Newbie 1st Post - Let's get'er started

[jetdog]

I use a chain link dog kennel 10x10 6 ft tall my birds can fly in 1 hop to a roost I put in that's 5ft off the ground, I would find a pole saw and trim any dead branches and if you don't use netting I would have at least chicken wire on the top or 2x4 welded wire, the thing is chickens are the lowest on the food chain so even if you don't think anything will come around at night don't be fooled they will attract predators, I just bought a game camera for night time monitoring. You have a great setup and to make it very secure is the most important thing.

 

[pfrosty]

I have neighbor a couple of streets away from me that has had chickens for a number of years in an open run and has only one bird to a predator. I have seen hawks around and in fact watched one pluck a blue jay right out the bushes on the side of my property. I definitely would not rule out hawks. Do you have pics of examples of how you would ward off predators around this big tree? Three sides are already enclosed: wood fence, chain link fence and coop. Chickens will go to town on the ground cover and probably enjoy the big rock.




Here is a panorama shot of the interior. Just not sure where to put the roosts and nesting boxes in relation to those windows. I'll tear the carpet out tonight. My thought was to line L shape roost against the chalk board wall and then around the right side. Add 4 nesting boxes on the bottom half of the chalkboard wall. Add coop door to the run on the left below or between the two windows. With all the windows, do I still need to add venting at the top?

 

[jetdog]

I don't have any pictures of netting but I would tack it to the tree somehow and draw it up tight. Like the idea of where you said you wanted to put the roost and boxes. It might be easier to put a door in between the windows there is probably less framing in the wall there. You don't have to use netting any type of wire or fishing line tied back and forth so they can't swoop in.

 

[pfrosty]

Kids finally went to bed which means I finally get to start working on the coop. Why am I up doing this at 11:30 pm all in the name of chickens?

I was able to attach hardware cloth to the windows. I also got the first poop board and roost installed. I didn't want them in the middle of the window but I'm also worried they're too high being 48" off the ground. I'll have to build some sort of tiered ramp for them to get up there.

The first roost is 64" long. I mounted it to a couple of notched 2x4s so that the roosts sit but are not mounted. That way I can lift them up and slide them back for cleaning. The roost sits approximately 8" above the poop board. I suppose I could have lowered them by four inches.

The first poop board is 24" deep. The second will be 20" deep and will run above the two windows on the right.

 

[pfrosty]

I was back at it tonight and installed the second poop board and roost.

I wanted to do a similar set up as the other roost with the notched support. But I could only do that with one side.

The other side was free floating with no wall to anchor the support for the roost. So what I ended up doing was sinking a couple of screws half way and drilled a couple of holes on the underside of the roost to help keep it in place. Now both roosts butt up to each other giving me 11 1/2' of roost space. A little much for eight chickens but may come in handy in the future.

 

[pfrosty]

It's been over a week since I've worked on the coop. I was able to cut in a chicken door last night and then add new flooring with a 2X6 to keep bedding in place. The original floor was pretty weak and needed to be strenthened. My main door swings in so the inside bedding area is now 64" x 64". The plywood floor is set with a few grabber screws so I can remove the sheets out easily once a year for cleaning or just replace them. I haven't decided to go with straw or sand on the floor. I tried to reuse the wood on the chicken door to match the wall. It's just ok. I also tried to salvage the outside siding so it would blend better on the outside but I didn't really pull it off to my original expectations. Oh well, it's pretty hidden from view anyway. Next step: run, nest boxes, sand & Sweet PDZ.

 

[pfrosty]

Added Sweet PDZ to the poop boards, sand to the floor and piped in electricity just in case I ever need it. Now I need to fence in the run, add nest boxes, food and water.












Chicks checking out the new sand...

 

[jetdog]

Your doing a great job just make sure your nestboxs are lower than the roost or they will be sleeping and pooping in them, the electric will make your life so much easier in the winter.

 

[dashonna82]

OMG you are doing an amazing job!!! I am soo glad I found this post. Thanks for giving me ideas for my coop!

 

[pfrosty]

It's been awhile since I focused on the coop. I made some real progress last week. The 5 week old chicks have been spending their time in the coop with a heat lamp on at night and then I would let them out to roam the backyard for an hour at a time as I had time to watch. I finally got the run fence up (5' tall), with a gate next to the coop door. I had a bunch of left over wood from tearing out part of my deck that I repurposed for this project. I also made two feeders last night out of 4" pipe with a metal 6" cap I found at Home Depot. I know many of you may blast me for my choice of using plastic chicken netting. It's mostly to keep the little ones from escaping through the wide slats of my fence. Once they are bigger, I don't think they will be able to get out. As for predators coming in. I suppose it could happen. A neighbor has an open run with a much shorter fence for his BOs and has lost one chicken in 7 years to a predator. I guess I'll see how it goes before I go and secure everything. The black plastic netting looks great and was super easy to put on. We will see how it holds up until the chickens are big enough to not get through the slats where I would no longer need the netting.