New House, Old Coop

[thlayli]

It finally cooled down, so I was able to go back and tackle another chunk of work. This and the photos are from 2 separate sessions over several days.

My parents are in the process of selling their house and moving in with us, so my dad brought over some of his tools, including a drill and a container of bits. I was able to remove all the plywood from the bottom of the coop. The Original Builder (prior to Previous Owner) had installed a skirt of chicken wire around the entire base, but it had been breached in several spots. I found the remains of another bird all the way up by the door, just a jumbled matted bunch of wing feathers and crusty sawdust. I don't know how long it had been there. There were quite a few fat black crickets, and I was kinda sad I didnt already have a flock because they definitely would've gone a little bonkers at the sheer number of creepy crawlies hanging out in the stacked wood next to the coop as well as under the base of the plywood. I trimmed back the tree some more, so now I can walk entirely around the base without having to duck.

Today Dad arrived with the calvary weedwhacker and I was finally able to finish clearing out the interior run. I used an app called Picture This to identify most of the stuff that had clogged everything up: velvetleaf (invasive), horsenettle (toxic), lots of ragweed (hello allergies), and prickly lettuce and field thistle (pokey and thorny, respectively). We got a lot done, but I was not anticipating the weight of a weedwhacker and unfortunately my noodly arms were insufficient to do much damage, so Dad helped out. I went in behind him and pulled the amputated weeds into the brush pile. Keep in mind the chunnel is entirely enclosed and the roof is only about 5 feet (158 cm) tall, so I, 5'8" (172 cm) and my dad, 5'11" (180 cm), combined with our Not As Young As They Used to Be spines, made bent, slow, creaky/groany progress. I am Not Fond of the fact the chunnel only has one door.

I found 2 more waterers, this time of the hanging nipple variety, in pretty good condition.

Trees are growing through the chunnel. And I don't mean just jutting up through the top after 2 years of neglect, I mean weaving in and out of the cattle wire at the base of the enclosure, making it all but impossible to cut them down. They will be clipped back as closely as possible, and boiling water and vinegar poured onto their root systems. Hopefully once they die and desicate they will be easier to extract.

Progress pics below

 

[thlayli]

Pic 1: A Before picture of the stacked wood and attached plywood on the northern side of the coop.
Pic 2: Boards and plywood removed, tree sufficiently trimmed.
Pic 3: The interior run has been completely cleared. This also demonstrates the WALL OF WEEDS and how stupidly thick and tall they are.
Pic 4: Progress! A good 30 or 40 feet of chunnel has been cleared, except for the trees.
Pic 5: A close up of the progress
Pic 6: My Dad, in the chunnel with the weedwhacker.

 

[3KillerBs]

You're making wonderful progress!

 

[thlayli]

Update:

Typically I write my posts on a computer and then upload my photos from my phone, but we have officially moved and my computer is still packed away, so I apologize if this isn't as in depth as normal. Thumb typing is not nearly as fast as regular typing, at least for me.

I've done a lot of work since a few weeks ago, but it doesnt LOOK like much and I've been waiting for some more progress before I posted again. I've emptied the coop entirely of the old bedding/feed mixture. After some quick calculations I pegged the amount of waste at around 32 cubic feet, which I moved with a shovel, a tarp, and my legs. I got tired of dragging it by the corners after the first 2 loads or so (conveniently uphill and over gravel, just for extra spicyness), and bought a mooring rope, which made things considerably easier afterwards.

I used the waste to mulch a mini orchard elsewhere on the property, but then got lazy and dumped it into my Garden of 7 Foot Weeds. My justification for this was it would smother the unwanted plants and also fertilize the soil, however I was too quick to pat myself on the back. After the first rain it became a morass of flies that constantly harass me as I work, now, so that's a fun little reminder of my own short sightedness.

I swept out the interior of the coop as best I could, scooped away all the cobwebs and evicted what spiders remained, and then doused everything in about a half gallon's worth of Simple Green fungicide/virucide/antibacterial cleaning solution. I used a scrub brush and towels to wipe down all the interior walls. The floors are still caked in a cement-like residue in some spots, notably by the exit of the coop to the run and also the metal door jamb, which I tried to remove with a chisel to no avail. (I wore goggles, a respirator, and gloves for all of this, by the way. I also take my boots off before coming inside and completely shower/change clothes when I am done. Please do not deep clean anything poultry or animal related without protecting yourself).

If you look back at some of the original photos you will see a white picket fence on the south side of the coop. My next task was to disassemble that eyesore and repurpose the wood. My husband suggested mounting the long beams against the coop walls so I could secure the hardware cloth skirt to the structure, which was brilliant because the stapler I bought could not punch through the metal siding and there were already holes in place. With his help that is what we did today, and then I began securing the skirting and adding the bricks to the base.

I have also repurposed a dog crate for my chick brooder. I used more of the hardware cloth and cable ties to make it chicken-proof, and once delivery day is closer I will add the bedding, feeder, watering bottle, and brooder. I was going to do the Momma Heating Pad method, but since I didnt have any of the supplies on hand it was actually cheaper just to buy a brooding plate. Brooding the chicks this way in my garage gives me a little more time to make sure everything coop-wise is safe and secure before I move them out there, while still keeping them a) out of my house, b) in an outdoor environment with a natural day-night cycle and temperature, and c) where I can keep an eye on them while they are still smol.

 

[thlayli]

Pic 1: I started to shovel out the bedding before I remembered I should probably take a "before" picture.
Pic 2: My workin getup. The lines it leaves are just lovely, but I enjoy breathing and seeing too much to skip it.
Pics 3 & 4: Pre and post sanitization. I couldn't get all the staining off the wall but did my best. I also removed the bars from the window and replaced it with about 4 layers of chicken wire, but I didn't get any photos of that.
Pic 5: The trench, hardware cloth skirt, and brick underlayer.
Pic 6: I buried the bricks and cloth. We don't have too many big predators here that also dig, so I'm pretty confident this will keep out raccoons and my dogs. I need to reinforce the coop entrance itself to secure it from rats and snakes, but since the run and chunnel are just cattle wire and rusted, busted chicken wire there is only so much I can do. The chickens that are awake and about need to keep those surveillance skills honed.

 

[3KillerBs]

Wow! What a lot of work you've accomplished.

Can't wait to see the photos, but I understand the technical challenges.

 

[thlayli]

I forgot to mention that I removed the doors, took off the old busted plywood and attached new, sturdier solid wood plywood, and then rehung the door with an extra hinge and new closing hardware. It still needs a little oomph to shut it all the way, but now it doesn't sag or have any gaps, and I can lock the top AND the bottom.

 

[3KillerBs]

I can lock the top AND the bottom.

Good idea!

I have fasteners at the top and bottom of all my coop doors so that raccoons can't pry a gap with the door latched.

 

[TX Chick Noob]

You have done a lot of work, it looks amazing.

I have been using feeders called VFeedr. You can order them from Chewy (or TSC but they are more expensive there), they hang on the wall. My girls seem to like them just fine, there is never any poop in them and rarely any litter kicked in. The design is supposed to make it difficult for mice to get in. Mine were able to use them once they were about 7 weeks old.

 

[thlayli]

I will look into those, thank you!