# Tweaking the Coop...



## Bee

Thought I would start a thread about one of my favorite pastimes related to chickens...tweaking the coop. It's the woman's equivalent to rearranging the furniture now and again, deep cleaning the house and putting up different curtains~but in the chicken coop. 

Tell me about your coop tweaks and why you did them...I always feel such a sense of accomplishment, even for the little things. Sort of like when you really clean a room and you can't stop going back in there to look at it, smiling all the while. Gives me a good feeling!

Today I swept all the spider webs off the outside nest boxes ~felt bad about that because those guys had put in such hard work!~so that I could get to an area that was needing some changes. My coop is kind of strange as it is not your average wooden construction coop, so changes are usually very difficult due to the shape of the coop (like a hobbit house), with no square corners, level or flat surfaces.

I placed some netting in places where I had used pieces of tarp as a temporary fix..._a year ago_.  Scrubbed down the nest boxes, cleaned them out, dusted them with some pyrethrin powder and replaced nesting materials. Took down the curtains on the nest boxes for a good washing(never had nest box curtains before this and it still sounds funny to even say that!).

Then I tweaked the roosts a little, replaced the traction I had to apply to one roost because I had chosen too smooth of a sapling and the repeated foot wear had worn it even smoother. So, I placed strips of rubber stuff one uses as a nonskid solution under rugs and such...just so the fat gals don't fall off when they are jostling for positions.

Also dusted the wood of the roosts with some of the pyrethrin powder. That's a first too...just something I'm trying in the nest boxes and roosts as a preventative measure...I don't place that sort of thing anywhere else in the coop as I want all my beneficial bugs to thrive in the deep litter. I'm always experimenting with something.... 

All the chickens, the cat and the dog helped with the tweaking...whenever I'm outside, they want to be near me for some reason. This flock is not a pet flock and I could never bend down and pick one up but they do seem to want to just be near me...go figure. Little Red Hen inspected the job site, cast a critical and beady eye on my work and, by her silence, I'm assuming I had done it right.

Went up later on to take a pic of the tweaked roosts, nest boxes and coop changes....everyone seems to approve and like what was done. 

You can see the new netting I applied in the area directly above and behind the rooster and his special girls...and Little Red Hen still inspecting the quality of the work. You can also see the new rubber traction applied for the oldsters..wouldn't want one of the old gals to slip off and break a hip!  Pardon their raggedy feathers...they are molting.

So...show me your tweaks! Tell me why you are changing things...it helps me get an idea of how your coops function and gives me ideas for my own.


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## Regina L

This was a few weeks ago 
I decided to paint the inside of the coop with a cool but relaxing color!
I think they loved it!


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## Regina L

One of my daughters and I decided to make our run a "double wide" after I've found out that free ranging chickens will not happen in this household with my dogs thinking that my chicks are "interactive stuffed animals"...
We added another 4x 8 run to the existing 4 x 12 run!
I have 5 pullets and one rooster! (Can't believe I've admitted he is a HE...


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## Bee

I love it! Did you know that old mountain folk paint the ceilings of their porches that color because they say that bees and wasps will not build their nests there? And they are right! I've lived in a few old farm houses with blue porch ceilings and the wasps built nests everywhere but on those porches.


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## Bee

Rlabrum said:


> One of my daughters and I decided to make our run a "double wide" after I've found out that free ranging chickens will not happen in this household with my dogs thinking that my chicks are "interactive stuffed animals"...
> We added another 4x 8 run to the existing 4 x 12 run!
> I have 5 pullets and one rooster! (Can't believe I've admitted he is a HE...
> View attachment 11529


I love it when us ladies pick up the power tools and do our own stuff! More room is the best tweak anyone can do for chickens. If I didn't free range, I'd probably have the biggest run you've ever seen!


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## Regina L

Yup... We did it on our own... That way if its crooked its our fault, and we can change our minds on the go, without ruffling any feathers, if you know what I mean... LOL
This daughter only visits me every 2 weeks, but when she does come, she embraces all of projects as if they were hers! I love my 4 daughters and 1 son!









