# The Chicken Ranch's humble beginnings



## zamora

Hello again! I thought I would share with you some of the pictures I have taken of our "Chicken Ranch". We had built the coop several years ago and had a few 'wild caught' chickens but had a predator tear into and kill all of our chickens. We went a lot of years missing keeping them and have recently decided to take the plunge back into it. The coop is a work in progress but we have made it as predator proof as we possibly can and then added the chickens. This will be a progression thread so will add new pictures as it comes together. I hope you enjoy!

This is the view from what we call the 'stupid bench'. It's so named because we sit there and watch the chickens and hours later wonder where the time has gone.

The beginnings of the coop:










There is a small chicken door on the right side of the coop that opens into the welded wire fenced yard. There are buried concrete blocks all the way around and concrete blocks on top of those all the way around the yard as well. The plan is to plant some pretty things in the blocks that will cover the ugly blocks and provide some snacks for the girls.










The entire yard will be covered for protection but they are only turned out when we are home just to be on the safe side.










My husband and one of our Chiweenies surveying the beginnings of the framework to cover the turn out.










We had to remove that old dead tree before putting the framework up and just hadn't moved it yet. Here is a view from the 'bottom side'.










Will post more pictures as it comes together. Hope you liked!


----------



## robin416

Nice big run. If I'm seeing right and there's only four chickens you could put a temp fence up so that one side is growing while they destroy the other, then move them once they're done.

Its hard to tell on the coop but I have two suggestions just in case. Where you have the wire attached to the wood posts for the coop, over lay that with another piece of wood. ***** can and do pull wire away to gain access. I actually had them tear through poultry wire, luckily I had two layers there so it gave up.

And looks at where the birds roost, can a **** reach through the wire to grab a bird? Believe me, they can climb. I had paw prints on the outside of my old coop where they tried to climb in through the soffits. Luckily I had those sealed up or I would have found devastation in my Silkie coop.


----------



## zamora

Thanks for the suggestions! Actually we have 6 hens and one roo, the yard will be expanded as well. If you look at the last picture taken from the 'bottom side', all that will be fenced and used to rotate the land so one yard can recover while the other one is being used. I raised horses my entire life and totally understand pasture rotation. 

We are planning on putting boards all the way around the bottom to halfway up on coop itself, the area where they roost will also be reinforced due to raccoons as well, we are getting it together bit by bit to enhance the lives of the chickens, my husband jumped the gun a bit getting them before everything was finished.

I'm also going to paint and decorate so keep tuning in to see as the Chicken Ranch grows and grows!


----------



## robin416

I know what I forgot to ask, where's the stupid bench? I get the bench. Watching chickens is like watching fish in an aquarium there is just something so relaxing about it. 

I had ***** actually scale a wood building utilizing the outside pen to try and get in through the soffits. Dang things are smart. Why in the world they would even think that was an access point is scary. 

The run is going to be so large it will almost be like free ranging. Lucky birds.


----------



## powderhogg01

this is looking quite nice indeed. the coop is an open air design? I like that, my smaller coop is similar. I have solid ply around the bottoms, the tops are left open to let the maximum summer breeze through.. I place ply over the opening in the winter to keep in the warm, so far it worked great, no frostbite this last winter... the same could not be said about winters prior. 
my only question is what material is the big archs over the yard?


----------



## robin416

Probably PVC pipe. That's used a lot for tractors.


----------



## zamora

Thanks for the feedback, I'll take some more pictures this weekend as we have been working a little bit each evening when we get home to get that run covered as quickly as possible. I heard coyotes the other night which is NOT good. We are going to have hot wire around the outside whether we wanted to or not.

The arches are PVC pipe, it's easy to manipulate and hooking it together is easy peasy. We are securing the netting to it with zip ties which again is quite easy.

I'll take more pics and show you where the stupid bench is in relation to the coop. I'm glad you all think my birds are going to be lucky. I wish we could allow them to actually free range but we have too much dangerous (to chickens) wildlife so they will have to be content with a rather large run.

