RaleighGuy
In the Brooder
Hey everyone, my name is Jon and this is my first post here.
I wanted to thank the users and commenters here on BYC for all your helpful tips and suggestions. I've got (what I hope is) an interesting story about some first time chicken owners. So my wife has talked about chickens for the past few years now. Then, she calls me up about a month ago and says, "Hey, a lady here at work is finding a new home for some of her hens and wants to know if we are interested in getting some so I told her yes." So.... well.... our countdown starts.
Knowing absolutely nothing about raising chickens, I did what every American would probably do and Googled it. And low and behold, I come across BackYardChickens. Hmmm, this looks pretty decent, I thought. So I read and read and read and read. And when I figured I probably knew enough about feeding and keeping chickens hydrated and cleaning up after them and keeping them cool in hot weather and warm in cold weather, etc, etc, etc.... I went out and made my first big mistake.
Yep, you guessed it. I went to TSC and bought a pre-fab coop for $299. The Walk-In Red Barn coop, to be exact. Well, I mean the box said "For 8-10 chickens" and we were only getting four so we would have lots of room to expand our gang later on if we chose to do so. Then after reading up more on BYC, I started to see all the really horrendous comments on pre-fab coops. They are made from really cheap wood, they aren't designed well, the hardware is cheap, they are too small, the fall apart within a year or two, yada, yada, yada. But I'd already bought the darned thing and put it together and our newly adopted chickens would be arriving in 2 days!! What to do, what to do???
Seeing many of those here on BackYardChickens who had modified their TSC coop showed me basically one single common concern. SECURITY. I mean really. This thing is big enough for four birds to sleep in, I just need to make it much, much safer. So I bought some 4x4 pressure treated posts. And I bought some 1/2" hardware cloth (or some call it welded wire fencing). And I bought 1x4 boards to make a gate and to attach cross beams between the posts. Got some hardware like hinges, handle and hasp for the gate and some braces for the roof trusses. What I basically planned on doing was completely enclosing the pre-fab with a tall, secure, 10 ft by 14 ft run (guided by all your comments and suggestions here). So I read more and read more and read more and made notes on many of your suggestions.
What I've noticed are some really common rules of thought.... things like:
- Don't cheap out or you'll be sorry.
- Birds need air and lots of it
- Birds need water and lots of it
- There are many other animals that think the same way we do - chicken tastes really good.
Things I would never have thought about before visiting here but have now implemented (or will install in the next day or two).
1. 1/2" hardware cloth all around the entire run. (I would have used the el-cheapo chicken wire because it's cheap and easy to work with)
2. Create a concrete threshold under the gate so no critters can dig under it (I would have left it normal dirt)
3. Left an apron of 18" of fencing OUTSIDE the fence so critters can't dig there either. (I thought about burying it a few inches before I read about the apron idea)
4. Put a hasp with carabiner on gate so no smart critters like raccoons and enter. (I would probably have used a hook and screw-eye for the gate)
5. Actually sandwiched two 1x4 boards together where any two pieces of fencing met so staples aren't really much of a concern. (I would have used the ol' Arrow staple gun)
6. I'll be installing galvanized steel panels for the roof which will improve security as well as hopefully make the pre-fab last much longer since it won't be exposed to rain.
And yes, a few of the changes I've made were NOT for security but mostly for convenience (like the 5-gallon bucket feeder).
In case I've still got your attention this far into my post, I'll attach a few pictures of my coop and run. I plan to finish it up within the next 5 days.
Here's what I started with a week ago.
4x4 posts with concrete
18" apron that I will stake into the ground and then cover with gravel.
Trench that I need to dig deeper so I can pour concrete to within 1/2" from bottom of gate.
You can see the first roof support I've added just yesterday afternoon. Dang, those galvanized steel panels ain't cheap, are they?
Hasp with carabiner and cute little handle low enough for my 5' 2" wife to reach. hehehe
Just need to connect the back end of the fencing to the rear of the coop with some 2x4's
Attached the 1x4's to the posts, then stapled the fencing and then added a second 1x4 to the outside. Makes it look more finished but it's very, very strong.
