Small coop: where to put feed? Attracting nuisances i.e. raccoons.

[aart]

Put protection over the run for winter.

Right, that's what I said

 

[alknoll]

That could work, but why plywood? For just one winter, I would cover the walls with either tarp or clear plastic. You don't want a hot greenhouse, so not too much clear plastic, especially not on the sunniest side. But chickens do need light, so I suggest at least one side either clear plastic or no covering.

Plywood can keep out the weather, and the predators, and help support a structure: but you already have a suitably strong structure, and you already have hardware cloth on the walls to keep out predators. So it's just a matter of something wind-proof and water-proof, for which tarp is much cheaper than plywood.

Thanks, @NatJ for this feedback. I didn't consider tarp for the walls - what kind of tarp are you talking about? I guess I was just thinking plywood would be warmer for the winter months.

I actually do have a bunch of paver-stones I could use for the bottom, although I'm not opposed to plywood.

I have linked the actual coop in my first post.

 

[alknoll]

Ha!! I did the opposite....I Escaped Metro Detroit!

The west side is truly an escape! I love it there.

 

[alknoll]

Definitely worth trying to extend out the use of your coop/run unit for the time being. Couldn't clearly see how the coop is laid out but if you want some feedback on how to convert it, links to the product or a few clear photos of the coop overall would help.

Thanks, @rosemarythyme . I linked my coop in the first post, but here it is again: https://www.urbannorthern.com/products/farmhouse-assembled-for-local-pickup-only-1-built-available

 

[RShayne]

Best place to put the feeder is in a metal trash can with bungee cords holding the lid on. Just get in the habit of doing it when you put your girls up at night and setting it out in the morning.

I don’t think that was a raccoon that did that from the pictures, set up a trail cam

 

[alknoll]

Best place to put the feeder is in a metal trash can with bungee cords holding the lid on. Just get in the habit of doing it when you put your girls up at night and setting it out in the morning.

I don’t think that was a raccoon that did that from the pictures, set up a trail cam

I posted a pic of the culprit: raccoons. We have been getting 1-2 every night on the trail cam since the first incident. I originally thought it may be a skunk.

 

[NatJ]

I didn't consider tarp for the walls - what kind of tarp are you talking about?

The cheap, plastic kind you can get at Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, etc. The ones I've used seem OK for about half a year before they have too many holes to be useful. (Would still keep out some sun, some rain, most wind for a while longer than that.)

You can attach it to wire fencing with zip ties, bungee cords, string, pieces of wire, or anything else that can go through the holes at the edges of the tarp and wrap around the wires of the run fencing

Or you could do a fancier job by laying the tarp over the side of the run, laying a board over each edge of the tarp, and screwing through the boards into the wood framing of the run. But I wouldn't bother doing it that carefully.

To use the "run" as living space in the winter, the chickens mostly just need something to keep off the worst of the wind, and to keep out snowdrifts. So a few gaps here and there are no problem.

 

[LJ33]

Re the coop size. I have 6 birds. My coop is 6ft long by 4 feet wide and 4-5 feet tall (sloped roof)

like it’s a good size. I can’t imagine having the birds and my nesting boxes in a small coop. (They have 500sq ft run)

 

[RShayne]

I posted a pic of the culprit: raccoons. We have been getting 1-2 every night on the trail cam since the first incident. I originally thought it may be a skunk.

I know my chickens will eat mice, snakes, etc.. during the day, (had two rooster fighting over a snake) but at night seen mice on trail cam run alone the roosting bars and the chicken never reacted, so I just got in the habit of putting feeders in a trash can at night. Have you thought about a predator apron along the run, wired laid flat on the ground, secured to the wood and buried. The predator goes up to the wire and starts to dig but hits the wire, I use 2ft plastic coated.

 

[Flockincrazy]

Hi all,

This is my first post here on BackyardChickens.com, I want to begin by thanking you for your time reading my post. My husband and I got 6 chicks in April and they are doing really well!

We decided to order a coop from UrbanNorthern.com, as we weren't ready to build our own yet. Link is here. The hen house is 26" x 53.5". At first, I had a 7lb feeder inside the coop with the hens, but that resulted in all 6 birds sleeping in the nesting boxes. Now I have moved the feeder to the run portion, and last night, we had a raccoon dig underneath the coop and spill all the food (pics attached). It looks like they even tried to get into the house itself.

Should I reinforce my run (fox apron, cement block lining) and leave the feeder where it is, invest in a Grandpa feeder, or does anyone have any other ideas?

I also keep the water out of the coop. 8-12 hours at night without water seems like a lot, but I don't want my coop to get wet, and the birds seem okay with it.

Any suggestions on how to improve our setup are most welcome. I let the birds free range during the day, since my Isa Brown routinely flies over the fence (we have a bigger run attached for them) anyway. I need to replace the chicken wire with a higher fence.

Thanks again.
Arie

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IMO I would block off under the nestboxes and hang them underneath them or just remove feeder at night i have a pvc pipe i cut a piece out of that i fill in the morning inside my coop and my water is the same wat saves room