Tips to Improve a Chicken Coop (especially for ease of cleaning)

[townchicks]

My two cents. Don't stress about the cracks in the wood. I did the same thing when I built a coop from recycled wood about six or seven years ago. I caulked all the cracks and painted the inside and out with regular exterior house paint. Within a year, cracks appeared, but by then the chickens were already in it, and I had other things to deal with, so I just let it go. Nine years into chicken keeping, and I have never had red mites or lice. I have only had to deal with feather mites a couple of times, and those are easily dealt with, with a couple of drops of Ivermectin on the back of the neck, and don't live in the coop, I don't do anything to "prevent" mites. IMO, healthy chickens that dust bathe usually keep mites under control themselves. I have never used straw, because I have read you can bring in mites with that. I don't know if that's true, just saying. I think you have done a great job with your kind landlord's "gift" . That said, I do have a few suggestions. Your chickens don't need a ramp for that low of an entry, they will just hop up. Don't bother with one. My coop is 3 feet off the ground and my girls refused to use the ramp, coming or going, so I removed it until recently, when a couple of older girls with issues, needed a little help. We often forget, until we have them, that chickens can fly. My main concern is the run, and dust bathing. The run is good, but a little small, and the chickens need to dig and scratch and dust bathe in the dirt. Can you remove the boards in the run, and put a wire skirt around it instead? Is it possible to resurrect the fence the landlord brought for supervised out side the run time? Minus the gravel, if possible. One thing I have learned, with my years in chicken land, is that nothing is perfect, you always wish you had done something this way jnstead, and you often can't know that until you try it. There are lots of ways to do chickens, and my way may not be what works for the other guy. We can only chime in with our own experience. I love having chickens, in spite of the work! , and expense! and sometimes heartache. Jump in, and get some of the fun part.

 

[ATP]

Nice paint job!

The run seems very small imho. I hope you plan to have only 2 bantams or your chickens can free range every day for many hours.

What is it that makes it medicated? Why?
Completely unnecessary if you ask me. Maybe a marketing trick to sell something more expensive? I use leaf tree shavings and hay (some homemade too) in the nestboxes.

Chickens don’t need bedding on the coop floor (except maybe straw in winter). I like sand on the floor. Easy to sift out.

Under the roost I like having a poop board for easy cleaning.

Thank you SO much for your reply and insights.

The coop is 16 sqft (1.05m x 1.40m), so it would be big enough for about four chickens. The run is 28 sqft (1.20m x 2.20m) which would only be suitable for maximum three chickens. The idea behind the small run was more of a "good size porch" for the girls where they can stay while we are out shopping or whatever. They will get another run in the garden, but we are very limited with space and we are only renting at the moment. Long story short, we can only get three chickens right now.

I'll explain (post a separate/copied description of) the medicated straw in a few minutes...

Sand was also on my mind, and since I have these two wide doors on the side of the coop now, I might consider sand instead for the coop. And, yes, the poop board will go in rather sooner than later.

Thank you again for your time and effort to read and reply to my post.

 

[ATP]

My two cents. Don't stress about the cracks in the wood. I did the same thing when I built a coop from recycled wood about six or seven years ago. I caulked all the cracks and painted the inside and out with regular exterior house paint. Within a year, cracks appeared, but by then the chickens were already in it, and I had other things to deal with, so I just let it go. Nine years into chicken keeping, and I have never had red mites or lice. I have only had to deal with feather mites a couple of times, and those are easily dealt with, with a couple of drops of Ivermectin on the back of the neck, and don't live in the coop, I don't do anything to "prevent" mites. IMO, healthy chickens that dust bathe usually keep mites under control themselves. I have never used straw, because I have read you can bring in mites with that. I don't know if that's true, just saying. I think you have done a great job with your kind landlord's "gift" . That said, I do have a few suggestions. Your chickens don't need a ramp for that low of an entry, they will just hop up. Don't bother with one. My coop is 3 feet off the ground and my girls refused to use the ramp, coming or going, so I removed it until recently, when a couple of older girls with issues, needed a little help. We often forget, until we have them, that chickens can fly. My main concern is the run, and dust bathing. The run is good, but a little small, and the chickens need to dig and scratch and dust bathe in the dirt. Can you remove the boards in the run, and put a wire skirt around it instead? Is it possible to resurrect the fence the landlord brought for supervised out side the run time? Minus the gravel, if possible. One thing I have learned, with my years in chicken land, is that nothing is perfect, you always wish you had done something this way jnstead, and you often can't know that until you try it. There are lots of ways to do chickens, and my way may not be what works for the other guy. We can only chime in with our own experience. I love having chickens, in spite of the work! , and expense! and sometimes heartache. Jump in, and get some of the fun part.

