New Pallet Coop

[NCnarrator]

We painted our pallet coop last night - got some great paint on clearance b/c the person who ordered it didn't like the color. So here's our very first coop! We're in North Carolina, so the biggest concern we had was plenty of ventilation. We can close up the spaces under the roof if it gets cold enough to need it (which I'm told isn't likely around here). I was a little concerned that the spaces under the roof would let rain in, but we've had some big thunderstorms come through (with lots of wind), and the interior has stayed nice and dry.

We'll be picking up the first of our chickens in two weeks, so if you see anything we need to change or fix, let me know! The only thing not shown are the laying boxes and the feeder and water source. So, here it is - the Ugliest Chicken Coop in North Carolina!

 

[orumpoultry]

Looks really good!

 

[ChickenAl]

Hey, that's real nice for a pallet coop.

Don't know if you are going to do this or not, but you should put some ladder steps on the ramp to make it easy for them to get in and out of the pop door.

 

[NCnarrator]

You're right - I'm picking up some lathe to put steps on the ramp this weekend!

 

[3forfree]

you might want to make the coop critter proof by putting hardware cloth over the openings where you don't have plywood or shingles.

 

[NCnarrator]

It's hard to tell from the pics, but the top and bottom of the coop are hardware cloth so there aren't actually any openings for critters to get in. It's also surrounded by a handy-dandy 15x20 dog lot with fencing that goes more than 18 inches underground, reinforced by welded wire fencing around to keep curious chicken heads from poking out, and curious possum and raccoon hands from poking in.

There's a tree in the center of the lot (it's huge), so we're going to run wire from the top of the fencing to the tree and out again all the way around to make sure the hawks and owls we have around here don't come looking for a free meal. Friends of ours free-ranged their chickens (no rooster), and now they have a really fat fox instead of chickens. I REALLY don't want to feed the local wildlife!

 

[OkChickens]

Looks good!

Nate

 

[3forfree]

You're right It is hard to tell that there is hardware cloth. sorry. Coop's looking good, I'm in the process of busting up pallets to build a coop,

 

[NCnarrator]

You're right It is hard to tell that there is hardware cloth. sorry. Coop's looking good, I'm in the process of busting up pallets to build a coop,

Oh, good luck with the busting! Part of the reason we ended up using intact pallets was because some of those pallets were almost impossible to take apart, despite the fact that they LOOKED like they'd fall apart in a stiff breeze! Hubby nearly impaled himself with a hammer.

The hardware cloth was the biggest thing in every design I came up with. We have a few friends who've had chickens over the years, and the tales of snakes/raccoons/possums/cats/hawks/owls were hair raising!