I guess I got a bit lazy after the birds got into their new home. Combine that with my kids sports and I just needed a break from this thing. I underestimated how much work this would be.
I had a temporary roost bar that was "good enough for now". Yesterday I finally built the permanent roost...
I have 8 pullets that are roughly 11 - 12 weeks old. They've been in their new coop/run for 2 weeks. It's a 10' x 6' open air coop with an attached 10' x 14' run. Is it ok to let them out to free range in the evening? I'm pretty sure after being in their new home for 2 weeks that they will know...
I made a door and got it installed. And got the two big openings on the ends covered in HC. The birds are now finally in their new home! I still have a lot to do but at least its secure. Those girls are growing quick and they were DONE with the brooder.
I got some more done this weekend between softball games. Just need to build and install the main door, put hardware cloth on the openings at each end, and install the ridge vent and then the birds can go to their new home. Hopefully in the next few days
Progress is going slow. My kids have sports almost every day. Aaaand.... we had a storm coming a week or so ago so I threw a tarp over it because it would have standing water in there due to the pavers not allowing water to drain. Well the tarp acted like a sail and the wind blew the frame over...
Creed - yes I have 8 pullets about to outgrow the brooder so I need to get this thing done.
Dearmeghann - we'll let them out to roam around a few times a week. And the entire coop/run will have a roof over it.
I finally got started. This is turning into a much bigger project. The design stayed the same but I increased the dimensions to 10' wide x 20' long. There's not a flat spot in my back yard so I brought in 3 loads of select fill dirt to make a level pad. Then brought in 3 loads of sand to do...
Update…. I ended up getting 3 chicks from a local individual. I was on a call list with many feed stores and the same day I got those 3, Stienhousers called and said they had just got chicks in. All together I ended up with 2 Silver Lakenvelder, 2 Lavender Orps, 2 Cinnamon Queen, 1 Production...
Looks like that's what I am going to have to do. I'm on the call list at a few local feed stores that are supposed to get chicks in the next day or two. They wont be the breeds I wanted but I dont want to wait until late summer for a hatchery either. Unless yall can recommend another reputable...
Thanks for the replies so far! I'll be ordering from Ideal Poultry in the next day or two. I'm leaning towards more of a mixed flock rather than 3 pairs.
I'm sure this topic gets redundant, but I'm completely starting over and was hoping yall could help me pick our new breeds. We previously had 2 Production Reds and 1 Black Sex Link. We were happy with them. They were friendly enough and good layers. We are going with 6 chicks this time and would...
I just saw this thread. I'm in Friendswood, south of Houston. I got baby chicks about 4 years ago and then signed up on here. This site has taught me everything I know. Out of my 4 chicks, one turned out to be a cockerel so I gave him away. The other 3 did great up until last summer. I went out...
Sorry I forgot to add that this will be for 4 to 5 birds max.
Cold winds in SE Texas? I'm not concerned with that. And the structure will face south. The nesting box side faces north and the coop opening faces south to allow our prevailing SE wind to keep them cool.
I’m in SE Texas so it’s really hot and humid 9 months out of the year. Previously had a store bought coop that I modified that served us well for 4 years but now ready to step it up and build something permanent.
Here’s a pic of my plan. The drawing is to scale. Total size is 8 x 16. The coop...
Thank yall for the replies.
To clarify, the spot is on more of a slope rather than a hill. I'd say there is a 8" - 10" elevation change from front to back where the coop/run will be. I want to level the ground where the structure will sit so that the whole thing sits level, not leaning one way...
Well I got about 3 years out of my modified Tractor Supply coop before Hurricane Beryl destroyed it 2 weeks ago so now I'm going to build a real coop. I really liked the coop below that was posted here and I saved the link for future reference...