# The Coop



## chicalot (Jun 5, 2013)

My ladies have been in their new house for more than a week now, so decided to toss some pics up here. Mind you the run is not predator proof... it's just to keep the chickens in for now. Still have lots to do but have come a long way. 
We started with a deck someone had removed from their house. We've had it sitting in our field for a while and it was very handy for this and saved lots of money. We only purchased some extra lumber, metal, new metal cutting blade,and chicken wire and stayed around 250 dollars. Already had the doors to repurpose and fence posts. 

I told my husband not to put the nests so high but he didn't listen so the Marans are roosting there. I asked for the built in nest with an egg door. So they were smarties and you see what I got.. but handy for storing moth balls, golf balls, etc.. Also you can see the proximity to the hunting dogs to help with predator control. Thinking on down the hill behind the dogs will be a calf pen that the chickens will also have access to. That's in the distant future.


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

Very cute! Now..you can let hubby clean out the poop in the nests..the smarty pants!!! 

Yes..the nest boxes are wayyyyyy too high...tell him we are all laughing at him and maybe he'll be embarrassed enough to lower them for you! 

If not, get out the power tools...nothing scares a man more than a women getting out _his _tools and heading for something _he_ has constructed.

LOVE the feature he put in on your roosting ladder...I'll give him props for the natural roosting and the ease in removing the roosts from the floor space in case you need to maneuver back there. Good man.


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## chicalot (Jun 5, 2013)

You're right. I can't start any project that he doesn't want to finish for me so grabbing the power tools would do it. He even finishes the meals I cook if he is in the house, lol. He's already thinking of how he will change things around. Very proud of what he did. If he hadn't nailed the nests in so darn good, it would be much easier to move them.


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

Coop looks great! It took me a long while of trials to figure out what worked best for me and my girls for nest boxes. Same for the roosts too so I didn't make anything permanent for a year. I'm a slow decision maker sometimes.


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## chicalot (Jun 5, 2013)

We have the nest boxes lower and the ladies aren't roosting on them now! I'm going to try a high roost with poop board on the opposite..it's on the to do list.

View attachment 11892

And some pics just cause..


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

You know? You have some really good yard debris that would make some wonderful deep litter...then you could skip that ol' poop board and start a good coop environment going that you wouldn't have to clean out, only add to. 

Just need some really good ventilation in the coop and it should be a great addition to the coop.


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## chicalot (Jun 5, 2013)

Ive been considering deep litter but I just don't know if I should since it's a floored coop. It worries me a bit like I might mess it up and have a lethal poop mess..lol. Both sides all the way across the top are open and covered with wire and the roof has ventilation.. I dont know what it's called on the roof ..the things metal roof have all the way across the middle. I've read some on it and may study it more.


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

Yeah...just place a piece of linoleum down to waterproof your floor and it will be okay. I had deep litter for a couple of years on an old oak floor and it didn't suffer a bit, worked out great and no more raking it out!!! YAY! That was the payoff...not to mention the decrease in flies and smells, the dust of raking out feces, etc. 

Helped me, helped my birds, helped my lungs and theirs...kept them warm in the winter and gave them something to do on snowy days when they couldn't forage much.


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## chicalot (Jun 5, 2013)

I have linoleum squares down and they're just peeling right back up. They might have been a less than great idea. I could probably toss in some woods dirt and more pine and have a decent start and the dirt could bury the tiles to keep them down.


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

That could work! Most folks use sheet linoleum but I'd just see how yours work. They may still let moisture into your wood floor and your hubby would have a cow, most likely, but you could even just lay down a couple of layers of 4 mil plastic under your bedding and tack it to the base of the walls as a protection. 

It's worth the effort.


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## chicalot (Jun 5, 2013)

I'll discuss it with him. It's worth giving more thought. Cleaning isn't the fun part of chickens for sure or any animal for that matter. I hauled out an entire wheel barrel of bunny poop this week! The floor is treated lumber if that makes a difference.


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

It does! And it's one more reason you don't want your birds walking around on it barefooted...some of the chemicals they treat that wood with isn't the most healthy thing to have underfoot~arsenic, for one.


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