Alright so I have decided to pick a few breeds and colors to focus on. I am doing 6 coops and runs. They will be all lined up.
I have 2/6 completely done. But it seems I spent a ton on supplies, and still my coop is neiter cute or wonderfully working. I am seekping opinions for better ideas on the others.
Here are some simple drawn plans of what it will look like.
I have 2"x4" welded wire fencing around the ouside perimeter. Then chicken wire dividing the pens. One of the pens has two layers of fencing the welded wire and chicken wire. It's extra protection so the pen can be used for growing babies. That coop also has a brooder like box inside, with a hardward cloth front, and a heat light that small babies can be put in. Or it can be opened and made more room for hens.
The coops are simple plywood. They come in sheet of 8'x4'. So for the two smaller coops we used 2 8' sheets for the long sides, then cut on sheet in half for the short sides. Then a 8' sheet for the top. We angled the roof and put hardware cloth over the vents. The large coop is the same only we won't be cutting a sheet in half for the sides.
It works pretty well. The floor is rock (we will be covering the coop floors and runs with sand as soon as we can), then we have shaving inside on the floors. There is two nest boxes in each house, a few perches, and one wall is on hinges for cleaning, then we also have a small door to reach in and get the eggs.
Everything, the coops, the runs has a 2"x6" barrier underground to keep predators from getting in. And the top of the runs has wire over it.
The only problems with it has been water. When it rains the entire run gets flooded, witht the boards on the botton it holds all the water in. We have added tarps over half of the runs for shade and to deter some of the water. But if we get a really heavy rain water seeps under the boards in the coop, and the thing fills up with an inch or so of water. We had some expensive babies in there, and while on vacation an inland hurrcain hit and flooded the botton. The babies stayed on the floor even though they had perches, and nearly 20 drowned in the mud. We are hoping with adding layers of rock and sand it will help the water drain.
The houses are plain little squares. And although the only real problem is the flooding, which we hope to fix with sand. It would be nice for others to give their ideas on making the remaing ones we need to build better.
Our design works, but it looks so slobby, and surely there is a cheaper, enated way to do this. Please help. All ideas are appreciated!
I will hopefully add some pictures soon.
I have 2/6 completely done. But it seems I spent a ton on supplies, and still my coop is neiter cute or wonderfully working. I am seekping opinions for better ideas on the others.
Here are some simple drawn plans of what it will look like.
I have 2"x4" welded wire fencing around the ouside perimeter. Then chicken wire dividing the pens. One of the pens has two layers of fencing the welded wire and chicken wire. It's extra protection so the pen can be used for growing babies. That coop also has a brooder like box inside, with a hardward cloth front, and a heat light that small babies can be put in. Or it can be opened and made more room for hens.
The coops are simple plywood. They come in sheet of 8'x4'. So for the two smaller coops we used 2 8' sheets for the long sides, then cut on sheet in half for the short sides. Then a 8' sheet for the top. We angled the roof and put hardware cloth over the vents. The large coop is the same only we won't be cutting a sheet in half for the sides.
It works pretty well. The floor is rock (we will be covering the coop floors and runs with sand as soon as we can), then we have shaving inside on the floors. There is two nest boxes in each house, a few perches, and one wall is on hinges for cleaning, then we also have a small door to reach in and get the eggs.
Everything, the coops, the runs has a 2"x6" barrier underground to keep predators from getting in. And the top of the runs has wire over it.
The only problems with it has been water. When it rains the entire run gets flooded, witht the boards on the botton it holds all the water in. We have added tarps over half of the runs for shade and to deter some of the water. But if we get a really heavy rain water seeps under the boards in the coop, and the thing fills up with an inch or so of water. We had some expensive babies in there, and while on vacation an inland hurrcain hit and flooded the botton. The babies stayed on the floor even though they had perches, and nearly 20 drowned in the mud. We are hoping with adding layers of rock and sand it will help the water drain.
The houses are plain little squares. And although the only real problem is the flooding, which we hope to fix with sand. It would be nice for others to give their ideas on making the remaing ones we need to build better.
Our design works, but it looks so slobby, and surely there is a cheaper, enated way to do this. Please help. All ideas are appreciated!
I will hopefully add some pictures soon.
