We had been using an old horse stall with a dirt floor as our coop and free-ranged during the day. Lice has been a huge issue with the dirt floor and the chickens have annihilated my gardens and landscaping so we decided to build them a full time indoor/outdoor coop with supervised free-range access from time to time. We have also had a lot of predator visits, so we think we pretty much have eliminated the possibility of losing any gals when they go in at night, and made it quite difficult for any daytimers to get them.
We would like some input as far as ideas to help make this the perfect coop. I want to put up a sandbox outside for the dirt baths. We have hanging feeders and waterers outside now but I hate the waterer because you have to disassemble it to fill it. We should have sprung for the top fill model and plan to get that soon. The covered outdoor run is south facing and has a concrete floor (it was hay storage under a lean to previously) that we pressure wash when needed. The inside coop has VCT tile on the floor that we are going to sprinkle shavings on to try to keep lice at a minimum and rodents and to help with easier cleaning. Our roosts are handrails, but I think the top one is too high right now. I want to put a ramp to the lower ones to help the old girls.
Our biggest obstacle right now before the kids have access to the inside (we have to rustle them into the outdoor run daily which is no fun) is the door. I want to put a plexiglass "door" a few inches off the ground to keep the shavings in and let light in on crappy winter days and let heat from the south in as well. I don't know if a slider up and down or side to side would be better? Or how to best secure it from little coon hands that can open the sliding window in our cat's room on the barn. The pictures are mid construction and we still haven't completed the inside yet. About 12x16 outside and 14x12 inside for 12 guys and girls.
Any ideas that we can get to install or implement before it becomes their permanent home would be wonderful!
We would like some input as far as ideas to help make this the perfect coop. I want to put up a sandbox outside for the dirt baths. We have hanging feeders and waterers outside now but I hate the waterer because you have to disassemble it to fill it. We should have sprung for the top fill model and plan to get that soon. The covered outdoor run is south facing and has a concrete floor (it was hay storage under a lean to previously) that we pressure wash when needed. The inside coop has VCT tile on the floor that we are going to sprinkle shavings on to try to keep lice at a minimum and rodents and to help with easier cleaning. Our roosts are handrails, but I think the top one is too high right now. I want to put a ramp to the lower ones to help the old girls.
Our biggest obstacle right now before the kids have access to the inside (we have to rustle them into the outdoor run daily which is no fun) is the door. I want to put a plexiglass "door" a few inches off the ground to keep the shavings in and let light in on crappy winter days and let heat from the south in as well. I don't know if a slider up and down or side to side would be better? Or how to best secure it from little coon hands that can open the sliding window in our cat's room on the barn. The pictures are mid construction and we still haven't completed the inside yet. About 12x16 outside and 14x12 inside for 12 guys and girls.
Any ideas that we can get to install or implement before it becomes their permanent home would be wonderful!
