Hey everybody, thanks for all the great ideas and suggestions.
To answer some of the questions - all the windows will open and will be covered in hardware cloth, we live in a very rural area and have lots of critters that will try to get into the girls. I do have one window that will not open its one of those long skinny windows that goes over the top of two doors, its about 8" high and about 54" long, that one is going on the yard side of the coop at "chicken eye level" so the girls can see out when they are stuck inside in bad weather.
Thats a great idea about changing the swing on the people door into the coop I didn't think about having to step inside then close the door in order to walk the rest of the way in. I'm changing it on our building plans right now before I forget, thanks. I was also thinking about making that door in two pieces so the top could be opened, and the bottom left closed so if we wanted to throw in some treats or just check out the girls we wouldn't need to open the whole door.
I would love to have the coop in the middle of the garden and alternate the run every year but we have limited space where we need to put the coop. Our garden is too big to completely cover and we have lots of hawks, etc. the chickens would never make it if we let them free range. Our neighbors got chickens when they first moved in years ago, the rooster sounded really nice in the morning, but they let them free range and within two weeks, no more chickens! One of the main reasons I'm pushing to get the girls is for the fertiziler for the garden. I am toying around with the idea of putting a pop door on one side so that we can move the girls into moveable tractor(s) and take them out to the garden for the day when we are working out there.
The manure pit (I knew I didn't explain it well, sorry), the floor of the pit is the wooden floor of the shed and the roosts are like a step ladder up the walls, the roosts will attach to the walls, not sure how yet but want to be able to take them out easily to clean them, under the roosts will be closed off with wire attached to the walls so the chickens can't get under it and get into the poop pit, also the access doors to clean it out can be opened anytime and no worrys about the girls escaping. I'm not sure how often we will need to clean out that area, every day, once a week, experience and my nose will have to be the guide. I was thinking about putting down a mat of some kind on the floor, perhaps a stall mat, truck liner or even a tarp that we can drag out and hose off, let dry and then replace, to make cleaning out the poop pit easier. Maybe have two so that we can alternate and let it air out and dry real well between cleanings. Any ideas?
Can't wait to get started on this, we are waiting for my son to finish his summer college classes so he can help, so soon I hope.
Thanks for all the great ideas!!! Keep em coming.