Finishing up our addition. That is me in there... BEFORE you guys broke the news about my Blinky's gender









Looks pretty good for a couple of clueless girls being self taught in the Internet!


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## Bee

It sure does! Girl power!!!


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## MamaHen

Rlabrum said:


> Yup... We did it on our own... That way if its crooked its our fault, and we can change our minds on the go, without ruffling any feathers, if you know what I mean... LOL
> This daughter only visits me every 2 weeks, but when she does come, she embraces all of projects as if they were hers! I love my 4 daughters and 1 son!
> 
> Finishing up our addition. That is me in there... BEFORE you guys broke the news about my Blinky's gender
> 
> Looks pretty good for a couple of clueless girls being self taught in the Internet!


Oh my heavens, did you build the coop too? Love the run, good job! I am a do-it-yourself kind of woman too! Here's a picture of the playhouse I'm building my kids (I know it's not tweaking the coop, sorry)









I am seriously thinking of adding on to my run too. Just waiting for the funds to do it. I can't let the girls free range because of my huge garden which we really rely on for food. I don't mind sharing but they don't know what thy means  haha


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## MamaHen

MamaHen said:


> Oh my heavens, did you build the coop too? Love the run, good job! I am a do-it-yourself kind of woman too! Here's a picture of the playhouse I'm building my kids (I know it's not tweaking the coop, sorry)
> 
> I am seriously thinking of adding on to my run too. Just waiting for the funds to do it. I can't let the girls free range because of my huge garden which we really rely on for food. I don't mind sharing but they don't know what thy means  haha


I should add that when the kids out grow it in 10 or so years I'll probably turn it into a second coop! Yay!


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## Bee

Excellent build! And, yes...it would be a cute coop one day. The kids would probably get a real kick out of their playhouse becoming a chicken coop. 

I found it was much easier to fence chickens _out _of a garden than to fence chickens into fence.


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## rob

very nice job. love the colour


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## bcfox26

I am trying how to figure out different roosts bars and when I decide what to go with I will redo those. I have changed the chains on the feeder and waterer do that they quit knocking into them when on the roosts. Then I eventually want to either white wash or paint the inside of the coop to be able to clean easier. Then I want to move my nesting boxes so they stick out to give more space inside the coop. Ha. Sounds like I should start over. Lol and I might need curtains on the nest boxes as not all are laying in them.


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## Regina L

Additions are fun, fox!

And thanks all for the comments!
My daughter and I feel so proud of our accomplishment. 
Also, I would suggest the light "aqua" color inside the hen house. They truly seem to enjoy the atmosphere there lol


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## Regina L

I thougt this coop over forever before I had it built. 
I wanted to see it from my bedroom and kitchen. 
I wanted to get eggs from the outside, big drawer style floor in the hen house that I can pull open and wash it, walk in run, another outside door for the hen house, nesting boxes come out to be cleaned, Ivan move the whole house and run (with some help) if I ever need to, I chicken wired the flooring in the run, so that it is "predator challenged" etc
Only thing I need now is some sort of a fence around it all, so that my younger dog quits pestering my sweet girls! 
This dog is my "test" in life! We have this love/dislike relationship. And my kids won't let me give him away... Arghhh


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## Regina L

I think my girls live their "crib" lol


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## Bee

Cute! Love the barn colors! 

The dog looks to be part standard poodle, maybe? They are supposed to be pretty smart dogs. Got a friend with a shock collar you can borrow?


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## Regina L

And Gerri's our addition this week!
If I didn't know they were not going to free range, I would have made their run 3 times that!


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## Regina L

They're both pure bred standard poodles!

Shock collar on the black one DOES NOTHING when it evolves the chickens! We just can't believe it! And all he wants to do is play!!
My old one is so much nicer!


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## Bee

All the SPs I have met have been really sweet dogs. I wouldn't mind having that breed, though they do seem to need a lot of exercise to keep them from being too bouncy and playful.

