# Gonna relocate



## jn4 (Jun 21, 2012)

Not me...the pen area.
The place where my coop and run area is I want to now use for a small garden plot adjacent to the bean patch thats there now.
The is a small wooded "nature" area on the left about 30 yards over that I want to build a new coop in. The cop/pen has been where its at for 8 years now and that soil should be very fertile.

What I want to do now is take the wooded area and fence in an 75x150 or so space and build a new roost/hen house there. There are about 15 trees there and some smaller bushes and such, but I have several hens that love tree roosts anyway, so I won't have to do much of a clean out vegetation wise.
It will be a project for sure. And It will not be straight runs due to the tree locations, but it will follow the natural lay of the area.

None of the lumber on the old pen is in good enough shape to tear down and rebuild...plus the birds will need to stay there until I'm done with the new spot. 
I'm gonna need several rolls of HW cloth ...several rolls of cattle fence and cage wire.....and Im going to need to trench about 150 feet for my power line....oh...and Im going to need some more tin roofing sheets. Some of the left over fence in the barn will help out also.

All in all it's going to be a fair size little project....I want enough space for up to 40 birds this time.....no more crowding. Hope to have it completed before planting season starts........but we all know how that "HOPE" thing works out......you know hope in one hand and sh*t in the other..

Anyway....that's what I'm going to be up to for a spell.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Well, I was going to ask for pics but then I got tired reading all of that work you have planned and decided to take a nap instead.


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## rosco47 (Jul 6, 2015)

sounds like quite the project. *grabs popcorn* I can't wait to watch it unfold since you are going to post constant updates...right?


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## jn4 (Jun 21, 2012)

Indeed it will be Rosco..a lot of work .But I have cut out a Joshua tree and a boat load of heavy thick thorn vines today to get a look see and a feel for it. If I do decide to bite the bullet and go for it I will post a shot now and then as things progress....right now it's just woods..


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

You've got your work cut out for you...making me break out in a sweat phew!
Too bad we dont live closer, I'd help you out.


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## jn4 (Jun 21, 2012)

That would be nice Dawg...speacialy now that my Son wants to back out...he found every excuse today while we were cutting trees as to why this won't work...heck maybe he is right and I'm an old crippled fool who can't see it.....but I am also stubborn and not real good but I am slow.


A thing he did say that I kinda agree with ,..is that because its so heavily wooded i'm going to have constant predator problems....


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

jn4 said:


> That would be nice Dawg...speacialy now that my Son wants to back out...he found every excuse today while we were cutting trees as to why this won't work...heck maybe he is right and I'm an old crippled fool who can't see it.....but I am also stubborn and not real good but I am slow.
> 
> A thing he did say that I kinda agree with ,..is that because its so heavily wooded i'm going to have constant predator problems....


Hot wire should work for you. Maybe laying an apron around the base of the pen as best as possible.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I can attest to the hot wire. Mine has done a good job protecting my birds for nearly three years now.


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## jn4 (Jun 21, 2012)

I use hot wire now.....lthough the pen is in an open area....he thinks ***** could drop down from above......and it might be hard to close up all the overhead due to the trees.......Maybe..

I really want to do this,....with the natural look and all......maybe I need another design..


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Can you do the hoop type enclosure like Zamora did? Are they going to be in a secure coop at night? 

I wouldn't worry about anything dropping out of the trees during the day so if they're sleeping quarters are secure even if something did come through the top they can't get at them.


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## jn4 (Jun 21, 2012)

I can do a hoop style top if I make the run smaller than what I have planned...yes. And that may be the best prudent thing to do...


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## jn4 (Jun 21, 2012)

Robin the plan for the coop is going to be open air...kinda like what Rosco says he has..
Sorta like an Aviary


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Be sure and put a rock or pour a concrete footing around the coop AND enclosure. We covered the whole run (24×24 ft). We have woods on 3 sides and have plenty of predators. The only time I lose any chickens is when they are out of their secure enclosure. We even covered the window with hard ware cloth just in case a **** tried to come over the edge of the roof. They are wicked smart creatures!


