fuzzi's "Gardens and Chickens...and Goats? Oh My!" Journal and More Thread

[fuzzi]

It was a damp day, temperature didn't make it to 50° and it was "spitting" rain, so I decided to forego coop work.

After seeing @Baymule's previous hoop coop

...I am thinking of adding a solid material to the roosting end this time instead of a tarp. It's too damp here for OSB, and I am looking at another material that could block wind and wet without breaking the bank. T11 siding looks promising but it's almost as expensive as weather ready plywood .

But buried in the shed may be a solution...

It looks like a sheet of plywood, about 4'x6', with a 2x4 attached. Its probably one of my dh's incomplete projects. It's behind two lawnmowers and stuff, so I'll dig it out later this week, to see if it might work.

I was thinking of doing something like like the coop above, but leaving the bottom 24" of the coop open to the air (with hardware cloth of course!).

Or possibly using cattle panel on the end.

Thinking... thinking...

 

[Baymule]

Scraps of a previous project! Now you’re driving in my lane! LOL

 

[farmerjan]

You will not accomplish any extra "air flow" by leaving the bottom 24 inches of the one end and covering with hardware cloth.... if the other three sides are as shown. I would just go all the way down on the end and it will give you a windbreak area for them. Plus less cutting and attaching.... chickens will appreciate the lack of "wind" underneath their roost area.

 

[fuzzi]

You will not accomplish any extra "air flow" by leaving the bottom 24 inches of the one end and covering with hardware cloth.... if the other three sides are as shown. I would just go all the way down on the end and it will give you a windbreak area for them. Plus less cutting and attaching.... chickens will appreciate the lack of "wind" underneath their roost area.

Noted, thank you.

However, my current hoop coop is open on all sides, the flock stands and watches through the HWC.

Under the roost.

 

[Finnie]

The other end of the coop is tentatively 6' from the first coop, directly behind. I could move it a couple more feet back, leaving 8' between the coops, and 8' between the second coop and the property line/chain link fence. Thinking on it.

Don’t know if you have made your decision on this yet, but I vote you start it at 8’ back from the other coop, and then while it’s still less heavy and you can move it, walk all the way around it and see how happy you are with the space both in front and back. Then you can adjust it a little this way or a little that way to your liking.

To my way of thinking, extra space on the side with the door will help with chores and wheelbarrow maneuvering etc, you also don’t want to shortchange the space in the back either. Until you get a lot of the heavy pieces attached to it, it ought to be moveable somewhat.

 

[fuzzi]

Don’t know if you have made your decision on this yet, but I vote you start it at 8’ back from the other coop, and then while it’s still less heavy and you can move it, walk all the way around it and see how happy you are with the space both in front and back. Then you can adjust it a little this way or a little that way to your liking.

To my way of thinking, extra space on the side with the door will help with chores and wheelbarrow maneuvering etc, you also don’t want to shortchange the space in the back either. Until you get a lot of the heavy pieces attached to it, it ought to be moveable somewhat.

That's a good thought, and while I haven't started building yet, I already did move the markers, so there's 8' between the coops.


Egg production is picking up. I've gotten 9 eggs in the last three days. None of my hens are once-a-day layers, so I suspect at least 6 are laying.

Hello my friends!

 

[fuzzi]

Building day!

For details check out the My Little Hoop Coop thread:

My Little Hoop Coop

Mybtomatobtrellis was cow panels wired to T-posts about a foot off the ground, 20 inches apart.

www.backyardherds.com

 

[fuzzi]

I was going to work on the hoop coop.

But Frank (tree guy) came by.

Before:

After:

It's amazing what someone can do with a Bobcat!

They also cut all the privet and other weedy stuff along the fence

After they left I didn't feel like working on the coop, I was physically dragging from yesterday's building marathon, and it's damp and chilly, so I just puttered.

I raked where the guys cut the brush but missed getting the branches on the burn pile. Look what I found!

Yes! It's a piece of metal that I might be able to use as a patch for the hole in the tin.

After I raked...I still need to put it on the burn pile:

I then cleaned the chickens' waterer, and rinsed and filled two rainbarrels, and dug a small ditch to divert water away from the new coop.

It's supposed to rain, cold rain, for the next few days. I'm not on a strict timetable so I think I will continue with my hoop coop construction next weekend. Hopefully it will be dry and mild by then.

 

[SageHill]

WOW!! That's a huge difference like there's way way more room now.

 

[Mini Horses]

Looking so wonderful!!