Tell me everything that's wrong with our coop plans!

[aart]

Bruce gave good advice, wonders if the OP has seen it and run away?

I always like to strongly suggest that folks do a lot of reading about housing, predators and hardware cloth before building.

Good Luck, Have Fun!!

 

[epluim]

Actually she has been making changes!

Let's see, so far I've added a roosting pole, waterproofed half the coop including the roof and blocked off gaps around the base. It's slow going with work and a new baby, but the girls are happy!

 

[aart]

Actually she has been making changes!

Let's see, so far I've added a roosting pole, waterproofed half the coop including the roof and blocked off gaps around the base. It's slow going with work and a new baby, but the girls are happy!

Cool ! pics or it didn't happen ;-)

 

[bruceha2000]

Goodness sakes Bruce! You sure know your chickens.

I owe most of it to the good people here on BYC

Then there are the things I did and what I learned from the mistakes.
Go ahead, ask me how I know that poultry staples are nearly impossible to get out. Or why I know a horizontal surface will get covered in bird poop

Actually she has been making changes!

Let's see, so far I've added a roosting pole, waterproofed half the coop including the roof and blocked off gaps around the base. It's slow going with work and a new baby, but the girls are happy!

You are one tough lady! New baby AND new chickens. I am impressed.
If this is your first baby, I'll give you a little tip - Chicks take a LOT less time and effort than babies.

Bruce

 

[hungry4eggs]

Bruce raccoons have opposable thumbs and can open latches, aside from that very helpful info, gave me a few tips for my coop in progress.

 

[aart]

Bruce raccoons have opposable thumbs and can open latches, aside from that very helpful info, gave me a few tips for my coop in progress.

I doubt they could get a carabiner out of a padlock hole tho!

.......8) You don't need 2 locks on every door. In fact, unless you have HUMAN "predators" you don't need any locks. What you need are latches that require an opposable thumb to operate. I know of no predators with opposable thumbs.

I found a barrel bolt that has a hole in the "sleeve" for a lock, or in my case, a carabiner. I also put self closing hinges on the door so it closes behind me when I go in the coop. I saw a good suggestion here on BYC - a Dutch door. You can open the top to toss in treats or whatever but the birds won't come running out the bottom like they can with a full height door. I can see where this would be helpful with my girls..........Bruce

 

[bruceha2000]

I doubt they could get a carabiner out of a padlock hole tho!

Right, that was the real point. I don't think they could press the latch in and pull it out of the hole. I wouldn't trust a slide bolt without a hole for a carabiner or other "hard to open" clip.