# Coop Building Progress



## TomC

I posted some pics and a brief description of my coop building in my introduction post. But decided that that wasn't really the proper place to do a continuing thread. So, I am re-posting those pics here and will be adding more as I go along. PLEASE, feel free to comment, recommend, and put your two cents in.


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## robin416

You know we won't hesitate to toss in our two cents. 

What is that on the deck?

And have you figured out what roof line you're going to have?


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## TomC

robin416 said:


> You know we won't hesitate to toss in our two cents.
> 
> What is that on the deck?
> 
> And have you figured out what roof line you're going to have?


That is linoleum on the floor. I read that it makes it much, much easier to clean than just plain plywood. There is a discount floor covering store about 5 miles away and I got a really good deal on a remnant.


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## TomC

Here is today's progress. It is going to have a slant roof. I chose a slant roof for a couple of reasons. First, a slant roof is much easier to build and buying pre-built trusses would be allot more expensive. Second, I believe that a slant roof allows for better ventilation. Heat tends to get trapped and build up in a gabled roof. The slant in one direction should allow the heat to rise along the roof and then exit along higher side, creating a natural airflow. At least that's my theory.


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## robin416

Everything I've heard from others that choice of flooring is ideal for cleaning and it wears quite well. 

Great choice on the shed roof, not only is it easier to build it makes it a heck of a lot easier to deal with water shedding. 

Where is the run going to be?


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## TomC

robin416 said:


> Everything I've heard from others that choice of flooring is ideal for cleaning and it wears quite well.
> 
> Great choice on the shed roof, not only is it easier to build it makes it a heck of a lot easier to deal with water shedding.
> 
> Where is the run going to be?


You are looking at the coop from the Southeast corner. The run is going to be to the north and west of the coop, sort of an "L" shape on the back side of the coop.


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## robin416

You're place looks like mine having to take into consideration all of the trees present. 

They're great for shade in the hot humid SE but dang they make me nervous during big storms.


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## TomC

Here's a Google Earth view of my place with an approximate location of the coop and run. Trees... I've got trees to spare. That's why I'm hoping to build the runs sitting on the ground, rather than trying to dig holes for posts. The one's I dug for the coop were a serious pain. Also, another reason that the next coop will probably be built on runners.


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## robin416

I don't have a lot of open ground but I'm here to tell you I've got about double of what you have. Or maybe not. From an aerial view mine looks about like yours because of the tree tops.


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## TomC

robin416 said:


> I don't have a lot of open ground but I'm here to tell you I've got about double of what you have. Or maybe not. From an aerial view mine looks about like yours because of the tree tops.


When we bought this place about 4 years ago, one of the first things we did, was cut down between 50 and 60 trees in the front yard in hopes that we could get some grass to grow (still working on that too) and to get them farther away from the house. There were several large oaks with 12 - 16 inch limbs overhanging the roof. This shot is only of about 2 acres or so and was taken after we cut the trees down. We have 18 total and the only clear area is about 1/2 acre on each of the far North corners.


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## robin416

I've got the same concern here with the big limbs hanging over the house. I have to get some tree people out here to do something about them. 

I can tell where they took up a bunch of trees here, I'm starting to see sink holes where the trunks used to be. I stepped in one area that I sunk to mid shin. Scared me to no end.


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## TomC

robin416 said:


> I've got the same concern here with the big limbs hanging over the house. I have to get some tree people out here to do something about them.
> 
> I can tell where they took up a bunch of trees here, I'm starting to see sink holes where the trunks used to be. I stepped in one area that I sunk to mid shin. Scared me to no end.


I got really lucky with the trees, my youngest brother is an arborist for a company that trims trees along power lines. His boss let him bring the bucket truck and chipper over one weekend. All it cost me was fuel and barbecue on the grill when we were done. I'd hate to think what it would've cost otherwise.


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## robin416

That's the only thing that has stopped me from calling anyone yet. Some of the limbs are as big around as some decent sized trees. Well, they're Oaks so you know what I'm talking about. 

I watched them during hurricane Michael, I'll tell you they were rock steady in the high winds.


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## TomC

Not allot of progress today, my help didn't show up and I was working by myself. But, I did get the last wall built and stood up. Hopefully, I can get the rafters and roof sheeting on tomorrow, but it's supposed to rain, so, we'll see. The pics today are from a different angle.