We intend for the top to be open air at least during the summer months and we are enclosing the bottom part with board and batten siding. I'm researching solar powered fans and/or a misting system to keep the girls cool during the hottest part of the summer. When it gets cold, we can put up heavy plastic on the north side which will keep the temps good for them.


----------



## robin416

Yes, your birds are lucky. Now I'm going to head to town so I can do something different with mine. All because of what I'm seeing with your set up.

I can attest to how effective the hot wire is. Its stopped three attempts to get up close and personal to my birds' pen. There might have been others but I saw where something trying to dig under the coop and twice I heard something scream. (must have touched the wire with a nose)


----------



## Nm156

Looking good.


----------



## zamora

robin416 said:


> Yes, your birds are lucky. Now I'm going to head to town so I can do something different with mine. All because of what I'm seeing with your set up.


Now you HAVE to let me know what you are referring to because I'm literally "winging this". LOL, just a little chicken humor.


----------



## robin416

Its a long story. I got out of the breeding business four years ago. I kept my old non producing birds and one that had become a pet. When we moved I put them in a large dog pen with no run. Its in a bad spot for doing a run so I haven't done it. And I've felt bad about it. They want out but the hawks, feral cats make it impossible to just turn them out. 

I bought some wire to make them a small yard. I'll be going out in a few to get that set up so they can spend some time out there. It won't be secure so I'm going to have to keep a close eye on them while they're out.


----------



## zamora

That's awesome, I'm glad you are going to make them a run so they can have some 'outside time'.

We worked on the turnout some last night. I didn't realize just how much poultry netting it was going to take to cover this run. I should have taken out stock in the company first. LOL

The really good news is that the newest three hens have finally been integrated into the resident flock post quarantine! It took some time and of course there are still some arguments over pecking order but all in all, they are doing well. I'll be happy when they all molt and get new feathers. The new three are pretty raggedy looking, although they looked like that when they got here. (rescues)


----------



## robin416

It was a short lived outing. Maybe two hours. No telling how many times I checked on them but when I went out the last time I realized we had a storm rolling in. Herding chickens is like pushing a rope. No sooner did I get back in to the house and the sky opened up. If they all weren't so old I'd do something more secure and permanent and then I wouldn't have to keep checking.

With a run that big I have no doubt how much wire its going to take. I know co-ops often have huge rolls of the stuff, not like those small pieces that TSC carries.


----------



## zamora

LOL--pushing a rope. My boss says that sometimes. His other phrase is 'herding cats'.

At least they got a couple of hours of outside time. Do you give yours treats? To our chickens, I am the 'treat lady'. We could turn them out into the wild blue yonder and they would all follow me. I give them some bread every evening while my husband is in the coop gathering eggs and now when I show up, they all come running up to me.

It also makes it very easy to get them into the coop, all I have to do is throw a few pieces of bread in the coop and they all go running. I know, they are spoiled. 

They also get leftovers from our garden. They are fools for turnip greens!


----------



## robin416

Mine like mustard, other greens not so much. They do get treats but usually only first thing in the morning. And they're keyed more to what they should have and will eat. 

All of mine are old. The youngest is five or six, Chicklett and her two brothers. On up to ten for my one roo. They're Silkies and following me around is just not in their nature. Although the two seven year old Hamburgs can get under foot when I don't need them being up close and personal.


----------



## zamora

I FINALLY got the time/remembered to get you a picture of the stupid bench this weekend.










It's just across the driveway from the coop/run and is under two really nice sized trees. I'm thinking about planting a pink dogwood just behind the bench.

Oh, my husband had just pulled the waterers out for cleaning as you can see in the picture above. He went to turn on the hose and I noticed a couple of hens and Big Red pecking in the concrete block that one of the waterers had been on. I didn't think twice about it because bugs get under there so I thought that's what they were after. Nope...it was a marauder that had to be relocated. She's under our house now helping to control the rodent population that I'm sure is there as well. She is lucky we are snake people. LOL










Sorry for the horrible quality photo, the chiweenies were trying to climb up my legs to get the snake. I love 'em they are so helpful. 