Maybe he just needs to get his butt tired out before you commence to train him...take him bikejoring! A good harness is around 30-50 bucks and it looks like amazing fun. If I lived on paved roads or had some flat land with paths, I'd be doing this with Jake every day.


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## Regina L

That's awesome, Bee. I couldn't see myself doing that now! I'm 61, and at my age, people fall down, break a hip, catch pneumonia, give their kids a lot of work, and die! Lol

I've had poodles all my life, and the SP's are super mellow 
Both of them are...
They just think the chicks are toys! I already had a scary experience with them I with this flock.


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## Bee

LOL....oh, my! You've got the scenario down pat! ROFL So funny! 

Maybe a grandkid could do the fun stuff then....  

Was wondering..have you tried any training one on one with the dog and a bird? Sort of the Cesar Milan approach? I did it with Jake..long before I had ever heard of Cesar Milan or seen any of his shows. It really worked and Jake is a hyper, twirly, jumpy dog too. When I did his training he was 5 mo. old, so he was even more twitchy then. 

Worked like a charm!


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## leviparker

Bee said:


> Excellent build! And, yes...it would be a cute coop one day. The kids would probably get a real kick out of their playhouse becoming a chicken coop.
> 
> I found it was much easier to fence chickens out of a garden than to fence chickens into fence.


Our garden is fenced and they could fit through but they don't bother much. They go all around it but not in it. So I agree!


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## Regina L

I keep forgetting to get new batteries for our "obedience" SHOCK collar...
Now that you reminded me, and may my old dog trainer in Montana NEVER read this post, I will give it a shot with Glacier (my black poodle)

On a totally different note, Bee, how do you keep track of all of your postings and people's replies to you?
I use an iPhone and although I have my notifications ON, I still forget how to see if people wrote back on any existing posts


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## MamaHen

leviparker said:


> Our garden is fenced and they could fit through but they don't bother much. They go all around it but not in it. So I agree!


Except that 40 feet of fencing for the hens is a whole lot cheaper than 200+ feet of fencing for the garden  Plus, it's all about convenience for me. I would honestly hate it if to access any part of my garden I had to go through a gate. Selfish me I guess, haha.


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## Bee

Rlabrum said:


> I keep forgetting to get new batteries for our "obedience" SHOCK collar...
> Now that you reminded me, and may my old dog trainer in Montana NEVER read this post, I will give it a shot with Glacier (my black poodle)
> 
> On a totally different note, Bee, how do you keep track of all of your postings and people's replies to you?
> I use an iPhone and although I have my notifications ON, I still forget how to see if people wrote back on any existing posts


There's a button on the top of the toolbar on the site that says "my replies" and I hit it every now and again to see if someone has responded to my posts. This site also has very little traffic, so it's easy to just hit "new posts" and see all the threads in which I have been posting as well.


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## Bee

MamaHen said:


> Except that 40 feet of fencing for the hens is a whole lot cheaper than 200+ feet of fencing for the garden  Plus, it's all about convenience for me. I would honestly hate it if to access any part of my garden I had to go through a gate. Selfish me I guess, haha.


Consider this...200 ft of deer netting(very cheap!) on push in posts that keep chickens out or metal fencing that has to keep chickens in and predators out.

That kind of fencing merely requires that you pick up a push in stake and put it to one side as you come and go. Easy peasy! 

Or..even better...electric poultry netting around the garden while it's in season that you can take off the garden when it's done and enclose the chickens in for the rest of the year! Chickens out, chickens in, good investment! Will keep out rabbits, dogs, cats and deer...and chickens! That's good garden insurance for sure!


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## leviparker

Bee said:


> Consider this...200 ft of deer netting(very cheap!) on push in posts that keep chickens out or metal fencing that has to keep chickens in and predators out.
> 
> That kind of fencing merely requires that you pick up a push in stake and put it to one side as you come and go. Easy peasy!
> 
> Or..even better...electric poultry netting around the garden while it's in season that you can take off the garden when it's done and enclose the chickens in for the rest of the year! Chickens out, chickens in, good investment! Will keep out rabbits, dogs, cats and deer...and chickens! That's good garden insurance for sure!


