Rookie Coop Building Mistakes?

[mommabice]

My rookie mistake...not putting enough roof overhang. I had to go out and buy more materials and I am putting on a new roof this week. We are in the "deep south" so heat is more of an issue for us than cold, so we have the entire top of the coop (about a foot) of ventilation all the way around (with chicken wire over it of course). If they get too cold in the winter, we will cover some of the area (but we rarely get below the 20s).

 

[ButchGood]

My chicks are 3 weeks old and living in their coop. If you dint have any adult chickens why not jut use the coop as your brooder. I had mine in the house in a brooder box. At 2 weeks they went to the coop. Hung the heat lamp on the rafters and they have tons of room to grow into.
I say build the coop.
Then get chicks.
Then use the coop as your brooder.

Wow, tons of great advice guys!
We are about halfway done the coop after this weekend, and will continue working on it. We already made one mistake by failing to think about the fact that we'd have to level the ground where the coop will be, LOL That ate up a little time, but not much. Other than that, we are doing okay so far I think.

I dint really agree with the whole "dint buy the chicks until the coop is built" concept. If I cant build a coop, in an already erected run, in 6 weeks (which is how long I'll have to wait in total before my chicks can go outside.) Id have to be retarded! I'm a grown woman for heavens sake, and I can make the pretty obvious connection between properly caring for and housing ANY animal in my care, and respond adequately regardless of errors or unexpected mishaps. I have 6 other high maintenance animals under my care that have not suffered as a result of my decision making skills, so I imagine the chicks waiting for their coop wont be any different. LOL

 

[Heidisue11]

I have a question and I'm trying to get a general idea of what to do:

Should i cover my run? It will be 9 x 15 and directly under an Oak and a Sycamore tree.
I currently have 1 dog and 2 cats and they wont' bother the chicks. The Run will have 6 foot high sides. There aren't any predators that I am aware of.

Is covering it necessary? or for that matter, recommended?

thanks!
Heidi

 

[ScottLovelandCO]

Hawks, eagles, owls, raccoons, foxes, etc. All of which can easily scale a 6' fence. Are you positive that the coop will be secure at night?

I have a question and I'm trying to get a general idea of what to do:

Should i cover my run? It will be 9 x 15 and directly under an Oak and a Sycamore tree.
I currently have 1 dog and 2 cats and they wont' bother the chicks. The Run will have 6 foot high sides. There aren't any predators that I am aware of.

Is covering it necessary? or for that matter, recommended?

thanks!
Heidi

 

[blessedchick]

Coop before chicks...what a great idea...didn't even cross my mind...

I hatched out the first batch of babies in Dec 2011 while I was still figuring out what the heck to do with them as far as living space. I was still in the throes of studying every coop on BYC and pricing everything from shipping crates to playhouses. All 11 of my chickies were living in my converted dog kennel, piling into a cat carrier at night as soon as the weather broke; and I had FINALLY decided what to permanently house them in! As of April 1st the largest group is finally living in their (almost) finished coop...so now I have 9 more in the house 'cuz I have to figure out some type of growout pen...JIMINY CRICKETS! I can barely wait till I can hatch out a group, brood them in the coop, let them get big and tough ('cuz Silkies are) in the grow out pen and join the rest of the flock in the permanent coop. Dare to dream! Except by then I will have outgrown the original coop so will have to start planning the next one...AFTER the chickies are hatched, of course...

 

[AlabamaSweetpea]

The run sounds very secure, similar to ours. The one predator we did have were black snakes. We solved this problem by buying large rolls of "bird netting" and twisting it (using zipties every 4 feet) then laying it alongside the outer bottom perimeter. We caught several snakes within a few weeks that were sneaking in to eat eggs. Just make sure you do not have any pets or chickens that have access to this area. Good luck!

that sounds like a great idea ... can you post a picture? I've seen the "snake fence" but this sounds like something I could use all around my yard to keep snakes out

 

[Heidisue11]

Scott,

The coop will be secure, very secure.. I just wonder abou the run. I'm in a residential neighborhood so I don't have the country predators that I normally would have to worry about. And me nor my neighbors have ever seen a raccoon.

Do oppossums or armadillos pose any type of threat?

Heidi

 

[ScottLovelandCO]

Armadillos only eat bugs so I don't think they will be much of a problem. Opossums will eat just about anything. From bugs and fruit to frogs and small mammals. But I don't think that they're much of a concern either. It's the animals that you don't see often that you should be worried about. If you put a game camera out at night you might be surprised by the amount of activity. I put on out on my back porch in a residential subdivision where we all had 6' privacy fences and I was surprised by what I saw. I had foxes jumping from yard to yard over peoples fences. If your coop is really secure though I wouldn't worry about it too much. I put a roof on mine so that I could channel the rain water into their auto waterer and provide them with additional weather protection. You might have them under a nice tall tree but they will still get wet in the rain. With a covered roof they can still scratch and play in foul weather.

Scott,

The coop will be secure, very secure.. I just wonder abou the run. I'm in a residential neighborhood so I don't have the country predators that I normally would have to worry about. And me nor my neighbors have ever seen a raccoon.

Do oppossums or armadillos pose any type of threat?

Heidi

 

[Heidisue11]

Thanks! I may go ahead and cover it.. between the unseen predators and the weather.. It sounds like the easiest thing to do. thanks!!
ps. I always wondered what those critters ate!

Armadillos only eat bugs so I don't think they will be much of a problem. Opossums will eat just about anything. From bugs and fruit to frogs and small mammals. But I don't think that they're much of a concern either. It's the animals that you don't see often that you should be worried about. If you put a game camera out at night you might be surprised by the amount of activity. I put on out on my back porch in a residential subdivision where we all had 6' privacy fences and I was surprised by what I saw. I had foxes jumping from yard to yard over peoples fences. If your coop is really secure though I wouldn't worry about it too much. I put a roof on mine so that I could channel the rain water into their auto waterer and provide them with additional weather protection. You might have them under a nice tall tree but they will still get wet in the rain. With a covered roof they can still scratch and play in foul weather.

 

[TonySorrento]

Let's see ... 6 weeks to brood the chicks .... 6 weeks to build a coop ....c'mon! If you can't build a coop and run in six weeks ..... sheesh!!!

That being said, I have 4 weeks until my birds go into the coop ... coop is all but done (gotta put in a windaow that was given to me) and I have 4 weeks to put up my 10 x 28 run ... I am betting I will be able to pull it off with time to spare ... any takers??