Thought I would start a new thread and maybe someone would read and respond... (I have gotten nowhere with "Anyone from Fernley Nevada"
could use a friend from there but I must be the only one in Fernley on here so I thought I would jot down our shed Conversion story just for the fun of it. I've moved everything over from that thread to here.
In case anyone reads this... Welcome and be gentle we are novices!
This weekend my son and I are planning to paint our shed/converted coop inside and out if time permits. The babies will all have to move into the garage for the night (Rabbits, goslings and chicks) I will try to remember to take and post pics of the before and after. I decided to paint on the front door...
Welcome to: The Rabbitat, Chicken Roost!
October 22, 2012
So this is what we did this weekend (my 15 yr old son and I):
I mentioned that we were converting our small shed into a chicken coop / rabbit house well we painted the inside and outside this weekend and just had a blast. My son was covered with paint before we were done.
Here are some pics, one before the rest after:
I really love how it looks and can't wait to get my babies back in there and start work on the outside run.
October 23, 2012
Well we have finished (for now) the inside of the coop. It looks good too.
The rabbits are on the left, the goslings in the larger cage in the rear, the chicks in the red tote and the older hens (not too much older) running around lose. We raised the roosting bar a bit higher than were it was before since they are getting older. The walls are a light sky blue and the floor is covered with linoleum for ease in cleaning.
My son and I had a blast painting it everything.
He did a really good job to with the red paint, although he did have allot on him too before he was done. I got to do all the white trim, around the window, door, and roof. We make a good team! Great Job Son!
November 2, 2012
So this weekend my son and I along with a friend are going to go get some lumber to construct a run around the side of the coop so I can finally let the older girls out to play. The baby chicks are getting bigger and I think I am going to try and build something that they can run under to hide from the older girls but still be free to run around the coop and not be totally confined to the tote they are in now since they are getting bigger... They are now 2 weeks old. I know most people say not to incorporate them in with the older ones until they are older and larger but they have been in the coop with the older ones the whole time only in a tote with no lid. The older girls roost along the edge on top so they are very familiar with the babies. I just don't want them to fly out accidentally and then can't get back in. I'll have to think this through in my head for a bit and see what I can come up with.
In the mean time we will get the run built and then work on the run for the geese and ducks when they get here and are old enough to move outside. I also need to build a little house for them inside their enclosure and later work on a pond or pool or something for water.
I also need to do a bit of research to see what plants to put in their enclosure that they wont eat... and won't be poisonous to them (geese or ducks). I'm thinking of getting some Nevada hardy plants that don't grow too large that chickens won't mess with too much to go into their run too. I think I will have some problems getting a bit of grass to grow along the back side of the run too as they may eat the seeds. That will have to take place in the spring though as winter is almost here. Sod won't work either with the netting along the bottom. I guess I could build a raised frame with sturdy fencing along the top so the chickens can walk across but can't totally destroy the new shoots. This way I can place it over the grass again if they get a bit to rambunctious and bald spots become visible. Then I can reseed and the taller shoots can come through the top... Or maybe I'll just leave it in place over the grass area... We'll see how it turns out. I do have some tree branches that I want to secure inside and out for them to roost on. The ones outside will be along the back side where the grass will be so they can eat the grass or roost on a limb.
Yup got it all worked out in my head now I just need to make it reality. My mother says those chickens better lay some golden eggs with all the money I am putting into them.
I got it...
Grazing frames for your backyard chickens:
http://www.thegardencoop.com/blog/2012/02/07/grazing-frames-backyard-chickens
from: The Garden Coop - A wonderful Idea... Thank you for sharing.
November 4, 2012
Today my son and I and a close friend went to Lowe's (a bit later in the day) and purchased some lumber and chicken fencing material. Our friend and his family needed to leave early so my son and I did some of the beginning work on the frame for the structure.
Cement was dumped in the hole the guys previously dug (a bit too large but I fixed that) and the main support post (4 x 4 x 8) was placed and the rest of the hole was covered with more dirt and packed tight. This we let sit while we ran to Walmart for some forgotten groceries and picked up dinner.
After dinner my son and I started measuring, cutting and building the wood structure of the chicken run.
Now you have to remember we have never done anything like this before but I know how I want it to look and I have drawn it out on paper so we are going by my drawing as much as possible. So far it looks great. We did have to stop as it was getting late and we didn't want to disturb the neighbors anymore than necessary. Tomorrow is Sunday - a day of rest and reflection, not to mention church - so there will be no work, but come Monday after work we will be sure to get back to the task at hand. I do need to pick up some longer screws though. The guys picked up 2" screws to use on 2 x 4 boards... They should have been 2 1/2" screws at the least. That is what I get for letting guys pick up hardware for me!