We managed to finish covering the rest of the run with the poultry netting and have made a few decisions about re-doing some of the interior of the coop. Next project is to start on the walls, they are to be slats on the bottom half all the way around. It sounds odd but I'll post pictures as it comes along.

Also, you can see the mister we installed (white tubing) that has since been relocated to the first PVC pipe covering the yard. It was too wet inside the coop but where they are now located, they mist into the coop and it for some reason is staying drier. I don't know, as long as the chickens have some 'air conditioning'.


----------



## robin416

I'd get the book out but it's easier to ask, what the heck kind of snake is that? It's not a black snake, which is what I usually find around my chickens.

I installed my misters a couple of weeks ago. They are on the outside three sides of the pen that the birds live in. It does drop the temps significantly when it's hotter than blue blazes out there.

Maybe I should tell you my stupid bench is a five gallon bucket turned upside down. Of course it makes it harder for two people to sit there but it is easier to move around. Or fill it with stuff to move from point A to point B. 

I get the slat idea, protection but maintaining air movement. Where I am there is rarely air movement during the Summer so a fan is needed. You might have to hang tarps during the Winter time if you get strong winds. I do here so tarps are needed to protect the birds in the Winter months.


----------



## zamora

It is a grey rat snake. Their patterns and colors can vary depending upon their range but they are pretty common and most of the time they are the ones people find in their barns and chicken houses. They will gorge themselves on eggs and/chicks if they can get to them but generally skedaddle from adult chickens. Losing a few eggs here and there won't hurt us much so we would rather have the snake around because they actually prefer rats.

I used to use a 5 gallon bucket and there are a bunch around here but since I have a broken hip, it's difficult to sit on one now. Also it's more fun to say the stupid bench rather than the stupid bucket. 

We generally have air movement on our place since we are located at the top of a hill so that's a good thing. We also don't have power to the chicken coop so a fan would be ideal but not practical right now. I looked into solar powered fans but my bank account scoffed at that one.


We have TONS of heavy duty plastic that we plan on putting up around the top this winter if needed. Thanks Hurricane Katrina. Where are you located if you don't mind me asking?


----------



## robin416

SE Alabama. I got Katrina and Rita when we lived up in mid South TN. Nothing fun about either one that far North, I can not imagine what it was like being so close to them. Of course now that we live closer to the gulf I might regret the move here. 

Agree, stupid bucket lacks something in the saying.

I'm not seeing a lot of snakes here yet. Might be because we're not all that close to open water. I saw plenty of black snakes in TN but none here so far. My cats had themselves a little garter snake a month ago, I rescued and put it out in a patch of sun. 

If we get anything like the hurricanes the plastic may not hold. I used the stuff that you put under concrete to put around my pens in TN, they didn't hold. But when I put a batten over top it did do better. 

Before I moved my birds to their new coop with power to it I had an extension cord running 200 feet to the coop to keep a fan running. It was a pain in the neck because I had to remember to move it every time I wanted to mow.


----------



## zamora

I'm SE MS so we should have similar weather. I know about moving the extension cord before mowing, it's just like having to move all the hoses before mowing as well. Our problem is the closest outlet is more than 300 feet away so an extension cord is not an option. We are going to hope the misting system will work to keep them cool. 

Not much holds up during hurricanes so if we lose the plastic, it's ok because we have TONS more.


----------



## robin416

LOL on the lots more plastic. 

I've already decided what is left of my flock will be moved if we get hit here. They're too old to stand up to a tropical storm or hurricane. I can't put them in our garage because it's jam packed. We really need that pole barn. But we do have a breezeway that I can close in if needed to or a bedroom with no carpet. 

The biggest difference is that you're probably getting something in the way of air movement from the gulf. I get nothing here during the Summer. Something I wish I had checked before we bought this place.

I want a control that will turn the misters on and off during the day. Leaving it on wastes water and makes too much of a mess, so I'm in and out several times a day taking care of that. And if I have to go to the city for the day, I don't want to leave it on while I'm gone.


----------



## zamora

I would love a control for the misters and am currently searching for the perfect one.

