Hello BYC!
I have been very busy this past month rearing my 3 little girls from chicks successfully; with much thanks to the many threads on this website. With that said, I am now in the planning/pseudo building stages for their outdoor home.
Quick background: My wife and I purchased our home about a year ago and were lucky enough to have big cage like structures already installed in the back yard. The previous owner worked at the zoo/botanical garden/natural history museum here and rehabilitated orphaned bobcat cubs until they were mature enough to release back into the wild. I removed one cage that blocked our view of the mountains, but we kept the other because we knew we'd want chickens some day. Now that day is realized and the girls move out time is fast approaching.
The dimensions of the half of the cage dedicated to the girls is 15' x 12' and roughly 6 1/2 feet tall. The other half we have filled with raised beds for gardening. The structure has shade cloth along much of the top and a quarter of the sides. It still allows a decent amount of sun in throughout the day. The cage is made out of metal fencing posts, doubled up/reinforced chicken wire that makes up the entire structure, and an apron that is re-barbed and cemented into the ground. We have noticed two spots in the corners that have come loose and plan to address them prior to moving the girls out.
We have a compost bin inside the area where the girls will live because we want them to work the pile during the day. I want them to retain as much of the floor as possible and need help figuring out their night time housing, which is where all of your brains come into play. I want them to be safe at night, but don't want to spend a fortune to accomplish that. Any thoughts, input, and suggestions are very much welcomed!
(Below are a couple of pictures to get an idea of the cage and shading that is provided)
I have been very busy this past month rearing my 3 little girls from chicks successfully; with much thanks to the many threads on this website. With that said, I am now in the planning/pseudo building stages for their outdoor home.
Quick background: My wife and I purchased our home about a year ago and were lucky enough to have big cage like structures already installed in the back yard. The previous owner worked at the zoo/botanical garden/natural history museum here and rehabilitated orphaned bobcat cubs until they were mature enough to release back into the wild. I removed one cage that blocked our view of the mountains, but we kept the other because we knew we'd want chickens some day. Now that day is realized and the girls move out time is fast approaching.
The dimensions of the half of the cage dedicated to the girls is 15' x 12' and roughly 6 1/2 feet tall. The other half we have filled with raised beds for gardening. The structure has shade cloth along much of the top and a quarter of the sides. It still allows a decent amount of sun in throughout the day. The cage is made out of metal fencing posts, doubled up/reinforced chicken wire that makes up the entire structure, and an apron that is re-barbed and cemented into the ground. We have noticed two spots in the corners that have come loose and plan to address them prior to moving the girls out.
We have a compost bin inside the area where the girls will live because we want them to work the pile during the day. I want them to retain as much of the floor as possible and need help figuring out their night time housing, which is where all of your brains come into play. I want them to be safe at night, but don't want to spend a fortune to accomplish that. Any thoughts, input, and suggestions are very much welcomed!
(Below are a couple of pictures to get an idea of the cage and shading that is provided)
