TWEAK MY COOP~Tweaks on the Cheap

[jeepguy982001]

Bought some red barn paint today...am changing colors on the coop to red and hope to paint the trim white. Am working on a multi-use pen before starting the coop tweak so I can move my broody to the pen and out of the coop before the coop gets deconstructed. This extra pen will make a world of difference for my flock management as it's a place for broodies, babies, roosters, those on the cull list, etc.

Priced the hog rings and the pliers that go with at TSC today and gave it a pass....too much money for no more than I would use them. Will just use the zip ties as I did previously, but will cut off the old and apply new ones during the changeover of tarps. Was going to use the metal hog rings to join the hoops to make for a stronger house, but the zip ties have worked amazingly well and are cheap, cheap, cheap. Zip ties it will be.

just an idea. if you want something a lil stronger then zip ties.I just finished fixing my chainlink gate couple weeks ago. you can get a 30 pack of fence ties i think their called. its the little metal part that hold the fence to the pole. anyway they bend easy and cost less then 2 bucks at lowes.

 

[Mehjr10]

I was reading your post about the buckets for nesting, That is what I use for mine all have been able to fit well and easy to remove when you have a broody hen.. I keyholed the back or bottom of the bucket so that it hangs on two screws with large heads.


Broody from last year.






In the top left bucket you can see the screw heads..

 

[Beekissed]

That's a lot of nesting!

You must have a large flock!

I'm still rolling the bucket nesting around in my mind....I love the simplicity of it, the reusing of an item that would ordinarily get tossed into the dumpster at a restaurant, and ease of cleaning. Thanks for the pics of your rack for the buckets....I'm still working out how I'll do that in my coop. I'll be sticking one end of the buckets out of the coop for outside access to the nests.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
I'll look into that...thank you! Just came from Lowe's today. Whatever I use it will have to be clamped down rather tightly as as to allow very little movement of the hoops away from one another when the wind blows or when the snow weighs heavy on the top.

 

[jeepguy982001]

there easy to twist kind of like a thicker version of soldering wire. heck that prob work too if you find it thick enough. lol.

 

[amandarc]

I am still in the process of finishing our fenced in run. It's pretty large. 6.5'h x 24' x 22'. The coop we bought on craigslist, it is open inside from floor up. I need to rearrange the roost bars, I don't like where they currently are and add more. I also would love feedback. Should I change the chicken wired to hardware cloth? I need to add latches on the nesting boxes. The coop is about 6't x 4.5 x 3.5. It's not that big. Still trying to figure out water in there and a pvc pipe for food dispensing.

The nesting boxes do have a lip to keep eggs and bedding from falling out.

 

[Cowpoke]

sorry guys ,u mite have to wait a couple of days for more pics of my growout pen .have done something to my left ankle.
having trouble just getting out to feed chooks & collect eggs.
doc says its osteo -arthritis,but it came on suddenly ,can't put much weight on it & movement aggravates it.

Pete

Dang Pete, I hope it get's better soon! I've sprained ankles numerous times, in the past. 7 weeks on crutches...hobbling around, elevating....R.I.C.E. But never have had to deal with osteo-arthritis. But I have heard that it's Painful. Take Care!!! My Friend!

 

[aart]

some pics as promised of coop from old trampoline




used 3 sections from trampoline dia to form ends

joined end sections with uprights that held up safety net around tramp mat


as i didn't have access to a welder ,drilled & pop riveted joints

more pics soon
Pete

Brilliant!
Get 4 more pieces of pipe and make it tall enough to walk into!
Can't wait to see what's next with this one.

 

[Beekissed]

Hey, Cowpoke and Aart!!! You tweaking this spring? If so, tell us all about it and show us a pic or two or ten.

Just got done hobbling together a spare pen for brooding, rooster containment, breeding, etc. Been needing this and have put it off far too long. Used a corner of the porch(soil floor) on our old log shed and then used pallets to form the outer wall~the other outer walls were already latticed. Still working out the finer details but managed to use mostly all scrap wood and even re-used screws...the only new wood on it is one 2x4 used for bracing. The other new material was deer netting applied to the walls to keep small birds in but still allow all the airflow and light I need there. Not bad as far as a recycle goes.. but I'd hate for anyone to look too close at all the toenailed screws and other hideous odes to poor carpentry. I'll paint it later and no one will ever know...paint hides a multitude of sins when scrappin' sheds together.

I plan to add a few nest boxes to that pen and possibly an outside access for filling the feeder....if I work it right I just may never have to enter the pen at all unless I need to handle the birds or add/maintain deep litter.

Right now am brooding some Khaki Campbell ducklings in half the pen and will contain The Rock in the other half...he's wearing out my one WR's feathers and I don't like to see a barebacked bird in my flock.

I've been soaking wet all day long doing this project and it's supposed to just keep on raining.

 

[aart]

Seems 'tweaking' chicken stuff has been my full time job since my first hatch back in November!.....and I just built my coop and run back last summer getting my first flock in September. Tweaking (or cobbling or rigging or prototyping or.....) stuff in general is my first nature.

Have built, then tweaked, brooder(s), segregation crates, now the coop partition with a segregation/refuge crate, temporary outdoor pens, new run for coop partition, extending main run...it never ends.

I have 9 'chicks' now from 5 weeks to 11 weeks, finally got them all out in the coop partition and just yesterday got the run functioning.

New run on coop partition...not sure it counts as 'tweaking' is defined in the first post here as I used mostly new materials except for the ramp and the pop door are materials from my stash. Had to temporarily tack up some chicken wire as the littlests's can still squeeze thru the 2x4 fencing: