My pens are finished and we are waiting to see if we lay eggs for our first yr...

[mrwoodboat]

I posted pictures when we were building the pens but have not posted any since they are finished....so here you go- we have daylilies and irises planted around the outside and different grasses inside.



We are starting on a double 8 x 16 grow out pen next weekend..

 

[Odelia]

You did a great job building your coops.

 

[mrwoodboat]

thanks- the lower panels are designed such that we can slide them out on front or side and increase the sq footage if needed.

We have our game birds (pheasants and quail) on one side of our property and our chickens and turkeys on the other side...hoping to keep things safe from one another...

 

[kartking22]

Everything looks to be good with your pheasant coop. The only changes that I would make would to be to put a solid bottom on the doors similar to what you have on the sides. Reason being that a predator like a raccoon can still reach through a 1" wire and grab your birds. They can't eat much through your wire but I found that if they have an opportunity to kill and eat a little, to them, better than not eating at all. A caught bird is still a dead bird. Don't give them any chance to grab them.

 

[kartking22]

Also, the pics show that the coop might be sitting on top of the ground. I am hoping that you put sub soil wire to deter the digging predators too. Top of the coop should also be 1" knotted netting to keep the owls from taking them from above. Owls are smart. They will scare your pheasants to make them fly. Pheasants normally fly straight up when threatened. If thier head can go through your top netting or wire, the owl will grab it and eat only as much as it can. A dead bird in the middle of the coop who is just missing a head most likely was the result of a very clever owl.

 

[mrwoodboat]

Excellent points-

We used 2x2 knotted netting over the top and then offset a 2nd layer by 1"- I felt that it would be stronger than a single course of 1" netting- we still have 1" opennings but two layers of net.

The entire structure sits on old broken cinderblock that had mortor mix and sand pour over it then dirt...it should be bonded well enough to prevent anyone from digging in or out but still friable enough that we can demo it is we need to...

I added panels to the lower part of the doors although the birds tend to stay on the different roosts at night and not on the floor or out in the run- still, it was good to make sure

thanks

 

[NaJoBeLe]

coop looks very nice. hoping to start working on a pheasant pen either late this summer or next winter. Thank You for the inspiration.

 

[mrwoodboat]

thank you- we started on our 2nd pair of flight pens today..I am planning on adding an access door to the rear on this set. Other than wishing I had mounted the feed tubes so they could be filled from the outside, I am very, very happy with the pen design. I hope the birds are as well....

 

[hairco]

Love your pens.How wide is each section

 

[softbillsmitten]

These are awesome! Your birds should be very happy! What is the plastic material on the bottom?