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## jn4 (Jun 21, 2012)

Yup got all that included in my material work sheet.....might go deeper with the footing trench this time though.......only did 6 inches deep when I constructed the first area.

The fence area I have now is about 40x75. The outer perimeter is chain link dog fence...the coop house is 4x4 framed with chicken wire enclosed on 3 sides at the bottom and the roof and side panels are all barn roof tin sections.... All the inner fence is set 6 in. deep in sakrette and 2 strands of hot wire run the entire outer fence ....it's very secure....the only problem I have had was back in the summer somebody cut thru the fence while I was in Columbia at the VA and allowed two Pit Bulls in.......


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## jn4 (Jun 21, 2012)

I will be heading in to town come thursday to get a price on the materials......i'm sure it will be sky high ......might need to play the lottery.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Check out wayfair.com for prices on hardware cloth and other wire fencing. And delivery is free to the door.

I have open air pens with roots and a dog house in each one [three]. A racoon got into a pen from a hole in the wire on the roof. You may be better off putting a coop or aviary where you can enclose the whole thing. Because something will kill the chickens if there's a way. And I have 5 gallon buckets on pulleys to lower over the feed bowls from outside the pens.

Pictures?


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## jn4 (Jun 21, 2012)

Thanx for the WayFair link..
Good price on the HW cloth... In their Accessory page they have a nice selection of rain barrel and water collection parts..I would like to add a water catch to the coop.

I found field fence..2in squares 72in high by 100ft rolls at 249.99 it's live stock grade...which is what I need ,..its just costly


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## rosco47 (Jul 6, 2015)

jn, when i built my coop i bought only cull lumber and materials from Lowes and Home Depot. it was all 70-80% off. plywood, 2x4s, 4x4s, OSB and tons of 2x6s. even some busted bags of sac-crete. it took me about a month and a half to accumulate enough to start but i saved about 60% when it was all said and done...


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## jn4 (Jun 21, 2012)

Rosco I had not even thought of that. 
Your suggestion makes better sense. Yeah it may take a month or 3 to stock up on the materials......but if I can save a grand..then hey!

Also I was thinking this morning that I could get by with a much shorter free run area, I do free range during the day and really don't need a 150ft. enclosed run even for 30 to 40 birds,..do I?

This is why I posted the thread..I wanted y'alls opinions and ideas.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Unless Rosco has deceived us again, his coop is open air but secure. Heck, mine is too since it's a large dog pen. It's under a small pole barn, has a wire top and the hot wire around the bottom.


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## rosco47 (Jul 6, 2015)

i just stop by HD and Lowes a few times a week and sift through their cull piles. you can get "oops paint" from paint stores too for like half off.

my setup is entirely covered with tin roof. coop and run both.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Yea, oops paint is fun. Good idea about the cull piles. Gotta go look.

jn, wire fencing is not cheap. But I've reused mine several times for different projects. I hardly ever throw fencing away unless it's been reused too many times.


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## jn4 (Jun 21, 2012)

seminolewind said:


> Yea, oops paint is fun. Good idea about the cull piles. Gotta go look.
> 
> jn, wire fencing is not cheap. But I've reused mine several times for different projects. I hardly ever throw fencing away unless it's been reused too many times.


Nor do I...but I can't resuse my currently used fence as yet because it STILL houses my birds. But anytime I replace fencing I use the old fence out in the fields to section off garden plots. The only thing in use now that will not be reused is the lumber...it was salvaged wood to start with and mostly rotted and deteriorated....all that will go to the "Burn Pile"


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## jn4 (Jun 21, 2012)

robin416 said:


> Unless Rosco has deceived us again, his coop is open air but secure. Heck, mine is too since it's a large dog pen. It's under a small pole barn, has a wire top and the hot wire around the bottom.


What I use now is very much the same...it's a 3 sided open front coop. The top is covered with TIN barn roof panels and the sides are as well. It stands on 4x4 posts and the bottom is 4ft above ground level. There are two areas..one for perch and the other for nesting. both have cage wire bottoms and I lay roof shingle over that so the bedding hay doesn't fall thru. When it becomes soiled with poop I just dump off the shingles...the hay and poop falls to the ground and it's easy to rake out for the compost pile.