What an amazing reply. Thank you SO much!

Yes, since someone mentioned the cracks, I was terrified that the mites would move straight in. Thank you for sharing your experience with me.

I thought of not adding a ladder as it is quite low to jump in and out of the coop. But then... you know... it just felt like a chicken coop without a ladder isn't complete. Reading your insight here, I think I'll leave it like it is for now.

The problem with the run was that the ground was always wet. First, we thought that there are leaks in the roof, but that was not so. I had the ground of the run filled with sand, but it never dried. The coop and run are at the end of a slope. The water is not running down the slope and into the run. It is rather coming from the ground and upwards. I don't know if I explained that well. It is a big problem in Ireland–ground water pushing upward. Long story short, we had to put builder's sheet on the bottom and "something" unto it for the chickens not to get to it.

Yes, they will get another area in the garden where they can stretch their legs and run freely.

Thank you for your thoughts and the encouragement. It means a lot to me.

 

[ATP]

Medicated Straw
While researching the different kind of beddings, I came across the "medicated straw" and found it quite interesting. We bought one bale to try.

Here is one description for it, found at www.whitesagri.ie

Strawchips Medicated Straw is a popular choice for dairy, equine, cattle, sheep, pig, fowl, poultry and pet owners.

The straw is chosen for processing based on moisture content and visual inspection. The straw is milled to increase its absorbency, then screened through a 5mm aperture sieve and aspirated to remove most of the dust and moulds present. Following cleaning, the straw is treated with a bactericide and mould inhibitor to create a hostile environment for any such organisms.

 

[townchicks]

What an amazing reply. Thank you SO much!

Yes, since someone mentioned the cracks, I was terrified that the mites would move straight in. Thank you for sharing your experience with me.

I thought of not adding a ladder as it is quite low to jump in and out of the coop. But then... you know... it just felt like a chicken coop without a ladder isn't complete. Reading your insight here, I think I'll leave it like it is for now.

The problem with the run was that the ground was always wet. First, we thought that there are leaks in the roof, but that was not so. I had the ground of the run filled with sand, but it never dried. The coop and run are at the end of a slope. The water is not running down the slope and into the run. It is rather coming from the ground and upwards. I don't know if I explained that well. It is a big problem in Ireland–ground water pushing upward. Long story short, we had to put builder's sheet on the bottom and "something" unto it for the chickens not to get to it.

Yes, they will get another area in the garden where they can stretch their legs and run freely.

Thank you for your thoughts and the encouragement. It means a lot to me.

That makes total sense now. You are right, you don't want them in wet ground all the time. Maybe you can put a tub, filled with plain dry soil, for them in the run. Interesting about the medicated straw. I hope you will share your impressions about it when its in use. Be sure to update us when you get your girls!

 

[ATP]

I gave sand another try in the run. The sand came in plastic sacks. We put them into the run, but the sand would not dry a bit. So I raked it out again, and filled the run with wood shavings.

The plastic box in the front is for sand-bathing. It will be filled another good bit with dried sand, soil, DE, and some wood-ash.

This is how the inside of the coop looks at the moment:

This is the run with the open roof parts (for ease of cleaning).

The latch at the outside of the door:

Would this "S" lock be predator proof, or shall I get a different one, I wonder.

We installed another latch on the inside, which can only be reached and opened after opening one part of the roof:

I would love to order/buy my girls in the next few days, but I will have to make up my mind about the breed/s first. Sussex are not available at the moment.