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## robin416

It's got to be eating at you not to have it done with those babies doubling in size everyday. It's looking good. That roof is going to save you a ton of time.


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## TomC

WE HAVE A ROOF!!! Not been able to work on it for a couple of days because of work and some other things going on (refridgerator shot craps). But, got the roof on today, and plan on working on the nesting boxes tomorrow. If the weather and my help shows up, I'm hoping to be able to move in new residents by the end of the weekend.


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## robin416

Hurray, this can't happen fast enough for the girls. They've got to be busting out of that brooder by now. 

Out of curiosity, did you do birds mouth on the rafters? And really, it is only curiosity because I maybe doing some work on my own shed since so much of the roof structure is rotted. Well, actually the whole thing was built wrong from the get go. The only thing worth saving are the 4X4 PT posts. 

Your roof has more pitch then mine but it's essentially the same idea. It's just one was done right, the other not so much.


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## TomC

Yes, I did bird mouth the rafters, but only enough to get a full flat surface on top of the wall, it's only about 1" deep. The roof is a 3/12 pitch, it may be just a bit shallow, a 4/12 pitch would probably be better, but I wanted to be able to walk all the way up to the back wall without having to bend over much, so it's 5 foot. I also didn't want to go over an 8 foot wall in the front. So, with a 12 foot width, I have a 3/12 pitch. I may have to keep an eye on it if we get a really heavy snow, but I'm also going to put a support beam down the center. I wasn't planning on doing that 'til I got my big butt up there nailing down plywood, it was a little more springy than I like.


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## robin416

Mine doesn't have much pitch at all. I wasn't even certain it had any until I saw rain run off the back. But I don't have to worry about snow loads either. 

The shed I want to redo is 20 by 20, sort of. There isn't much square about it which will make rehabbing it even more of a challenge. 

What I did not want to read is that you did the birdsmouth cuts. I watched hubs figuring the angle and depth for them when we built our house in GA. He was a carpenter, he knows that stuff yet it took him awhile to get the cut just the way he wanted it. 

Instead of the birdsmouth I can probably add new rafters the same way floor joists are installed. I'll have to study on that for a while.


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## TomC

I've seen guys take out a framing square and start laying out birds mouth and stairs and stuff like that, I admire them, but I can't do it, makes my head hurt. I think what I did was easier, I got my walls up then laid an uncut rafter along the side, like it's supposed to sit, then traced the wall outline on it, then used that one as the pattern to make the others.


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## robin416

How slick is that? I just might have to give that a whirl. 

Yeah, hubs laid out the stairs, the roof rafters and all that other stuff. He'd tell me how to do it but I swear he was speaking in some foreign language. He also had a calculator in his head. 

He's spot stuff all of the time in other buildings. There's a house not far from here and he goes, that house is leaning back. I'd been by it I don't know how many times and never noticed it but once he said something I was able to see it too.


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## TomC

Lol, my grandpa was like that. I learned allot from him, but never how to read a square. He tried to teach me, it just wasn't in the cards.


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## robin416

I have a speed square that I use. Mostly for straight cuts but I can figure a few other things on it. Most of the time any more the compound miter saw does the figuring for me. 

I won't ever be able to do the fancy stuff. I think more because I was shown, I didn't get to do.


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## TomC

One word of caution on my tracing method. Make sure you use the pattern rafter to layout all the others. One time, several years ago, I was building a small shed. I used the same method to get my first rafter and layout the next one, then nailed the first one down and used the second to layout the third. I continues this routine all the way through. By the time I got to the last one, my birds mouth was about an inch deeper than the first one.


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## robin416

Yep. I remember Bob clearly marking the first rafter so that he could use it as the pattern for all of them. I asked why and he explained. But hearing what happened to you makes it so much clearer.


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## DE HOWERY

TomC said:


> View attachment 32330
> View attachment 32332
> View attachment 32334
> Here is today's progress. It is going to have a slant roof. I chose a slant roof for a couple of reasons. First, a slant roof is much easier to build and buying pre-built trusses would be allot more expensive. Second, I believe that a slant roof allows for better ventilation. Heat tends to get trapped and build up in a gabled roof. The slant in one direction should allow the heat to rise along the roof and then exit along higher side, creating a natural airflow. At least that's my theory.


