Thank you for the advice! Once I get some money I'll definitely reinforce my fencing!
And both the human and chick doors have double latches that lock into place
I plan on renovating periodically to update their space (building equity in a chicken coop? Haha)
Money was an issue for us too. In 2011 we started with a coop first with secure wire and locks. Then 2 months later we added 2 Silkies and a Leghorn to it. It was about 2 weeks later the stray German Shepherd tried to get at our girls but the coop and latches held - we would have lost our investment if the dog got in. Next we spent $$ on putting up a second gate so that if anything breaks through the first gate, it will have to tackle a second to get in. Having the 2nd gate keeps the chickens from street view too.
In 2012 and 2013 as we could afford it a little at a time, we got stepping stones to expand the patio around the coop and we got a canopy for shade and anchored the legs about a foot into the soil to keep it secure. The canopy tops keep ripping off every year so we get cheaper tarps with ball fasteners to tie them down to the canopy frame - still looks decent and a lot cheaper than a new canopy cover every year.
In 2013-14 we added extra low-to-the-ground lean-to's for the hens to dive under from aerial predators and to snooze in the shade. We even found a nice medium sized dog house at a thrift store and filled it with straw. I've seen the hens dive into it many times from the Cooper's Hawk. It pays to have a lot of low safety shelters for free-ranging hens. Along the way we've found carrying kennels for trips to the vet, indoor kennels to house injured or sick hens or new juveniles we quarantine before adding to the main flock. Everything is a little at a time as I'm retired on a fixed small income so it's been a slow expansion.
This year we finally were able to afford a heavy dog kennel with top to expand the coop for a run - welded wire kennel and not chainlink. So many people who had the chainlink says they're a pain to put together and the links come apart so we opted for the heavy duty welded wire kennel when it was on sale. Our girls go stir crazy if they can't come out as soon as they're awake and this way they will have a larger run area to move around til we let them out to forage. In 2 years we'll hopefully get a regular larger coop building to replace the small coop we have now. Little baby steps as we afford it but always with security in mind. After reading so many owners losing their birds to predators we have chosen to spend the money on security - safety latches, extra hard-wiring, predator-proof step stone patio around the coop, planks and cinder-blocks for lean-to's, and of course we started a garden to grow the cucumbers and lettuces the hens love so much! Our next project is to erect a 4x4' raised garden bed and fill it with dirt and a little sand for their dust baths - we just hope they'll use it instead of making holes to China in the middle of the backyard LOL
Having chickens is like a house - the work is never done!
Best of luck and be sure to post a pic when all is said and done!
