New member looking for advice

[Btor2316]

Hi everyone,
My name is nick my wife joined this forum last night and we are looking for some advice since this our first time with chickens. I decided to pickup the coop off marketplace because I thought it would be faster and cheaper than build one. I got the coop for $300 which was originally a garage can storage shed that someone converted for ducks. I had and old carport tent frame I saved that the top ripped a few winters back. This was the combo I dreamed up from a combination of what I’ve seen and looked up on the internet. We’ve been putting the chickens away in the coop at night and securing it and plan to continue that routine since there is lots of wildlife where we live.

things I still have to do are:
Finish burying the excess chicken fencing at the base of the tent.
Change the rooster bar sizes in the run
Change the size of the roosting bars inside the coop and add more bars
Run electric out to the coop for the light and future waterer with warmer.
Add chicken wire over the window so when we leave it open during the summer, it is still secure.
QUESTIONS
Maybe add more ventilation?
Are we supposed to leave the waterer in the coop at night? They have been making a mess of it so..I’m thinking of getting a smaller one for inside and placing it up on a block of wood in the back left corner next to the window.
Where to place the roosting bars inside based on the current layout?
Is our layout good enough?




Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated!

 

[mowin]

First off welcome to BYC.

Second, I'd add HC, (hardware cloth), to the bottom 3' all the way around. Critters will reach in and grab a chicken. A coon will tear poultry netting easily, so maybe wrapping entire structure with HC is something to consider.

A HC apron 16" out will deter digging.

 

[Friendly_Lurker]

That looks great! Electric fence around the whole thing will prevent predators. Good luck with your flock! What kinds of birds do you have?

 

[Btor2316]

First off welcome to BYC.

Second, I'd add HC, (hardware cloth), to the bottom 3' all the way around. Critters will reach in and grab a chicken. A coon will tear poultry netting easily, so maybe wrapping entire structure with HC is something to consider.

A HC apron 16" out will deter digging.

thanks for the advice. I was afraid that I used the wrong material to enclose the run lol. I agree and feel the right thing to do is wrap the whole thing with HC. Right now the poultry fence is attached with just zip ties. I feel I’m going to have to use at least tie wire which is going to take forever
Any thoughts on a faster way to attach the HC to the frame?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Layout's ok but the roost bar is pretty low and narrow as you're already aware.

Waterer, keep it out in the run, no reason for it to be inside the coop especially with a smaller coop. It also adds moisture which you don't want.

The ventilation inside is the window and some rectangular vents above? I'd be tempted to open up some/all of that triangular area where the small rectangular vents are, though I'd only do that if I knew wind was unlikely to blow in that direction. Or you could put a buffer over it to stop wind/rain from blowing in.

That heat lamp makes me nervous. Remove it and you can move the roost up another 6" maybe? Heat is unnecessary in all but the coldest of climates.

 

[mowin]

thanks for the advice. I was afraid that I used the wrong material to enclose the run lol. I agree and feel the right thing to do is wrap the whole thing with HC. Right now the poultry fence is attached with just zip ties. I feel I’m going to have to use at least tie wire which is going to take forever
Any thoughts on a faster way to attach the HC to the frame?

I used rebar ties. While not faster, they at least won't degrade in the weather, and won't get chewed through.
Attaching the HC to itself, I used hog rings.

 

[aart]

Right now the poultry fence is attached with just zip ties. I feel I’m going to have to use at least tie wire which is going to take forever

You could use zipties for now, get UV resistant ones, then slowly replace with wire.

 

[Btor2316]

Ok so I’ve made the changes to the roosting bars and moved the heat lamp. I also lowered the nesting boxes. Still have to add HC at least to the bottom 2-3’ of the run since that stuff isn’t cheap I probably won’t do the entire run with that. For ventilation I’m thinking of cutting out the rectangular areas between the roof joists on both sides and using HC to cover them. Would that be enough ventilation?

 

[aart]

For ventilation I’m thinking of cutting out the rectangular areas between the roof joists on both sides and using HC to cover them. Would that be enough ventilation?

It would certainty improve it.
What does that area look like from the outside?
Might want to add fascia to the rafter ends to help block wind in winter.

 

[mowin]

I'd get rid of the heat lamp altogether. I'm in NY also. -15 in my area isn't uncommon. As long as there's adequate ventilation without drafts, they will be fine.