RPClark
Chirping
Thought I'd share our coop setup on here. We have one dark brahma rooster and 14 brown egg layers.
an 8X10 coop with attached 12X12 run. The run is covered over an 8X12 portion to provide some rain cover and shade in the summer.
Closer look at the run from the south side.
The birds are confined to the coop and run when we're not at home all day on work days. We keep a few things for the birds to climb on inside the run. The run is covered overhead with welded wire fencing on the portion not covered with the roof. Under the run walls I buried scrap wire mesh fencing to provide a dig barrier for predators. If I had it to do all over again, I'd just lay down wire mesh four feet wide around the run to provide that barrier.
The outer window is covered with 1/2" wire mesh to discourage raccoons.
Moving inside
We have five nesting boxes for 14 layers. The nesting boxes are a roll-away design based on pictures I saw on the net. Boxes are nominally 12X12X12 in size. The floor in each box is slanted forward with a drop of 3.5" over a 12 inch run. The floor of each box is covered with a section of doormat as shown here:
This grass-like covering is durable and cleans easily with a quick shake.
The eggs roll down and are collected under the flip-up platform in front of the boxes. The collection point is covered with pine shavings to provide a cushioned landing spot. This area keeps the eggs away from rambunctious birds.
The roosting bars are on the other side of the coop.
Yesterday I added a new feature under the roosting bars. I noticed that the hay/straw we use inside the coop gets very matted under the roosting bards and is the largest collection area for their droppings. I don't want the floor rotting out. So I got an old blue tarp, doubled it up, put it down and then secured it with pieces of wood screwed to the floor. I filled this with some sand and will see if I can help keep this area a bit cleaner. The pic here is after just one night.
The next project is to install a footpath out to the coop. Walking that path several times a day is making a muddy mess. I have a friend with a utility tractor who is going to help by scraping the path and then using a front loader putting down the 12 tons of gravel that the path will take.
Thanks for looking.
an 8X10 coop with attached 12X12 run. The run is covered over an 8X12 portion to provide some rain cover and shade in the summer.
Closer look at the run from the south side.
The birds are confined to the coop and run when we're not at home all day on work days. We keep a few things for the birds to climb on inside the run. The run is covered overhead with welded wire fencing on the portion not covered with the roof. Under the run walls I buried scrap wire mesh fencing to provide a dig barrier for predators. If I had it to do all over again, I'd just lay down wire mesh four feet wide around the run to provide that barrier.
The outer window is covered with 1/2" wire mesh to discourage raccoons.
Moving inside
We have five nesting boxes for 14 layers. The nesting boxes are a roll-away design based on pictures I saw on the net. Boxes are nominally 12X12X12 in size. The floor in each box is slanted forward with a drop of 3.5" over a 12 inch run. The floor of each box is covered with a section of doormat as shown here:
This grass-like covering is durable and cleans easily with a quick shake.
The eggs roll down and are collected under the flip-up platform in front of the boxes. The collection point is covered with pine shavings to provide a cushioned landing spot. This area keeps the eggs away from rambunctious birds.
The roosting bars are on the other side of the coop.
Yesterday I added a new feature under the roosting bars. I noticed that the hay/straw we use inside the coop gets very matted under the roosting bards and is the largest collection area for their droppings. I don't want the floor rotting out. So I got an old blue tarp, doubled it up, put it down and then secured it with pieces of wood screwed to the floor. I filled this with some sand and will see if I can help keep this area a bit cleaner. The pic here is after just one night.
The next project is to install a footpath out to the coop. Walking that path several times a day is making a muddy mess. I have a friend with a utility tractor who is going to help by scraping the path and then using a front loader putting down the 12 tons of gravel that the path will take.
Thanks for looking.