On another note, look what we found in the chicken coop last night:










Please pardon my husband's state of undress, it's common where we live. No, this is not the same snake from the other day. I know they look alike to those that are not as well versed in reptiles as we are but trust me, this one is a LOT bigger. (and smellier) She was placed under the house with the previous legless one we found.

Grey Rat snake #2


----------



## robin416

You need to figure out how to mark them if this keeps up. I can see them returning to the coop area if they're not finding enough forage under the house. Add in that under the house gets no warming sunshine and you're liable to find both of them back at the coop. When I relocated I went way down the road from our house and turned them loose. Of course hubs thinks I'm nuts. Probably a few on this forum too. 

They do exist, I think it's Farmtek that has the misters listed with a timer. But they are very pricey. Very.


----------



## zamora

LOL, we don't have to mark them, they have identifying marks already on them so we can tell them apart. Actually, this particular gal was smart enough to find her way to the barn (on the other side of the property, several acres away). We saw her again yesterday. She will be happy and well fed down there. Rats galore.

I'm still researching timers and for the moment, we are getting our neighbor to turn them on around 10 am which is when it starts getting warm (HOT) here.


----------



## robin416

For me it's the humidity at the moment. It's not wanting to drop below 70%. The misters help some but not nearly as well as when the humidity is lower.


----------



## zamora

*****UPDATES*****

Ok, I did go ahead and buy a timer ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=1-2&keywords=gilmour water timers&pldnSite=1).

It really works great and has an override so you can use the hose without disrupting the misting system. I had to get the double outlet because we have two hoses operating from that one spigot.

The netting has now been complete! YAY! If I could just get DH to clip off the zip ties now, I would be a happy camper. (They look like worms to me).

Here is the lean-to that we built this weekend. We will be framing up two sides to protect the items inside and putting down concrete pavers to help keep moisture off the bottom of the feed cans.










I can't believe I forgot to take pics of the finished run. Oh well, it will keep you all coming back for more.

Hope you had as fruitful a weekend as we had.


----------



## rosco47

great post. thanks for sharing!
I really like your open coop setup. where do you live? I take it you have mild winters?


----------



## zamora

rosco47 said:


> great post. thanks for sharing!
> I really like your open coop setup. where do you live? I take it you have mild winters?


Thanks roscoe47 it's a work in progress, tweaking as we go.

We live in South Mississippi, about 30 minutes north of the Gulf Coast. Mild winters? Hmmmm. If by mild you mean we don't get snow on a regular basis, then yes, they are mild. What a lot of people don't understand is the humidity this close to the water is INSANE! It's almost always high so when the temperature drops below freezing (as it is wont to do in the winter), it's bone chilling cold. I Do mean bone chilling. Add a little wind and it's miserable.

I have lived in other states so have plenty to compare it to. That being said, I love it here and for a few weeks out of the year (summer and winter) it's not paradise but I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

Stay tuned for the progress on the coop. I promise my ladies won't be cold this winter.


----------



## robin416

I know exactly what you're talking about, Zamora. I've lived all over the country myself and the south with it's heat and humidity is something no one understands until they experience for themselves. My humidity doesn't stay quite as high in Winter but I've lived in other places where it did and it does make one cold right down to their bones. 

Heck, during the drought in TN I got to experience what it's like to move out West with no humidity. That heat is way different and so much more comfortable, even when the temps are above 100, compared to the lower temps of the deeper South with it's humidity.


----------



## rosco47

Living in your westerly neighboring state, I feel your pain. The humidity is a heat index/wind chill multiplier


----------



## zamora

Considering the heat has been in the triple digits lately, the coop isn't coming along as quickly as we hoped it would. We did manage to get some more done, putting up the walls on the lean-to to protect the feed cans from the rain. We let the chickens out for about 1/2 hour last evening right before roosting time and they had a ball.

Behind the 'stupid bench' scratching up bugs:



















Here is a picture of the lean-to with the feed can inside. You can also see our PVC feeders in this picture.










The outside covered run finally fully closed in:



















Freshly cleaned and bedded:



























Yep, there is yet another grey rat snake in that pillowcase awaiting transport far away. Poor chicken has to start sitting on the nest all over...again.

Note to self: save up for hardware cloth.


