Our chicken coop/run construction progress

[3KillerBs]

Looks wonderful!

 

[Becks Chicks]

Wonderful job

 

[dawntreader]

Update on coop: Most everything is done now except some artistic touches, like the name of the coop and some lettering on the nesting box. We have yet to get the gutters installed with the rain barrel and watering system, that will probably be done in the next couple weeks. We also have to build planters around the west and south ends that will be for shade in time for next summer, something like hops. We will do the buried hardware cloth when we put those together.

We had a male possum try to get in the yard a couple nights ago, but one of our dogs made sure it didn't even get close to the chicken coop when it became aggressive. We gave it a proper burial.

We finished the south coop windows as shown:

They are up now for the summer and probably most of the fall weather here in north Texas, but will be swung down in place when the cold weather makes a visit. The coop is staying cool, the deep litter method has no smell to it at all so far. We add a little mulch, grass clippings and shredded paper once a week which so far has produced an excellent result.

We figured out a way to cool the coop even more with a fan on the east side of the coop. The girls seem to love it as they preen their feathers in front of the fan in the coop and are often found laying down in the coop to get the direct air from the fan.

The girls definitely enjoy free ranging in the yard, and so far it has worked out well. We have a garden area that has a 3 foot fence around it and they have not tried to enter it so far. We have other garden areas that are accessible to the girls, but they have so far not bothered the plants there.

This thread will hopefully be an inspiration to others that are thinking about keeping chickens in their backyards. The comments and suggestions are added value for the newbies that visit this thread, I encourage looking into the posts of those who provided comments and suggestions. They go into more detail of the experiences and expertise they have gained with their coop designs in other threads, and I thought their posts were valuable for anyone who endeavors to raise chickens in their backyard.

Here's some pics of the girls as they now are, they have grown much since we started this project! First the younger set, the ones we brought home the first of July:

They are not afraid to get out with the bigger girls, but the two groups are still clique-ish, but I have not observed any behavior that would warrant separation at this time. Peanut is the one that likes to get on my shoulder while I am around the coop.

 

[dawntreader]

Update on how the coop and run are working. We have 7 chickens now that are between 4-5 months old now. They weathered the heat here in N. Texas well! The coop windows stayed open during the summer, with a tarp on the west side to block the harsh sun in the evening. That worked great, keeping the temps down below the ambient temps by 5 degrees or so with a fan at times for additional ventilation outside the coop. They stood in the run in front of the fan at times, but mostly to the side. The fan was on low just to move the air a little and they seemed content with that. Now we are in the colder part of the year, seeing temps reach 32 in the night. It will get colder here in N. Texas. The coop temps with all the windows and coop door closed stays within a degree of the ambient temperature. With the ventilation at the top of the coop (which is over their heads while on the roost), the humidity in the coop is about 5% less than the ambient humidity! The deep litter is working well - when we check the coop in the morning it feels a a bit warmer than the air outside, but there is no smell in the coop or run, and they are both dry with the composted materials and straw we've placed there.

So thankful for the suggestions and comments that have contributed significantly to the health and well-being of the chickens. They haven't started laying yet, but the nesting boxes are there with a few ceramic eggs. They have been a bit curious about them! They free range around the yard every day, but come back to the coop when we call (make a clicking sound that is associated with cracked corn we feed them every once in awhile, especially when it gets down to freezing). So this coop and run design is working out really well for us! I appreciate other threads talking about cold weather care of chickens. We inspect the girls daily for any signs, but so far, they appear to be healthy, lively and curious as ever!

 

[dawntreader]

I had some time the last couple weeks to put together a video of how we made our chicken coop at our family website on this page: http://suttonsonline.com/index.php?pg=rces

Scroll down on the page and you'll see the video there. Hopefully it will help people that are considering raising chickens in a suburban environment have a better idea of an approach that balances functionality with aesthetics for the sake of neighbors.

If we lived in the country, I think we would be more likely to have a more mobile coop with a permanent one for wintering to keep the chickens protected yet gain the benefit that they bring to the soil.

That's the fun of learning, whether raising chickens, gardening or creating the next booster rocket for space travel. There is joy in the journey!

 

[dawntreader]

With the cold weather, we attached some 3 mil plastic in the run area below the coop.
Even though it is in the low 20's this afternoon (right now), they are all very active! We let them free range outside the run today. They normally come back in when we call and shake some corn in a bucket, but today they were slow to come back in. We got 4 eggs today, which is a record for us. One of the eggs had a very soft shell, I think it is one of the Australorps which I haven't seen yet pecking at the bowl of oyster shells like the others. They were week old chicks when we got them early August.

It will be warmer for the next week, so the girls made it through the 10 degree F overnight freeze just fine. When I checked in with them around 10:00 pm last night, they were not huddled together, but spaced out in their usual groupings, and all seemed to look up and say, "please don't shine that flashlight in here, we are trying to sleep you know".

 

[sniper338]

Brings back memories. I built a 8x20 coop just like it years ago. my biggest problem was chicken math...











I put chicken wire in the floor, then deep littered on top... to keep digging critters at bay. Never had a problem. I didnt see if you had any, but roost up top in above head in the run area they LOVE most of the year vs inside the coop.







Id also put a 2x4 inside the coop in front of the doors on the floor to keep the deep litter from falling into where the doors close.

Just thoughts that i didnt see, nothing more.

 

[dawntreader]

Great suggestions sniper338 - thanks for the ideas! Will have time this coming week to do both of those. My wife wants to build another roost outside of the coop also somewhere. When it is raining (in the forecast this coming weekend) the roost in the run as you suggested would be a good idea. Haven't had problems with predators, but then we have dogs that patrol the backyard pretty effectively. The foundation pavers are laid in several inches deep and about 8 inches wide. It would take time for a predator to dig under there, by which time the dogs would have been on to them. Our daughter, grand-daughter and her husband are moving to the San Antonio area today. Merry Christmas to you and yours!