XanderWiFi
Songster
Was doing quite a bit of work in the coop/run today and figured I was long overdue for some pictures of La Casa de Pollooooooo!!!!
In all seriousness, it is a work in progress. Today I rolled the aviary netting that you see draped up to the top of the welded wire and zip tied it there. Hopefully this will keep my dingbats from flying out, raptors from flying in, and critters from crawling over....Sheesh.
Not seen in this picture is a new roosting bar I put in the exterior run for them to play on and new support lines to keep the middle aviary netting supported upward more effectively.
Last week I raked all the dead grass, leaves, poop, debris into the back left corner from the first picture. I am trying to build a compost pile and the girls LOVE to dig in piles of anything. Not sure if it can be seen but the logs in that corner are the compost pot where all our scraps, leaves, coop cleanings, etc go. Though the run floor was nice clean dirt for a day, it began just filling up with piles of poop and I knew another filler needed to be placed. Reading that chicken poop requires a 30:1 ratio of carbon:nitrogen I decided instead of purchasing a lot of pine shavings that I would use what I had in abundance, breaks down quickly, and is a great carbon composting: leaves. I put about 8 loads of that black dump trailer and they had a blast tearing through the piles. When the time comes, I will rake it up all nicely shredded into the compost pile (where they will continue to tear through it) and redo the process.
The amish coop is where it all started. When it was really cold and windy a tarp goes on the right side to provide a nice wind break. It is sturdy and well built and better be for what it cost. In a pinch, if we got out of town and are concerned about their safety in the larger run they can be confined to the smaller one and get along well enough.
This spring I intend to bury finer welded wire and landscape flower and herb gardens around the exterior. This will be quite a bit of work for me but I love the idea of them being able to nibble overgrown goods through the wires. I also plan to plant a covered "grass bar" in the right side of the exterior run so they can nibble on that as well.
I have solar motion sensor lights in hopes of being alerted to creeper's presence. As a night shift worker, I am often up late looking out the window at them to see if anything is lurking.
Anyhow, hope you enjoy the pictures on this chilly and dreary winter day in Virginia. I am definitely open to new ideas if anyone has any suggestions!
In all seriousness, it is a work in progress. Today I rolled the aviary netting that you see draped up to the top of the welded wire and zip tied it there. Hopefully this will keep my dingbats from flying out, raptors from flying in, and critters from crawling over....Sheesh.
Not seen in this picture is a new roosting bar I put in the exterior run for them to play on and new support lines to keep the middle aviary netting supported upward more effectively.
Last week I raked all the dead grass, leaves, poop, debris into the back left corner from the first picture. I am trying to build a compost pile and the girls LOVE to dig in piles of anything. Not sure if it can be seen but the logs in that corner are the compost pot where all our scraps, leaves, coop cleanings, etc go. Though the run floor was nice clean dirt for a day, it began just filling up with piles of poop and I knew another filler needed to be placed. Reading that chicken poop requires a 30:1 ratio of carbon:nitrogen I decided instead of purchasing a lot of pine shavings that I would use what I had in abundance, breaks down quickly, and is a great carbon composting: leaves. I put about 8 loads of that black dump trailer and they had a blast tearing through the piles. When the time comes, I will rake it up all nicely shredded into the compost pile (where they will continue to tear through it) and redo the process.
The amish coop is where it all started. When it was really cold and windy a tarp goes on the right side to provide a nice wind break. It is sturdy and well built and better be for what it cost. In a pinch, if we got out of town and are concerned about their safety in the larger run they can be confined to the smaller one and get along well enough.
This spring I intend to bury finer welded wire and landscape flower and herb gardens around the exterior. This will be quite a bit of work for me but I love the idea of them being able to nibble overgrown goods through the wires. I also plan to plant a covered "grass bar" in the right side of the exterior run so they can nibble on that as well.
I have solar motion sensor lights in hopes of being alerted to creeper's presence. As a night shift worker, I am often up late looking out the window at them to see if anything is lurking.
Anyhow, hope you enjoy the pictures on this chilly and dreary winter day in Virginia. I am definitely open to new ideas if anyone has any suggestions!
