RubySue
Songster
We finished our coop today by adding trim, now I just need my signs 
We really didn’t have much of a plan honestly. I looked at a few examples and knew what I wanted for sure on it and went from there. I wanted it raised pretty high to be able to get a good sized wheel barrow underneath, I wanted to be able to access underneath it easily for storage and clean out, and we have some nasty predators. We built it into an existing horse run-in, which was pretty challenging because we used the existing boards for support but they were pretty random, which you can see and it made it difficult for the hardware cloth installation.
What a relief
Have some tidying up to do on the run and need to complete the roof. One of the biggest challenges we have is our ground is rock. Literally huge boulders and slabs of rock. Leveling the run and securing a predator apron has been challenging but we are doing our best. One good note is nothing can dig through rock but there are vulnerable areas to deal with. I have grown fond of those little chicks and want them safe. They moved in a few nights ago. They are 3.5 weeks and are surviving high 30’s low 40’s nighttime temperatures just fine with only a heat plate. In fact, they love their new space. I kept them out in the garage where it was colder too before, and I think it helped to feather them out more quickly.
We left the eves open for ventilation on 3 sides. Closed the right side and added a window. We will also be added another simple window with hardware cloth to the front door this spring. I built it to do the deep litter method not knowing there is also another one known as deep bedding. Come to find out deep bedding is probably best for my situation because I live in such a dry climate anyway. So I am going to try that. My human top door swings out and the bottom one drops down. I’m sure there are things I’m going to wish I did differently but I love it and they seem to love it too.
We really didn’t have much of a plan honestly. I looked at a few examples and knew what I wanted for sure on it and went from there. I wanted it raised pretty high to be able to get a good sized wheel barrow underneath, I wanted to be able to access underneath it easily for storage and clean out, and we have some nasty predators. We built it into an existing horse run-in, which was pretty challenging because we used the existing boards for support but they were pretty random, which you can see and it made it difficult for the hardware cloth installation. What a relief
Have some tidying up to do on the run and need to complete the roof. One of the biggest challenges we have is our ground is rock. Literally huge boulders and slabs of rock. Leveling the run and securing a predator apron has been challenging but we are doing our best. One good note is nothing can dig through rock but there are vulnerable areas to deal with. I have grown fond of those little chicks and want them safe. They moved in a few nights ago. They are 3.5 weeks and are surviving high 30’s low 40’s nighttime temperatures just fine with only a heat plate. In fact, they love their new space. I kept them out in the garage where it was colder too before, and I think it helped to feather them out more quickly. We left the eves open for ventilation on 3 sides. Closed the right side and added a window. We will also be added another simple window with hardware cloth to the front door this spring. I built it to do the deep litter method not knowing there is also another one known as deep bedding. Come to find out deep bedding is probably best for my situation because I live in such a dry climate anyway. So I am going to try that. My human top door swings out and the bottom one drops down. I’m sure there are things I’m going to wish I did differently but I love it and they seem to love it too.
