Time to cut in door and Ventilation - Thoughts?

[Hidrainja4]

My coop is a lot like yours. We have two windows with a wood flap that can close. The windows line up and the summer breeze is nice. I let down the flaps when it gets below 15 o F. They are nice because I can peak in and see what is going on with out to much disturbance.

 

[bedpan]

Much appreciate the idea! I can work with that....

If worse comes to worse during the winter, you could always loosely cover a few vents with burlap or a similar open weave material - it'll let air through but blunt drafts, if that becomes an issue.

 

[bedpan]

Spend sometime yesterday and today building and painting.. I hope to have things ready to put in place tomorrow. Big rain here tomorrow though so likely late next week before I can get it. Pretty happy with the progress and all the help from the family!

To build it again I would change the structure quite a bit. Also some engineering issues I have run into where I did not consider the path of the sliding door/window and how they will interfere with each other. These are things I will not forget when we build the next one ;-)

 

[rosemarythyme]

COming along nicely - good to have some "free labor" to help out too.

 

[bedpan]

I am very happy with the progress. Further ahead then I would have thought, and I would not have made it this far without the labor!

Tomorrow I have....

• Build and paint ramp
• install chicken door and engineer cable pull lift
• Cut, engineer and install sliding windows
• install hardware cloth around perimeter of run
• install and hang hinged doors
• find and order/make starter chicken feeder and waterer
• Install power for camera/light/heater etc etc etc
• Likely other stuff I am forgetting

I guess I can start looking for chickens... Likely the hardest part!

COming along nicely - good to have some "free labor" to help out too.

 

[bedpan]

Not as much done today as I had hoped, but still some good progress... Chicken door is engineered and working nicely on a pull cable. Egg door is setup and in place. Last of the painting is finished.. Ramp just needs to be assembled.. Where does that leave me... I ordered a couple different type of nipples today for a waterer. I will order some pieces to make a feeder as well. Thinking I like the PVC/ABS 3" Y-pipe setup.

• Assemble ramp (all ready just needs some nails)
• Install sliding windows (All ready just need to drill and screw in place)
• Install hardware cloth around perimeter of run
• Install and hang hinged doors
• Order Feeder parts and assemble
• Assemble waterer when parts arrive
• Assemble Roost
• Install power for camera/light/heater etc etc etc
• Likely other stuff I am forgetting

 

[bedpan]

Well a couple more evening working away at this. The list is shrinking.

• Install hardware cloth around perimeter of run
• Install and hang hinged doors
• Order Feeder parts and assemble
• Assemble waterer - Just need to pick a bucket to drill into!
• Install power for camera/light/heater etc etc etc
• Likely other stuff I am forgetting

I called a Kijiji guy this morning that runs a fair size bird farm quite close to my house. He has ducks, geese, chickens and more. He has some specialty breeds but is offering Heritage barnyard mix for $30 a hen. I may well go pick some up in the next few days. Anything I should be watching for or asking? Maybe not the right thread for this..

Editting to add a few pics

 

[rosemarythyme]

I called a Kijiji guy this morning that runs a fair size bird farm quite close to my house. He has ducks, geese, chickens and more. He has some specialty breeds but is offering Heritage barnyard mix for $30 a hen. I may well go pick some up in the next few days. Anything I should be watching for or asking? Maybe not the right thread for this..

Is the twig ladder thing the ramp? Looks too steep from this angle, try putting some cinder blocks under the bottom of it to elevate it and reduce the angle. The chickens might be willing to fly up to the platform to get in instead.

$30 for barnyard mutts seems steep but are these point of lay pullets, or already laying hens? If they're being sold as laying hens, did the ad specify how old they were? Also, not saying you should be distrustful, but do you know how to tell girls from the boys... I've seen some posts on here where people went to buy hens and the seller offloaded a bunch of roosters on them.

Past that I'd be looking at is how well kept and healthy are the birds. If the facility is a mess, birds look lethargic or filthy, etc. don't do it. Do NOT take birds that you feel sorry for.

 

[bedpan]

Thanks for the feedback...

That is the ramp. Its sitting a little lower then where it will be once installed. The coop itself is elevated for painting and hardware mesh where the ramp is still on the ground. It should be a little under a 45 degree ramp once installed, but I will check it out an maybe prop it up if need be.

$30 is Canadian. I believe under normal conditions they are closer to $20. There are some around a bit cheaper. These guys are 15 minutes away though as compared to a couple hours drive.

You are right that I should confirm the age. It was alluded to them being last years chicks but I would need to confirm that. Can I tell a Cockerel from a pullet? I would like to think yes but to be honest quite possibly not. I will edumacaTe my self a little on the topic.

I talked with the seller today. He was blunt to a point but seemed honest enough. I have a pretty good feel for people so we can see how that goes if I head out that.

With the Covid stuff I am not to sure how much I would get to see the grounds or the coops. It sounds like he is usually open to tours but closing that side down right now.

Thanks again... I will continue to poke around and see what I find until our coop is ready.

Mike

Is the twig ladder thing the ramp? Looks too steep from this angle, try putting some cinder blocks under the bottom of it to elevate it and reduce the angle. The chickens might be willing to fly up to the platform to get in instead.

$30 for barnyard mutts seems steep but are these point of lay pullets, or already laying hens? If they're being sold as laying hens, did the ad specify how old they were? Also, not saying you should be distrustful, but do you know how to tell girls from the boys... I've seen some posts on here where people went to buy hens and the seller offloaded a bunch of roosters on them.

Past that I'd be looking at is how well kept and healthy are the birds. If the facility is a mess, birds look lethargic or filthy, etc. don't do it. Do NOT take birds that you feel sorry for.

 

[rosemarythyme]

You are right that I should confirm the age. It was alluded to them being last years chicks but I would need to confirm that. Can I tell a Cockerel from a pullet? I would like to think yes but to be honest quite possibly not. I will edumacaTe my self a little on the topic.

With the Covid stuff I am not to sure how much I would get to see the grounds or the coops. It sounds like he is usually open to tours but closing that side down right now.

If the birds are a year old, roosters should be pretty obvious compared to hens (as it doesn't sound like you're aiming to get something like Silkies where gender might be trickier to eyeball).

Maybe the seller would be willing to send some photos of the grounds in lieu of you actually walking around the grounds. If not, it should still be pretty obvious once you see the actual birds if they've been well kept or not - unscrupulous sellers aren't going to bother bathing and grooming a bunch of random birds just to make them more presentable for a possible sale.

Look for birds with bright eyes, plump red combs, legs and feet in good condition (no raised scales), reasonably clean and well feathered.