- Mar 28, 2012
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I THINK we're done 
We set up a shed from Costco for the coop, and just added in some tiered perches made from 2x4s that we built last weekend. They love it! But all 18 chickens try to squeeze themselves on the highest bar, lol. As they grow, some will just need to move on down
The perch has a space to add a poop board underneath, and then our nest boxes will slide under the poop board (below the lowest perch.) No need for that now, though, since it's too early to bother with nest boxes (the chickens vary from 8-11 weeks old.)
We also set up 200' of electrified poultry netting for use as a huge faux free range "run" which is where they'll be from morning till night. I have a 3rd roll of 100' netting in case I decide to make the run bigger later (or for use with a second flock of meaties, or whatever.)
Hawks have been a problem (lost one chick to a hawk while free ranging) so we designed the run to be long and narrow, filled with hideouts and obstacles. We then put up tall posts and bird netting over half the run (where we need to be able to walk around regularly), and I strung fishing line back and forth between the posts on the other side of the run (criss crossed like crazy - don't need to walk in this area more than a couple times a year, and I can just duck and scoot underneath the fishing line.) I also hung strips of holographic ribbon all over the run - it's like mardis gras every time I look out the kitchen window, lol.
It's not completely hawk proof, but hopefully this will make it tricky enough for the hawk to think twice, or at least confound him enough to buy the hens time to hide. We have a rooster too, but he's also young, though he'll grow up and add yet another layer (pun intended) of hawk protection.
This weekend we're building a moveable scarecrow as well, lol. Everything but the kitchen sink!
Hopefully this does the trick to keep them safe while allowing them a near free range experience. Our last resort would be to take it all down and build a fixed covered run, but we're hoping not to have to do that.
Oh, and when we're home and outside with them, we let them free range the whole yard. Then when it's time to go inside, we just shoo them back inside the netting and turn it back on.
We set up a shed from Costco for the coop, and just added in some tiered perches made from 2x4s that we built last weekend. They love it! But all 18 chickens try to squeeze themselves on the highest bar, lol. As they grow, some will just need to move on down
The perch has a space to add a poop board underneath, and then our nest boxes will slide under the poop board (below the lowest perch.) No need for that now, though, since it's too early to bother with nest boxes (the chickens vary from 8-11 weeks old.)
We also set up 200' of electrified poultry netting for use as a huge faux free range "run" which is where they'll be from morning till night. I have a 3rd roll of 100' netting in case I decide to make the run bigger later (or for use with a second flock of meaties, or whatever.)
Hawks have been a problem (lost one chick to a hawk while free ranging) so we designed the run to be long and narrow, filled with hideouts and obstacles. We then put up tall posts and bird netting over half the run (where we need to be able to walk around regularly), and I strung fishing line back and forth between the posts on the other side of the run (criss crossed like crazy - don't need to walk in this area more than a couple times a year, and I can just duck and scoot underneath the fishing line.) I also hung strips of holographic ribbon all over the run - it's like mardis gras every time I look out the kitchen window, lol.
It's not completely hawk proof, but hopefully this will make it tricky enough for the hawk to think twice, or at least confound him enough to buy the hens time to hide. We have a rooster too, but he's also young, though he'll grow up and add yet another layer (pun intended) of hawk protection.
This weekend we're building a moveable scarecrow as well, lol. Everything but the kitchen sink!
Hopefully this does the trick to keep them safe while allowing them a near free range experience. Our last resort would be to take it all down and build a fixed covered run, but we're hoping not to have to do that.
Oh, and when we're home and outside with them, we let them free range the whole yard. Then when it's time to go inside, we just shoo them back inside the netting and turn it back on.
