Please give me thoughts on my Coop!

[speckledhen]

So far, I think it is pretty darn safe from predators.

The operative words here are "so far". Some dogs will go right through that stuff like it's nothing. Raccoons can chew through it and they can reach their paws through the 1" wire anyway, eating any bird they catch through the wire, one bite at a time. If you just wrap some hardware cloth around the base of it, taller than the chickens themselves, maybe 24" up, that would shore it up tremendously. I realize it's more expensive than chickenwire, which is made to keep chickens in, not predators out.
It's really a very cute idea.​

 

[patandchickens]

Sorry, I didn't let all the photos load or I would have *seen* the wire was on the outside

It is still rather dangerous to use just chickenwire though. As Cyn says, both in terms of strength (although some people do find heavier-gauge chickenwire out there, somehow) and in terms of mesh size vis-a-vis reaching through.

Spend some time reading the "Predators and Pests" archived threads and see how many people lose chickens that way, sometimes after being fine for some while, sometimes right away, but almost always while they were SURE that their chickens were safe.

I'd hate for you to become yet another one of those threads, you know?

Just sayin',

Pat

 

[the1much]

i have 1 of those playsets in my yard,, for months i've been trying to talk my 4 & 6 year olds into letting me do the same thing

their having NO part of it

 

[FrontPorchIndiana]

What a great idea to reuse that old play set! It looks great, but I'd agree with the others that you'll eventually want to enclose the upstairs and add some hardware cloth to the bottom. I'll bet your chickies love it.

 

[jeanniejayne]

This is an amazingly inventive way to use a playset! I think many will follow your lead.

I am a newbie, but have been reading many books and most everyone agrees that the 1" wire is not predator-proof, and that 'coons can reach through and grab a bird. Then they literally pull it part inch by inch, through the wire.

Some advocate putting solid panels in one corner so that chicks will aways have a safe place to run where no one can reach them. Also digging in wire around the pedrimiter about 18 inches out so no one can dig under. One amazed woman told a story of a racconn who worked two years trying to get in, finally discovering a way to get in through a barn attic and come down through a window well. I will never again underestimate a raccoon!

Looking forward to seeing more pics.

JJ

 

[Superior Chicks]

I hate to be a rotten egg, pun intended.

As stated above, chicken wire is not predator proof, and sometimes, at best, just adds a few minutes to the life of your beloveds.

And since you have already HAD predators you will almost certainly see their return.

Other than adding hardware cloth or hard wire to your set up, your have a great coop! You did a fantastic job, its really cute and your girls I'm sure love it.

HTH, since you asked.

Ma

 

[scogind]

I noticed your nestboxes sitting on the concrete blocks. You could get a little more floor space by eleminating the blocks and supporting/hanging the nestboxes from the top or sides... maybe add a 2x2 perch along the front of the nestboxes 4-5" at the same height as the floor of the nests. My birds seem to take time to walk back and forth on that perch before they decide which nest to hop in.

Siding... on 3 sides at least around the roosting area to shield them from the wind. Beef-up the wiring on the third side. The 2x4" "dog-wire" might be cheaper than the hardware cloth stuff and will keep all North America preditors out... won't keep a coon from reaching in though.

Take a 2' wide strip of the 2x4" wire as long as your pen and lay it flat on the ground all around your pen and attach the one edge to the bottom of your pen. Keep the wire mashed down tight to the ground and once the grass starts growing in spring you won't see the wire and can even mow over it. Most all preditors that can dig will try to dig right next to the side of your coop but can't dig down thru the wire. I say most cause my co-worker has a dog that knows enough to back up and start digging further from the side of the coop. Now that's a smart dog! I haven't lost any to preditors in nine years.

 

[pawsplus]

Quote:
This is what I have around my pen, but I think it's important to stake it in securely -- I use metal tent stakes. Here is my hardware cloth apron (before staking) -- it is 4 feet wide so that 2 feet are along the ground and 2 feet are wired to the sides of the chainlink pen:

I also have a henhouse that is attached to the pen, in which the chickens are locked at night.

I agree that the OP really needs to revamp things a bit to provide more predator protection. Adding some wire is cheap and easy.

 

[waynesgarden]

I must have missed some indication that the coop is in a warm climate. I hope it is. Also protected from wind and driving rain. Nothing more miserable than an animal forced to endure storms unprotected.

If for no other reason, enclose some part of the coop so the hens will lay in some quite, private, dimly-lit area as is their natural preference.


I'll echo that chicken wire is only good for keeping chickens in. My sad past experience has proven to me that raccoons or a fisher can and do rip through it. A coon will even reach a paw through it and snare a chicken that passes too close inside the coop. I once caught a raccoon in a home-made live trap and it broke the welds in the light-gauge welded wire to escape.

Not trying to be overly critical, but you asked for thoughts on your chicken run.

Wayne

[edited for spelling]

 

[April Fountain]

Have you thought about having a poop collection system? I have a home made contraption in my coop for now that consists of slanted plastic roofing material that I hose off into a gutter that I hung from the outside that is slanted directly into the compost pile. This way I don't loose any of that oh so bountiful fertilizer. I'd love to hear others thoughts about this topic.