Thank you for reading my posts. I do appreciate any thoughts you might have about the coop and run – and perhaps a suggestion about what breed/s to get.

 

[townchicks]

That looks good. Now on to the fun part! I, personally, like to have a variety of breeds, all kinds of different colors.Easter eggers are fun,because they come in lots of different colors, as well as the egg colors. Cochins are sweet, generally, I haven't had them ( not crazy about feathered feet) but a friend has them and they sound great. She has tried other breeds and always goes back. Orpingtons are generally nice, though the one I had was very flighty. I got her as a started pullet though, so she hadn't been handled much as a chick, I suppose. Too bad you can't get Sussex right now, but that time will come.

 

[ATP]

That looks good. Now on to the fun part! I, personally, like to have a variety of breeds, all kinds of different colors.Easter eggers are fun,because they come in lots of different colors, as well as the egg colors. Cochins are sweet, generally, I haven't had them ( not crazy about feathered feet) but a friend has them and they sound great. She has tried other breeds and always goes back. Orpingtons are generally nice, though the one I had was very flighty. I got her as a started pullet though, so she hadn't been handled much as a chick, I suppose. Too bad you can't get Sussex right now, but that time will come.

Thank you SO much. Your reply means a lot to me, and the "variety of breeds" is exactly what I'm thinking of right now. This will not be so much due to the egg colors, but because of the beauty of the chickens.

I will introduce my girls and the coop/run in a separate thread, and I will also post a photo of my girls in this thread... hopefully soon.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

The latch at the outside of the door:

View attachment 4142781

Would this "S" lock be predator proof, or shall I get a different one, I wonder.

We installed another latch on the inside, which can only be reached and opened after opening one part of the roof:

View attachment 4142782

My guess is that the S hook would be human-proof, especially when waiting a bit to long to go outside and lock up, but I think a determined raccoon would make short work of it. I would recommend a carabiner, particularly a locking carabiner (the lock mechanism is a cylinder that screws over the movable part of the carabiner.) You could even get a keyed padlock, and if you're not worried about two-legged (human) predators, you could hang the key right there to keep it handy.

The S hook just looks like a bit of a nightmare for nighttime and pouring rain, and trying to get the curve around the lock, and dropping it (in the nighttime and rain) and so forth.

I do see the inside lock - would you be using that in combination with the outside lock, reaching it via the roof opening? Again visualizing the nighttime pouring rain scenario with your cellphone locked insode the coop from earlier in the day. Good job putting a lock on the inside - many don't think of that until faced with stampeding hens wanting out while you're trying to be in. And if a little kid locks themselves in (yes, this has happened to us already), you can unlock from the outside.

 

[ATP]

My guess is that the S hook would be human-proof, especially when waiting a bit to long to go outside and lock up, but I think a determined raccoon would make short work of it. I would recommend a carabiner, particularly a locking carabiner (the lock mechanism is a cylinder that screws over the movable part of the carabiner.) You could even get a keyed padlock, and if you're not worried about two-legged (human) predators, you could hang the key right there to keep it handy.

The S hook just looks like a bit of a nightmare for nighttime and pouring rain, and trying to get the curve around the lock, and dropping it (in the nighttime and rain) and so forth.

I do see the inside lock - would you be using that in combination with the outside lock, reaching it via the roof opening? Again visualizing the nighttime pouring rain scenario with your cellphone locked insode the coop from earlier in the day. Good job putting a lock on the inside - many don't think of that until faced with stampeding hens wanting out while you're trying to be in. And if a little kid locks themselves in (yes, this has happened to us already), you can unlock from the outside.

Good points about the S hook. Thank you for the reminder of the carabiner. I do have one, but I'm looking into one that has the screw mechanism.

Oh goodness... middle of the night while rain is pouring down – I have not thought about that. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on that.

Yes, I'm planning to use both locks to secure the run for times when I'm away during the day and during nighttime. However, reading the szenarios (night & pouring rain), I think, I will not use the S hook but something that is easier for me to open if it needs to be opened fast. Thank you for your thoughts!

On the other side, the coop has two big doors outside the run which I can open fast in case of an emergency (which I hope will not happen )

Again, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me.