We built our 1st coop/run (reclaimed wood, exterior nest boxes)

[bryan99705]

Looks great but the pop door seems redundant. Your run looks secure so why bother?

The money could go to more birds and meal worms

Do suggest a gutter in the back to keep the drips from splashing into the run.

 

[krcote]

Quote:
A secure pop door is NEVER a bad thing

It will be nice on frosty nights. I do however anticipate you having issues actually closing it completely once the poo builds up in the bottom groove where the birds actually step. I think a good scraping with something like a screwdriver on occasion should do a good job at cleaning is out though

 

[MarinMama]

Quote:
thanks! he LOOOVES the chicks.

 

[MarinMama]

Quote:
well, it didn't really cost any extra $$...it was just scraps found around the house. Also, we wanted to make sure that if any flaws did come up in the run, we could lock them safely in the coop. The chicks know to go to the coop at night and we will eventually put in an automatic door so even if we get home late or forget to close and lock the run, the chickens will be safe in the coop at night.

we tried to build the coop/run in a way that it would make chicken raising easier and less work for us in the future.

 

[MarinMama]

Quote:
A secure pop door is NEVER a bad thing

It will be nice on frosty nights. I do however anticipate you having issues actually closing it completely once the poo builds up in the bottom groove where the birds actually step. I think a good scraping with something like a screwdriver on occasion should do a good job at cleaning is out though

for some reason i have not found any poop here yet...sometimes i get shavings but i just sweep them out every few days...the groove between the ramp and the coop with be easily cleaned as the ramp is attached by a peg-in-a-hole so we just lift up the ramp and sweep or scrape the junk out.