All of that sits inside the compound that's surrounded with Live-stock fence and an outer run thats 1 ft. out from that is made up of Dog Kennel fencing and then my runs of hot wire. It really has become a mini
FT.KNOX.....
I know all that sounds like over kill but I live adjacent to a National Wildlife Refuge area and the wild critters are thick as thieves.. Bobcats,.."bigger cats"....Coyote....even on occasion a black swamp bear has been seen the area...
We learned early on, after losing goats, turkeys and even 2 calves , that plain old live stock fence didn't even slow down "Nature"

So..the plan I have/want, is to build a larger setup based on what I have now. But instead of ad-hock add ons, get it all made up from the git-go and have it blend into the wooded area with a more natural look.

My Son thinks I want to dayum much...


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Tell your son to be quiet and that I told him so.

No addons? Really? Unless you get out like I did there are going to be addons in your future. Just build the new so adding on will be one with the existing.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Our coop is made completely of sheet iron odds and ends that were given to us. The wood for the frame as well as the wood for the fencing frame were all from Lowes cull pile at a fractionof the cost. Its warped in places and looks a little "backwoods " but it works fine. The only thing that we bought new was the chicken wire and weld wire. We didn't have any to reuse. I think we've got around $500 for a 8x8 coop and a 24 x24 covered run.


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## jn4 (Jun 21, 2012)

robin416 said:


> Tell your son to be quiet and that I told him so.
> 
> No addons? Really? Unless you get out like I did there are going to be addons in your future. Just build the new so adding on will be one with the existing.


LOL yeah I told him the same thing!

No addons, I mean I want to go ahead and plan out all the things I've learned over the years and all and just include them from the start,...heat lights...ventilation..watering system..enough nesting boxes and roosting poles...all that.........that way anytime I need to do any work on it will be to fix or repair whats there... And I want it to look nice and not patchwork like the current one is. The older I've gotten the more I hate to have to patch up shoddy junk.,,ya know?

It's looking like this may well be a longer term deal than I first thought. Imma gonna build this to last ..because im soon not going to be able to manually do these things anymore...that day is coming fast.

Appreciate all y'alls good ideas!


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## jn4 (Jun 21, 2012)

Nanny,..that looks very neat and tidy!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

jn4 said:


> Nanny,..that looks very neat and tidy!


It does, doesn't it? I think we see all of the faults in our own setups while the rest of the world sees a well thought out setup.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Gramps put a lot of thought into the building of it. He has added on to the run twice!


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## sswanee17 (May 17, 2015)

I wonder if Home Depot has Cull piles. I've bought the oops paint before but never knew of the other. H.D. Is the only place I go. It's close to me. I'm a lazy driver but would go farther for bargains or freebies.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Nanny, that's a great work of art using cull wood. If you see a house being built, dumpster diving is great too.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Good idea, Seminole! I'd have to do it though, because gramps wouldn't be caught dead doing it!


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## jn4 (Jun 21, 2012)

We have a Lowes near us...about 23 miles from here. I may go talk with the WH manager to see if they will sell the culls. That's gonna save afew bucks.


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## rosco47 (Jul 6, 2015)

yes, HD has cull piles. i usually pick through and get the better stuff. i would say that more than half of it is perfectly fine. the lumber might be a little bowed or have a knot hole knocked out of an edge. i find alot of 10, 14, and 16 foot pieces of lumber but only like the last 2-3 feet will be bowed or warped. plywood will have a busted corner or edge sometimes. most of it is treated wood too.

talk with the manager and find out what time everyday they run the lumber aisles and pick the culls out. then make a point to go right around that time. it normally goes fast...


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Wow. Good idea!


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## rosco47 (Jul 6, 2015)

yesterday's cull pile. not much to get excited about except 3/4" plywood and some 2x's
mondays are usually pretty good bc everyone picks through lumber for weekend projects


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

I will keep the Mondays in mind!


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