New coop nearing completion! pics

[CatsvsDogs]

Deciding that I wanted to continue becoming more self sufficient I thought one of the directions to head towards was... Chickens. We have had a garden since starting one 3 years ago, so I wanted to take it a step further. Thanks to my favorite search engine I was directed towards the BYC where I was able to scoop up enough information from all the creations others have posted, as well as all of the insightful knowledge that is in this community. What a great bunch of people.

When I first started perusing the coop designs "Chieftain" was in the process of building his coop and I loved it. (If you haven't seen his coop look him up). So I drew it all up very similar to his design except I wanted to mirror the structure so I could have two separate coop's and runs. When I took the price tag (it was around $2,200) to my wonderful partner she says " You're kidding right? You realize how many eggs that is?" Hmm she had a good point, I told her such and went back to the drawing board. Chicken tractors are then what I decided would be the ticket. Smaller, cheaper and mobile, 3 things that I liked. I totaled up my costs this morning and I am in about $400. There were numerous supplies I had on hand already.

There are just a few cosmetic parts left to do and last big thing is getting the handles and wheels on for the mobility factor. I am guessing that it weighs somewhere around 200-250lbs and my goal is to be able to have my partner move it. She is 5'6" 120lbs, if she can do it, anyone can.

Only regrets I have is using poultry wire instead of hardware cloth.

 

[Soaring Chicks]

Cute, looks like they will be happy in it.

 

[ChixMama]

Wow...that's one of the prettiest tractors I've ever seen. Great job!!!

 

[augustmomx2]

Super cute coop!

I esp love the roof.

 

[Harrietsmum]

Fantastic coop.......but please, please, please put hardware cloth over all that chicken wire.

 

[andalusn]

Very nice job.. how many chickens are you planning on having? Looks fairly roomy inside. Even though we have rodents in our barn I have not had any issues in the hen house to date and it's been up almost a year. We used wire mesh fencing we already had for the run but the hardware cloth is a good sturdy wire. Just keep a watch on the chicken wire to see if you get varmit signs or the wire breaks. You may want to check your local feed store, the Wilco here runs specials on rolls of fencing that may in the long run be cheaper than hardware cloth. Livestock supply stores just carry stuff in a better quanity than a urban hardware store. The extra can come in handy for down the road when you want to add on

 

[CatsvsDogs]

Quote:
yeah I am a bit mad at myself for not using hardware cloth to start with. The guy at the feed store actually talked me out of using hardware cloth saying that poultry wire was just as good. So for the price difference I bought poultry. UGGH! In order to change it out or even go over the top is going to be a pain in the butt. I am still torn as to whether I need hardware cloth tho, as a good friend of mine in the area uses the poultry wire and has never had a intrusion yet.

The inside coop square footage is a little bit over 10 sq feet and the run is 32 sq feet. In hindsight I should have made it (the coop) 1' longer to accommodate 3 hens comfortably (If I was going by the 4 sq foot rule) . I may still start with 3 any ways and see how it goes.

 

[andalusn]

I may still start with 3 any ways and see how it goes.

"how is goes

for us was: One rooster my husband just fell for... Then a coop for the rooster to live in, hens ( 7 of them) to keep him happy

Then I wanted the Brabanters so that required another coop for the 5 of them. Chickens are just habit forming. Two hens went broody and are not laying and raising 3 peeps between them.

I was at the feed store today...... came home with two Buckeye pullets and a Buff Orfington pullet

 

[rebbetzin]

I love it!! I wish my tractor was so pretty!!!

 

[CityChook]

Very sweet. Thanks for sharing the photos.

Just put that hardware wire on your long-term goal list and make sure you lock the girls up every night. Religiously. You'll be okay. It looks like your back yard is fenced and that will keep neighbor dogs out, which is probably your biggest pred issue during the daytime.

If you wanted, you could always put hardware wire around the lower 2 ft., securing it to the supports outside of the poultry wire with staples or screws/washers. It would still look nice (and I'm an advocate of nice looking coops). A support piece of 2x2 around the perimeter of the run at the top of the hw wire would even make it look intentional and keep the top edge secure. It would probably give you more stability when moving around as well.

Also, if you want to leave your windows open this summer, you will HAVE to have hardware wire there - very securely fastened. And I wouldn't leave the one by the roost open at all as it's very close.

BTW, you probably don't need 3 roosts, especially that close together. A single 2x4 on it's side would be sufficient. Or maybe just remove the two extra poles that are closest to the window and see how they like it.

Nice job!! It's a sweet addition to your lovely back yard!