My chicks were hatched back in the beginning of January. I drove to the Ideal hatchery to pick them up as it's not that far from my place. The Buffs are my packing peanuts, not sure which are roosters and which are hens. The roosters will be moving on to another home once I can ID them. So far they are doing a great job of acting like ladies. I've got 2 production reds, 2 easter eggers, an australorp, a barred plymouth rock, and a white leghorn hybrid (Ideal 236 leghorn), plus the packing peanuts.
My chicken train is 4 feet wide by 14 feet long. The wheels are off because I needed to paint, and I'll get them back no in the next week. There is a "LOT" undone on this coop, but I HAD to get those ladies out of my garage (brooder) where they were really starting to smell. They also got dust all over everything. Mind you, I have a bunch of woodworking machines in my garage,but they do not spread dust like these ladies did.
Things not done yet:
- Roof over the run.
- Roof over the coop (the decking is what shows in the photos).
- Finish painting.
- Hinge the access roof over the laying box (screws hold it on right now).
- Add the automatic watering system, a couple drinking cups and a couple nipples (all outside).
- Add a automatic, bulk feeder so we can go away for the weekends (I have the parts, just need to build and install).
- Add an automatic, solar powered pop-door opener and closer (again, so I can go away for the weekend).
- Add a couple solar powered LED lights in the coop and in the run (will be adapting cheap solar landscape lights).
- Cut vents in the clearstory part of the coop, and possibly one above the nest boxes.
- Install roosts.
What you don't see in the photos:
- A droppings tray in the coop, under the roosts, pulls out from the outside so I don't have to go in the coop to clean it.
- Two windows so I can see what the girls are up to (on the other sides of the coop).
- Pop door lift cord so I can open and close without going in the coop or run (will automate later).
- Tiled floor in the coop, both in the droppings tray on the regular floor (cheapest I could find, but nice wood pattern).
- Painted surfaces in side and out (limits hiding places for parasites and eases cleaning).
- Need to put the wheels back on, and fasten grab handles and hitch points so I can move that monster.
- Pop door access ladder detaches for moving the train.
- Coop access door for easy cleaning and checking on the ladies.
Side view:
View of the pop door end:
This is me, explaining to one of my packing peanuts that they NEED to be a hen.
Thanx,
Tweakster
My chicken train is 4 feet wide by 14 feet long. The wheels are off because I needed to paint, and I'll get them back no in the next week. There is a "LOT" undone on this coop, but I HAD to get those ladies out of my garage (brooder) where they were really starting to smell. They also got dust all over everything. Mind you, I have a bunch of woodworking machines in my garage,but they do not spread dust like these ladies did.
Things not done yet:
- Roof over the run.
- Roof over the coop (the decking is what shows in the photos).
- Finish painting.
- Hinge the access roof over the laying box (screws hold it on right now).
- Add the automatic watering system, a couple drinking cups and a couple nipples (all outside).
- Add a automatic, bulk feeder so we can go away for the weekends (I have the parts, just need to build and install).
- Add an automatic, solar powered pop-door opener and closer (again, so I can go away for the weekend).
- Add a couple solar powered LED lights in the coop and in the run (will be adapting cheap solar landscape lights).
- Cut vents in the clearstory part of the coop, and possibly one above the nest boxes.
- Install roosts.
What you don't see in the photos:
- A droppings tray in the coop, under the roosts, pulls out from the outside so I don't have to go in the coop to clean it.
- Two windows so I can see what the girls are up to (on the other sides of the coop).
- Pop door lift cord so I can open and close without going in the coop or run (will automate later).
- Tiled floor in the coop, both in the droppings tray on the regular floor (cheapest I could find, but nice wood pattern).
- Painted surfaces in side and out (limits hiding places for parasites and eases cleaning).
- Need to put the wheels back on, and fasten grab handles and hitch points so I can move that monster.
- Pop door access ladder detaches for moving the train.
- Coop access door for easy cleaning and checking on the ladies.
Side view:
View of the pop door end:
This is me, explaining to one of my packing peanuts that they NEED to be a hen.
Thanx,
Tweakster