Sorry I don't have any picks yet as it got dark too soon and the picks would have been terrible, I'll try to remember to make some tomorrow and each day as we move forward on our project.
could use a friend from there but I must be the only one in Fernley on here so I thought I would jot down our shed Conversion story just for the fun of it. I've moved everything over from that thread to here.
In case anyone reads this... Welcome and be gentle we are novices!
This weekend my son and I are planning to paint our shed/converted coop inside and out if time permits. The babies will all have to move into the garage for the night (Rabbits, goslings and chicks) I will try to remember to take and post pics of the before and after. I decided to paint on the front door...
Welcome to: The Rabbitat, Chicken Roost!
October 22, 2012
So this is what we did this weekend (my 15 yr old son and I):
I mentioned that we were converting our small shed into a chicken coop / rabbit house well we painted the inside and outside this weekend and just had a blast. My son was covered with paint before we were done.
Here are some pics, one before the rest after:
I really love how it looks and can't wait to get my babies back in there and start work on the outside run.
October 23, 2012
Well we have finished (for now) the inside of the coop. It looks good too.
The rabbits are on the left, the goslings in the larger cage in the rear, the chicks in the red tote and the older hens (not too much older) running around lose. We raised the roosting bar a bit higher than were it was before since they are getting older. The walls are a light sky blue and the floor is covered with linoleum for ease in cleaning.
My son and I had a blast painting it everything.
He did a really good job to with the red paint, although he did have allot on him too before he was done. I got to do all the white trim, around the window, door, and roof. We make a good team! Great Job Son!
November 2, 2012
So this weekend my son and I along with a friend are going to go get some lumber to construct a run around the side of the coop so I can finally let the older girls out to play. The baby chicks are getting bigger and I think I am going to try and build something that they can run under to hide from the older girls but still be free to run around the coop and not be totally confined to the tote they are in now since they are getting bigger... They are now 2 weeks old. I know most people say not to incorporate them in with the older ones until they are older and larger but they have been in the coop with the older ones the whole time only in a tote with no lid. The older girls roost along the edge on top so they are very familiar with the babies. I just don't want them to fly out accidentally and then can't get back in. I'll have to think this through in my head for a bit and see what I can come up with.
In the mean time we will get the run built and then work on the run for the geese and ducks when they get here and are old enough to move outside. I also need to build a little house for them inside their enclosure and later work on a pond or pool or something for water.
I also need to do a bit of research to see what plants to put in their enclosure that they wont eat... and won't be poisonous to them (geese or ducks). I'm thinking of getting some Nevada hardy plants that don't grow too large that chickens won't mess with too much to go into their run too. I think I will have some problems getting a bit of grass to grow along the back side of the run too as they may eat the seeds. That will have to take place in the spring though as winter is almost here. Sod won't work either with the netting along the bottom. I guess I could build a raised frame with sturdy fencing along the top so the chickens can walk across but can't totally destroy the new shoots. This way I can place it over the grass again if they get a bit to rambunctious and bald spots become visible. Then I can reseed and the taller shoots can come through the top... Or maybe I'll just leave it in place over the grass area... We'll see how it turns out. I do have some tree branches that I want to secure inside and out for them to roost on. The ones outside will be along the back side where the grass will be so they can eat the grass or roost on a limb.
Yup got it all worked out in my head now I just need to make it reality. My mother says those chickens better lay some golden eggs with all the money I am putting into them.
I got it...
Grazing frames for your backyard chickens:
http://www.thegardencoop.com/blog/2012/02/07/grazing-frames-backyard-chickens
from: The Garden Coop - A wonderful Idea... Thank you for sharing.
November 4, 2012
Cement was dumped in the hole the guys previously dug (a bit too large but I fixed that) and the main support post (4 x 4 x 8) was placed and the rest of the hole was covered with more dirt and packed tight. This we let sit while we ran to Walmart for some forgotten groceries and picked up dinner.
After dinner my son and I started measuring, cutting and building the wood structure of the chicken run.
Now you have to remember we have never done anything like this before but I know how I want it to look and I have drawn it out on paper so we are going by my drawing as much as possible. So far it looks great. We did have to stop as it was getting late and we didn't want to disturb the neighbors anymore than necessary. Tomorrow is Sunday - a day of rest and reflection, not to mention church - so there will be no work, but come Monday after work we will be sure to get back to the task at hand. I do need to pick up some longer screws though. The guys picked up 2" screws to use on 2 x 4 boards... They should have been 2 1/2" screws at the least. That is what I get for letting guys pick up hardware for me!
Sorry I don't have any picks yet as it got dark too soon and the picks would have been terrible, I'll try to remember to make some tomorrow and each day as we move forward on our project.