Save 60% or more with BEE garden insurance! 
Lol

Our garden isn't that big so it's different but it's much better for the birds to roam the yard

Happy you- happy birds- happy garden


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## Bee

Yep! I've made so many mistakes about gardens and chickens in the past, I feel compelled to help others get past them!  

I've fenced chickens in for garden season...not happy chickens. I've built sturdy, permanent fencing for the garden to keep chickens out...they found the posts and gates real handy for hopping up onto and jumping down into the garden..fixed that but always had that one chicken that could still get in. 

I've done electric wire, single strand, to keep out sheep and dogs, with chicken wire under it to keep out chickens...they went right over the chicken wire while touching the electric wire and never once got shocked. 

Finally...I got it right. Free range chickens, fenced in garden in cheap plastic, saggy netting with push in posts. No posts and gates to fly up to, no fencing that was conducive for climbing...the flimsy deer netting is something they don't like to get tangled in, so they don't try to slip under or go over. Bliss! 

Happy chickens, happy me, happy garden.


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## MamaHen

Bee said:


> Yep! I've made so many mistakes about gardens and chickens in the past, I feel compelled to help others get past them!
> 
> I've fenced chickens in for garden season...not happy chickens. I've built sturdy, permanent fencing for the garden to keep chickens out...they found the posts and gates real handy for hopping up onto and jumping down into the garden..fixed that but always had that one chicken that could still get in.
> 
> I've done electric wire, single strand, to keep out sheep and dogs, with chicken wire under it to keep out chickens...they went right over the chicken wire while touching the electric wire and never once got shocked.
> 
> Finally...I got it right. Free range chickens, fenced in garden in cheap plastic, saggy netting with push in posts. No posts and gates to fly up to, no fencing that was conducive for climbing...the flimsy deer netting is something they don't like to get tangled in, so they don't try to slip under or go over. Bliss!
> 
> Happy chickens, happy me, happy garden.


I bought that deer netting and it was awful to work with. I could hardly unwrap it without worrying about tearing it. It was very flimsy and I would have to put in a lot of posts to keep it up right (I only did maybe 25 feet of it before taking it down this last spring). For the week mine was up my hens kept trying to get past and would get their toes stuck in it and tear it, they seemed really freaked out by it. How on earth did you access your garden? You just picked it up and went under it?

Push in posts? I live in sandy/clay soil, so I'm curious to see what push in posts are cause ground around here is tough!


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## MamaHen

Bee said:


> Consider this...200 ft of deer netting(very cheap!) on push in posts that keep chickens out or metal fencing that has to keep chickens in and predators out.
> 
> That kind of fencing merely requires that you pick up a push in stake and put it to one side as you come and go. Easy peasy!
> 
> Or..even better...electric poultry netting around the garden while it's in season that you can take off the garden when it's done and enclose the chickens in for the rest of the year! Chickens out, chickens in, good investment! Will keep out rabbits, dogs, cats and deer...and chickens! That's good garden insurance for sure!


50 feet of chicken wire = $23 (at IFA) 
200 feet of cheap deer netting = $50 (on amazon) + cost of posts $30+

Sorry chickens, free ranging just won't save me that much. Maybe in the long run it might...but not worth the time and upfront money just yet. Not to mention the berry bushes not located in the garden that would need to be fenced in on the other side of the yard. guess I'm a complicated chicken lady, haha


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## leviparker

MamaHen said:


> 50 feet of chicken wire = $23 (at IFA)
> 200 feet of cheap deer netting = $50 (on amazon) + cost of posts $30+
> 
> Sorry chickens, free ranging just won't save me that much. Maybe in the long run it might...but not worth the time and upfront money just yet. Not to mention the berry bushes not located in the garden that would need to be fenced in on the other side of the yard. guess I'm a complicated chicken lady, haha


They are your chickens, just giving you some ideas. Hope you can figure something out sometime.


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