I finally finished the little tractor shed so the wife made sure to let me know that since I have so much energy I should build her a house for her chickens. Mind you, these chickens have NEVER had a house in the 8 years we have been raising them.
So, off I went to the store to get the framing lumber and 4x4 posts.
I think when all is said and done these chickens will have a house/condo.
Ended up being 8'x16' with a subfloor.
I got a bunch of camper trailer windows from a friend who scraped a couple of trailers, and the door from one of the trailers as well.
Found enough sheet metal to do the roof.
Now to find enough to cover the sides and I will be done.:duh:
One of our Moderators, SonnyT, wrote up a very good guide with screen captures on how to upload photos to the forum. It isn't difficult after you're walked through it. The guide is here:
Now, on your chicken coup, count me in on wanting to see your pics. I'm in the planning stages of one myself for a flock that I hope to get in the spring. I'm also going to scrap a camper trailer and will have some windows.
Around here you can score free above ground swimming pools often on Craigslist,for the task of removal...you end up with many feet of sheet metal either steel or aluminum,thats usually ribbed and strong..the supports and other parts can be cashed in for scrap..
I used some of that sheet metal in place of a tarp on a "tent garage" frame by putting 1x3 strapping across the pipes and screwing the metal to it with deck screws..a huge improvement over a tarp as far as holding up in winter to snow loads!..
I would like to get more of the metal like the pool I got last summer,it was made with a fake woodgrain pattern that was "permanent"--would have been perfect to use on my quonset garage endwalls that are plywood and starting to get punky at the bottoms after 20 years,then it'll be permanent and no more painting the wood walls ,ever!..
..
I have used water heater tank "skins" for metal roofing on smaller sheds ,also makes a good fllor patching material on rusted old chevy's!..also old appliances like washers and dryers,and fridges can often be had for free at most dumps too,there is a good amount of sheet metal on those that resist rusting ,with tough epoxy paint finishes..
Wow, that looks pretty dang good, I like the elevated house.Pretty fancy.
Mine is only a few inches off the ground but I like that better than a dirt floor, only down side will be cleaning the poop out in the spring, but I am going to leave one of the 8' side plywood so I can remove one sheet to expose the floor, that way we can push all the crap out then board it back up.
I will try to get some pics tonight. I did pick up a old metal shed yesterday and drug it home for its sheet metal, won't be enough but it was free.
Thanks for the comments.
The coop was elevated so we will not have to bend over.
The enclosed area stays VERY clean because of the outdoor roost on the "sun porch".
They ALWAYS sleep on the sun porch. :fing32:
We add new grass about once or twice a year, the grass keeps the smell down to zero.
I cut some grass, let it dry, then we just stuff it in.
The chickens re-arrange the grass as necessary.
The roof has a gutter, the downspout goes to the water dish.
A good rain cleans the water dish real well.
The large front door (4X4 feet) is access to a food storage area. It is about 2 feet deep.
The crows REALLY like to go under the coop, to retrieve dropped food.
The cats stop any mice that might try to get in, because of the raised setting.
when i made mine (not longer have it so no pics) i put mesh under the roost area so the poop falls to the ground under the house making cleanout much easier, and more hygienic for the birds. i kept a large pan of dirt for them to "bathe" in the "sun room"
Mine have been pretty much free range for the past years, have around 1 acre fenced in and let them have at it, they roost right now in three old 10x10 chain link dog kennels.
Mine will have a walk in door for us to come and go and the chickens will have their own door plus 7 windows. I am going to gutter the short side to catch runoff to use for their water in small kiddy pools which we have been using for a few years now.
I still have to finish the flashing around the edges, paint everything to match, get the old fridge setup on its back to mix their feed in since we feed scratch and layer crumbles together.
I have solar lighting that will be put inside with the solar panel mounted outside and I still have to get some guttering on the back to catch the water for the baby pools we use for their water.
At least right now they can have a dry place to stay.
Chickens poop way too much, the poop on the floor is from 1 night.
In one of the pictures you can see that one side has plywood on the bottom half of the wall, I intend to take that piece off and use it as a clean out for the coop, that way all I have to do is screw the wood back on to close up the coop.
All the mixed up tin on the front side will come off in the spring when I can get more and fix it up the right way, I was running out of tin and time so I just covered the wall to get it dry inside.
one thing too, do a quick read on "deep litter method" you can use straw, sawdust (NON TREATED!!!) and peat moss. dont use old potting soil they will eat the pearlite and dont use vermiculite either, they too will eat that.
they will pick the seeds out of straw making it GREAT for the garden!
I had a nice coop until the weather finally took it out. Nest boxes accessible from the outside without bending down to retrieve eggs, which I think is a really good feature. No walking across manure either. I'll be building another one soon.
I covered the floor in straw yesterday and man they went crazy eating all the seeds and what ever else was in there.
Peatmoss sounds like a good thing to use, never thought of that.
I wanted to make the nest boxes accessable from the outside but didn't have the time of materials to get it done before the cold hit.
Let me ask you guys something about winter egg production. How do you keep them producing during the winter months?? I have put 2 heat lamps and one spot light in the coop. My egg production always goes down to nothing about this time of year.
Let me ask you guys something about winter egg production. How do you keep them producing during the winter months?? I have put 2 heat lamps and one spot light in the coop. My egg production always goes down to nothing about this time of year.
Egg production can be severely effected all season by lice and or mite infestation but the winter months sometimes seem to be more problematic. Free range flocks don't seem to be affected as much as confined hens. Dust bathing may be attributed to this and I always provided wood ashes in a sunny location out of the wind for that purpose. My father treated the roosts with Lye water. Now that we can't purchase Lye as readily as we once could, because of the dope heads, Drano or some commercial product may be needed.
yes, all the above. heat lamp is not a great idea there is serious fire hazard. chickens generate a large amount of dust which is highly FLAMMABLE.
i would get one 25-40 watt soft white bulb and one 25-40 watt equivalent CFL and place in the coop. this will produce a light spectrum close to sunlight. long summer days are what sparks production. it stimulates the pituitary gland causing the hormones making the bird want to procreate. therefore the hen produces eggs. ensure 10-14 hours of light. sunlight combines with artificial light.
food is also important, grains make birds fat. meaning they are good as a treat and on really cold days.
cheap cat food as Cadplans pointed out is an excellent source of protein. i toss it out by hand in the winter everyday and a few times a week in the summer months.
Dust bathing is VERY important not only for physical health but their social health as well. stressed birds dont lay. the dust helps keep them clean of lice and stuff
drafts. chickens no not like to be in drafty house. but at same time it must be able to breathe. too much humidity or ammonia in the air will stop egg production. as will the winter drafts.
I think I fixed up the draft problems yesterday, sealed up most of the places that would cause the coop to get drafty.
Any particular cat food to get?? Just dry cat food?
I do have many dusting spots in their yard, I have also used a dust in their dusting spots to help with any mites/lice. Should I also use it inside the new coop?
I have raised chickens most of my life but not to this extent. Usually only had a dozen or so but now we have a lot more and of course we have expanded their area a lot.
Our oldest son just built a chicken house. He put it on a set of skids so all he has to do to clean the floor is pull it forward with his little tractor.
Works well and sure makes a trail of nice garden area.
sounds like a chicken Tractor! be wary of predators!
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