Using a Tree Fort as a Coop?? A Bad Idea??

[crossgirl]

You are sooooo lucky! That's gonna make a great coop! Yes, coons can climb trees and drop commando style into your run. Cover it well!

 

[patandchickens]

Seems perfectly reasonable to me. You'll probably need to add more ventilation. Given the wooded away-from-house location, I think you would have much greater success in keeping chickens alive for extended periods of time if you invested in a top for the run, even just (well-supported) 2x4" wire mesh would keep out nearly all troublemakers.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[auntbea67]

I LOVE re-purposing abandoned things! What a great idea you have, take many pictures so you can look back on all that you've done.

 

[mommto3kiddos]

That is a perfect chicken coop - NICE

 

[gryeyes]

Oh, that is a GREAT beginning for a coop!!! Wonderful location, too! You can SO use that and make a super coop for your chickens!

 

[colebarnhart]

Quote:
If you don't want to lose them, I would strongly suggest that you secure them as much as possible. Think outside the box, if you think it can't happen, well it probably can. Go into the predator posts and read up. I wish I had before I lost 2 of mine. You're definately going to want a roof for at least most of it and if you have an open roof area, then wire it up. FYI chicken wire sucks and is only good for keeping them in, but terrible at keeping others out, or reaching their little hands thru and grabbing. If you see pics of different coops with large livestock wire around their run area it's because their chix go in the coop at night, or they have and electric wire fence around that you're not seeing, or they have dogs that do a good job with keeping predators out. If you go with good heavy wire around your run area and/or hardware wire around at least the bottom, as well as, urinate around your coop/run area, you'll be way better off than trying to save money on something, only to loose your birds.

 

[sdeneen2001]

I would cover the run to protect from hawks, we've got some big ones that like chicken in W WA.

 

[Life is Good!]

We just did this....but we built UNDER a tree fort (fort is still without windows, as the boys don't wish windows! and the trim isn't yet on it in our photos)

We've left the bottom open to discourage anyone making a home there (huge groundhog population in neighborhood - if it's open, they won't come!) For winter use, I'll put straw bales completely around to help keep the cold out. And yes, do this late enough in the season, so that those same groundhogs will already have homes! Not to mention the chipmunks and the skunks and possums and and and!

We've built a portable pvc tractor as their run. It's got a port in the side so it will match up to their ramp - but so far, it's mostly stayed out in the grass with us transporting the chicks between the two on the few dry days we've had. Chicks are 6wks old, some pretty feather bare yet, so I"m concerned about keeping them healthy and dry and warm (which it's not been!).

We put hardware cloth completely around and underneath the siding and plywood floors (put the hardware cloth on first, then the flooring and siding) so the hardware cloth 'envelope' is complete from the base to the rafters. As the ceiling is the floor to the fort, we didn't hardware cloth there - it's a 1" plywood layer! Then put vents in the floor (vents from inside the coop to the inside of the tree fort) as well as two vents on the south side of the coop high on the walls. Vents are 4"x10" floor vents.

It's worked well - was fairly easy to 'remake' and while it seems like it took forever, what took forever was our sons helping with this project! But life lessons are lessons well worth the time. Always. Like growing chickens. Always.

Hope this helps.

 

[DFamilyChicks]

Wow! Thanks for all the GREAT feedback.

I've decided that I'm going to use the tree fort FOR SURE, instead of building something else. The money I save in building the structure, I will invest instead in a REALLY secure run. I'm thinking I will put a solid roof over at least half of the run to provide shade, to protect from predators AND to shield from rain and snow.

I started working on it a bit today. Took down two small trees behind the coop to clear an area for the run.

Here we go!!

 

[catsmithpuddin]

One thing to think about,,,,,,,

I like the challange of doing things out of repurposed materials (don't hurt my feelings that it is cheap too). I have found more used chainlink for free than I can use at the moment. It took a while to find the free stuff. I just got the word out to everybody I know.

Now I use chainlink for my runs and cover with cheap chicken wire. If it will keep my german sheppard and bloodhound in/out it does fine for the yotes in our area. That being said a coon can go over the top in a heart beat.I have had good luck so far.

The best advise I have seen on this thread so far is marking your territory around the run and coop at least once a week.