) that would give him enough room in which to roost and keep out of the weather. Everything I see on-line is tiny and cheaply made. I almost need to suspend a large dog house in the air or something (yeah, that's easy!). I can run wire here and there on boards to make separate runs but I need areas protected from weather as well so am looking for ideas on how to provide weather-proof roosts for single big roosters. If there were something with an included run that was actually predator-proof, I could put some of the roosters outside of the current chicken pen. I have 5 acres of woods so tons of room. However, looking at the offerings on-line, I don't see a single one that a fox wouldn't get in to with a single try. We have foxes breeding nearby. So, if you know of a simple house and run that you can buy for a good price that would fit a single large/tall rooster, let me know. I expect my flock will get along until spring when the new roosters' hormones go wacko.
Thanks.
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. I do not have to deal with weather extremes though, so this sort of thing might not work for everyone.
...or a total disaster.