I wanted to thank the users and commenters here on BYC for all your helpful tips and suggestions. I've got (what I hope is) an interesting story about some first time chicken owners. So my wife has talked about chickens for the past few years now. Then, she calls me up about a month ago and says, "Hey, a lady here at work is finding a new home for some of her hens and wants to know if we are interested in getting some so I told her yes." So.... well.... our countdown starts.
Knowing absolutely nothing about raising chickens, I did what every American would probably do and Googled it. And low and behold, I come across BackYardChickens. Hmmm, this looks pretty decent, I thought. So I read and read and read and read. And when I figured I probably knew enough about feeding and keeping chickens hydrated and cleaning up after them and keeping them cool in hot weather and warm in cold weather, etc, etc, etc.... I went out and made my first big mistake.
Yep, you guessed it. I went to TSC and bought a pre-fab coop for $299. The Walk-In Red Barn coop, to be exact. Well, I mean the box said "For 8-10 chickens" and we were only getting four so we would have lots of room to expand our gang later on if we chose to do so. Then after reading up more on BYC, I started to see all the really horrendous comments on pre-fab coops. They are made from really cheap wood, they aren't designed well, the hardware is cheap, they are too small, the fall apart within a year or two, yada, yada, yada. But I'd already bought the darned thing and put it together and our newly adopted chickens would be arriving in 2 days!! What to do, what to do???
Seeing many of those here on BackYardChickens who had modified their TSC coop showed me basically one single common concern. SECURITY. I mean really. This thing is big enough for four birds to sleep in, I just need to make it much, much safer. So I bought some 4x4 pressure treated posts. And I bought some 1/2" hardware cloth (or some call it welded wire fencing). And I bought 1x4 boards to make a gate and to attach cross beams between the posts. Got some hardware like hinges, handle and hasp for the gate and some braces for the roof trusses. What I basically planned on doing was completely enclosing the pre-fab with a tall, secure, 10 ft by 14 ft run (guided by all your comments and suggestions here). So I read more and read more and read more and made notes on many of your suggestions.
What I've noticed are some really common rules of thought.... things like:
- Don't cheap out or you'll be sorry.
- Birds need air and lots of it
- Birds need water and lots of it
- There are many other animals that think the same way we do - chicken tastes really good.
Things I would never have thought about before visiting here but have now implemented (or will install in the next day or two).
1. 1/2" hardware cloth all around the entire run. (I would have used the el-cheapo chicken wire because it's cheap and easy to work with)
2. Create a concrete threshold under the gate so no critters can dig under it (I would have left it normal dirt)
3. Left an apron of 18" of fencing OUTSIDE the fence so critters can't dig there either. (I thought about burying it a few inches before I read about the apron idea)
4. Put a hasp with carabiner on gate so no smart critters like raccoons and enter. (I would probably have used a hook and screw-eye for the gate)
5. Actually sandwiched two 1x4 boards together where any two pieces of fencing met so staples aren't really much of a concern. (I would have used the ol' Arrow staple gun)
6. I'll be installing galvanized steel panels for the roof which will improve security as well as hopefully make the pre-fab last much longer since it won't be exposed to rain.
And yes, a few of the changes I've made were NOT for security but mostly for convenience (like the 5-gallon bucket feeder).
In case I've still got your attention this far into my post, I'll attach a few pictures of my coop and run. I plan to finish it up within the next 5 days.
Here's what I started with a week ago.
4x4 posts with concrete
18" apron that I will stake into the ground and then cover with gravel.
Trench that I need to dig deeper so I can pour concrete to within 1/2" from bottom of gate.
You can see the first roof support I've added just yesterday afternoon. Dang, those galvanized steel panels ain't cheap, are they?
Hasp with carabiner and cute little handle low enough for my 5' 2" wife to reach. hehehe
Just need to connect the back end of the fencing to the rear of the coop with some 2x4's
Attached the 1x4's to the posts, then stapled the fencing and then added a second 1x4 to the outside. Makes it look more finished but it's very, very strong.
on all counts. Glad you joined! 