Don't see openings for the vents at the top of the slanted roof?


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## TomC

De Howery, good eye, you are correct. They're not there, yet. I used up all of my 2x4's. On my way this morning to pick up a few more. It's 30 miles to the lumber yard, so I try not to run over there every day.


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## DE HOWERY

TomC said:


> That is linoleum on the floor. I read that it makes it much, much easier to clean than just plain plywood. There is a discount floor covering store about 5 miles away and I got a really good deal on a remnant.


That's what I thought until the girls found a divit in the flooring and proceeded to tear up the entire floor and eat it. There is another flooring that you can use it's a little bit more expensive but it doesn't divit, etc. It's the flooring they use a carolina coops.


robin416 said:


> That's the only thing that has stopped me from calling anyone yet. Some of the limbs are as big around as some decent sized trees. Well, they're Oaks so you know what I'm talking about.
> 
> I watched them during hurricane Michael, I'll tell you they were rock steady in the high winds.


Seaking of storms I don't see any of the strapping associated with tie downs on this shed do you have them ?


TomC said:


> That is linoleum on the floor. I read that it makes it much, much easier to clean than just plain plywood. There is a discount floor covering store about 5 miles away and I got a really good deal on a remnant.


This is why you should tear that floor up now. And we bought the expensive stuff ! Plus our chickens are free range. They not only tore it up but ate it. And their diet is akin to the queens .


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## robin416

Where Tom lives I doubt highly that he'll need tie downs of any kind.


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## TomC

I'll keep an eye on the linoleum. As for the tie downs, there's not really any wind to speak of around here, other than an occasional thunderstorm. Any wind strong enough to cause damage to the building would first knock down one of the many, many trees or large branches around it onto the coop and thereby making tie downs pretty much moot. Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot I can do about the trees. Thanks for the input though.

On a side note, I remember when I was a young teenager and living in Southern Illinois, a tornado hit a large commercial egg operation about a mile outside of town. It took out about a third of one of the 120 foot long buildings. They offered 10.00 per hour for anyone to come out and help. My brother and I went out and spent about 3 hours catching and loading chickens into crates and onto tractor-trailers. Talk about a horrible mess. Even in 1979, I don't think the $30 I made was worth it. Never saw so many chickens in my life.


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## robin416

Well, we had four in my county Sunday night. Made a mess of about 50 homes. They said 20 of them are probably not salvageable. Missed the chicken houses though.


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## TomC

Yes, I heard about those storms down there. Glad to hear that you came out ok, other than a day or two without power. I have family that live just south of the ones that hit the Nashville area a month or so ago. Luckily, they were ok too. We get a few around here every year, but most are smaller ones and don't do allot of damage. Although a big one did hit Jefferson City last year, which is about 35 miles south of me.


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## robin416

I used to live in mid south TN, that's one of the major reasons we moved. The weekly tornado watches/warnings. They followed us down here.


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## TomC

Unfortunately, I don't think there is anywhere that you don't have to deal with some type of natural disaster. Hurricanes along the east/southeast coast, tornados in the midwest/south, earthquakes out west, blizzards up north. Just got to kind of pick your poison.


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## robin416

What TN is part of they call Dixie Alley. It wasn't quite this far East until the last couple of years. 

I probably should have stayed in the N. GA mountains.


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## Don England

TomC said:


> Unfortunately, I don't think there is anywhere that you don't have to deal with some type of natural disaster. Hurricanes along the east/southeast coast, tornados in the midwest/south, earthquakes out west, blizzards up north. Just got to kind of pick your poison.


Here lately, it seems like the poison for the southeast is both hurricanes and tornadoes. The past few weeks has produced several tornadoes and we are looking at more today.


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## robin416

Don England said:


> Here lately, it seems like the poison for the southeast is both hurricanes and tornadoes. The past few weeks has produced several tornadoes and we are looking at more today.


Yep, it's almost here again this morning. At least it's daylight this time and not midnight like Sunday.


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## TomC

I was just looking at the radar, you guys stay safe down there.


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## robin416

I'm beginning to feel like I moved back to TN with all this going on. 

I don't have the heebie jeebies like I did Sunday night so this just might be fine for me.