----------



## robin416

As big as your run is, I didn't even think about you letting them free range at all.


----------



## zamora

robin416 said:


> As big as your run is, I didn't even think about you letting them free range at all.


Spoiled rotten, they are! 

Oh and I apologize for the lack of quality photos, it was so steamy I couldn't keep the camera from fogging up!


----------



## robin416

I get the steamy. Yesterday was the first day in over two weeks that it wasn't all that bad out there. I think we were down near 50% most of the day, I haven't checked yet this AM to see how the day is starting.


----------



## rosco47

thinking about hiring someone to build my new coop...know anyone qualified...??? 
youre doing a quality job. that's a 5-star egg layin resort!


----------



## robin416

Rosco, you know darned good and well there is no one out there that can build the new coop like you can. It's been a while since you've talked about them but it seems to me you had it worked out, in your mind at least.


----------



## rosco47

haha, I finished the brooder this weekend and had a lot of tilling and other loose ends to take care of. kinda waiting for a little cooler weekend before a tackle the coop. I have a plan, just waiting to start. also have been collecting cull lumber from HD and Lowes when they have stuff I will need. I would rather save 75% on something that chickens are just going to defecate on anyways haha 
chicks won't arrive until mid august, so technically I have a couple months to get the new coop built and fortified.


----------



## zamora

5 Star? Why thank you kind sir. You would probably be even more impressed if you knew that between the coop and the run, we bought 2 x 4 welded wire, poultry netting, zip ties and some U nails. Everything else and I mean everything has been re-purposed. The coop was originally hunting dog runs, we just configured it differently when we put it back together. Even the tin roof came from something else prior.

We have a six stall barn on the other end of the property that's made from old lumber we got from taking down another old barn and making it fit our needs. We do a lot of that kind of stuff.


----------



## robin416

Zamora, that kind of repurposing drives my hubs nuts. He hates it when I do it. I think it's because he started off as a union carpenter in the way back when. Although the roof on my old Silkie coop was repurposed metal siding from a commercial building. He did that one, not me. And he did go along with me when I said let's use the wood from the stupid decks we took down outside of the house.


----------



## seminole wind

This was an enjoyable thread! Love the hoop thing. I haven't had any coyotes or anything with 4 legs yet. I had hawks about 7 years ago but the crows moved in and stayed. They keep the crows away, except when the crows are sitting on eggs. That's the one time I lost a Polish pullet.


----------



## robin416

We've got a ton of them here. I could hear them in the house one evening with the TV and AC going. When I stepped outside to try to figure out what I was hearing it was chilling to hear how many it sounded like.

Glad I've got the hotwire on the chickens.


----------



## jn4

_zamora my old coop is very similar to what y'all have.

I built a 3 sided coop house, divided it in two for two separate nesting areas (was trying to keep birds separated) had a cutout on the partial open side to get to the eggs.....wire screened both side off and then covered it with roof tin. Its built more or less square.
The chicken lot was built from its 3 corners... Its about 15 wide and near 60 70 long and that it divided into 3 area. the third aarea was set up with a simple shelter box on top of cinder blocks for the heavy meat birds. The meat bird area has a frame on top to lay tarps for cover from the sun and rain. The main area is open topped but I have orange jet line carpenter string zigzagged across it to confuse the hawks. The birds there shelter under the coop house when it rains or the sun is too hot.. But I sure like the "Frame Top" y'all built!

It started out to be a temp coop area while I was closing down the other spot we had. That area incorporated some trees and the birds would roost there and fly out in the morning....once they learned how.....100th monkey syndrome I guess.
__
All the material except the wood screws and nails was scrap we had acquired over time. I couldn't see spending $$$ for wood the Birds were going to poop all over. Its very much a patchwork setup and probably needs to be redone...maybe this coming spring....who knows. 

Anyway....I like y'alls setup very much. My wife wants me to build one of those fancy cottage looking setups with the fancy trim and pretty paint and all that.......but shoot-fire these are country red-neck chickens with little or no culture upbringings. They may revolt. 

Tell your Husband he's done a nice job there 
_


----------

