The fortresses is finally complete!

David885

In the Brooder
Apr 19, 2018
43
28
39
Phoenix, Arizona
I know it doesn’t look as fancy as some of the amazing builds I see here on BYC but it is my first build, and I have zero wood working experience.

I am very proud of it because, with the exception of the screws, locking hardware and a couple of bags of concrete; it is constructed entirely of recycled materials.

All of the wood is cull lumber from the scrap pile and the screens are from my neighbor’s window that he was going to throw out. The “back wall” is even made from my son’s old bunk bed that he outgrew.
F994A448-F47C-4635-A7D7-136748BD4541.jpeg


Please let me know if anyone has any tips for improvement / predator proofing.

Thank you!
 
Well the plastic fencing will only keep the birds inside and not do anything to keep a predator out. It does provide really good ventilation though.

Is the coop inside a building?

Add your location to your profile so we know your weather conditions.

JT
 
I love the repurpose sing idea and it looks awesome . Much nicer than my repurposed coops. But @jthornton Has a good question. Is it inside a building or a secure run? Because that will depend on what you would need to do to predator proof. If it is that coop alone there are things you could add to what you have. Excellent job!
 
View attachment 1399392
Well the plastic fencing will only keep the birds inside and not do anything to keep a predator out. It does provide really good ventilation though.

Is the coop inside a building?

Add your location to your profile so we know your weather conditions.

JT

The plastic fencing is what I was worried about as well. My primary concern is to keep my Wife’s “evil” dog and neighborhood cats out of the coop. I have never seen a snake or cyote in 5 years of living here, but there is an owl that frequents the area at night.

What would be a good way to reinforce the plastic fencing to keep the predators I mentioned out? They do need the open ventilation the because the temperature is above 100° daily here.

To answer your other question: no the coop is outside, positioned between a permanent utility shed and a 7ft cinder block wall. I poured concrete in a 1.5 ft deep trench where I built the wood fence, so with the wall and shed foundation, the coop is completely surrounded with cement underground . (Plus the ground is so hard here that I think a tunneling attack is unlikely)

I did add my location as you suggested (Phoenix AZ) as well.

Any advice from you will be welcomed!
 
I love the repurpose sing idea and it looks awesome . Much nicer than my repurposed coops. But @jthornton Has a good question. Is it inside a building or a secure run? Because that will depend on what you would need to do to predator proof. If it is that coop alone there are things you could add to what you have. Excellent job!

Thank you! I believe that there is much satisfaction in turning stuff, that would have ended up in the dump forever, into something useful again. Plus it saved me a ton of money...

I am interested in seeing some photos of your repurposed coops. The back wall of my coop doesn’t look as presentable as the front since it’s behind my shed, and therefore out of sight. (That’s my sons old bed frame)
DFA814C7-F606-49B1-9147-A333637134A5.jpeg


Also, my coop is outside so what are some ideas you think I should add to increase security? I want to “bulletproof” the coop, so any suggestions you have would be appreciated!
 
A moat to keep the black knight at bay:lau. In all seriousness I'd hate to be the predator that tries to attack. But it looks like you might want to put some more hardware cloth on those black metal pieces
 
Yes you might want to tighten those pieces of metal and add some hardware cloth to it is there gonna be any sort of run around it? And also I was suggest some kind of hardware cough or chickenwireMight work for the small areas in between the pieces of wood in the front. Even though they’re small youd be amazed. And add something to the bottom some kind of hardware cloth and I’d like to put pieces of wood trenched into the ground a bit and then some kind of skirt so dangerous can’t go through. I’ll send some pictures as soon as it stops being rainy and muddy and crappy looking out here. LOL
 
View attachment 1399392


The plastic fencing is what I was worried about as well. My primary concern is to keep my Wife’s “evil” dog and neighborhood cats out of the coop. I have never seen a snake or coyote in 5 years of living here, but there is an owl that frequents the area at night.

What would be a good way to reinforce the plastic fencing to keep the predators I mentioned out? They do need the open ventilation the because the temperature is above 100° daily here.

To answer your other question: no the coop is outside, positioned between a permanent utility shed and a 7ft cinder block wall. I poured concrete in a 1.5 ft deep trench where I built the wood fence, so with the wall and shed foundation, the coop is completely surrounded with cement underground . (Plus the ground is so hard here that I think a tunneling attack is unlikely)

I did add my location as you suggested (Phoenix AZ) as well.

Any advice from you will be welcomed!

I don't see a dog or cat getting in but if you have raccoons they will climb up and rip the plastic netting apart to get in. Welded wire 1 x 2 fencing would keep them out. Is there a roof over the coop? They will need shade in your area with the heat.

Are they confined to the coop 24/7?

JT
 

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