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## robin416

And I was right. The atmosphere just did not feel right for stuff like Sunday night. But then I second guess myself about my feelings too. So I watch but I don't get like a caged animal like I do when things feel right for a tornado.


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## TomC

Got started on building the nesting boxes today. I have a question for those of you with much more experience.

My plan was to divide each of the "rectangles" into 4 nests each. This would make each box roughly 12X12, some will be just a tad smaller due to the space taken up by the dividers. However, they will all be at least 15 inches tall on the inside because of how I used 2x4's between them.

My question is; should I just divide a couple of the "rectangles" into only 3 nests? This would make the floor area of those roughly 12x16.

As many of you know, I have several different breeds and sizes of chicks, including a few jersey giants.


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## robin416

I wouldn't divide them at all. The probability is very high that they'll end up using one nest. You can always divide them later. But I really don't think you'll need to despite a recent report.


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## TomC

I'd never though of that. I had always read that nest boxes should be 12x12. It makes sense though, I guess they would just lay in whatever part of the box they felt most comfortable. It sure would speed things up for me, I wouldn't have to cut all those little 12x12 pieces of plywood and nail them all in. Not hard at all, but tedious and time consuming.


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## robin416

I would have multiple girls in one pen, didn't matter if there was another nest available, they all laid their eggs in the same place. Then when they went broody they fought over who would sit on the eggs.


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## TomC




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## robin416

Be ready, this is your future.


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## TomC

Hey, Hey, Hey... Are you threatening me???


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## robin416

Threat? No. Predicting your future? Yep.


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## Sylie

Looking really great!! I love it, can I move in with them?


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## TomC

Sure, but you already know what kind of space problem I have. It might be a bit cramped.


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## Don England

Looking really great!!!


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## TomC

Not much progress today. Got started, got the nesting boxes covered up. Then the sky got dark, started to hear distant rumblings. I frantically put the tools away, rolled up the extension cords and air hoses, shot a couple quick pics, and got back into the house about 5 minutes before the downpour.

By the way, the little guy in the last picture is my constant companion, Pooh.


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## robin416

Was your supervisor pleased with your progress?

If that's your truck I see in the pic you're going to have to back that up the coop to load all the stuff you have stashed in there right now or you'll be toting it back all day putting it away. 

That was a nasty little storm. Did you know it was in the forecast?


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## TomC

Yes, he was mostly pleased that we were getting ready to go in the house. He could hear the thunder and doesn't really like it. That is my truck, but I've been mostly using my 4-wheeler to tote things back and forth. It was a blessing once I got the roof on, because I don't have to move EVERYTHING back and forth every day. So, you think the girls will have a problem with me storing my tools in the nest boxes?

I knew there were going to be storms later this evening, but as usual, the forecasters got the timing a bit off. I wasn't expecting them until 6 or 7 this evening.


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## robin416

Strangest thing happened since the tornadoes from Easter Sunday, my black cat is now afraid of thunder. So I can totally understand your boss wanting you to get a hustle on.

Probably not an issue for the girls, they'd find just enough space around one of the power tools left up there and make a nest.


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## TomC

lol, that's what I figured, I'd got out to grab my power saw and get an egg or a hand full of poo.


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## robin416

You'll find in some ways they can be very much like cats, once they've made a determination diverting them from it is almost impossible. Even treats are just a temporary solution.


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## TomC

Today's update. Not a whole lot of progress today. It rained all morning and I wasn't able to get outside until about 2:00. But, I was able to get the siding up on one side.


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## robin416

Ooh ooh, I see perfect space for clear story windows!

It's going to be a really good looking building when you're done.


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## TomC

Yes, windows all along the front and the back also. I still haven't decided, I will have to tomorrow, but, I'm thinking of putting a couple of windows on the ends also.


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## robin416

Remember the sun shining in the windows can heat the place up a ton in the summer so if the ones on the ends can be operable that would be great for cross ventilation.


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## TomC

All of the windows I put in will be screened, 1/2 in. hardware cloth, on the inside and hinged glass (or plexiglass) on the outside. Each opening will be a separate window so that I can open or close them to regulate temperate, especially in the cooler months, while still providing ventilation.


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## Sylie

TomC said:


> Sure, but you already know what kind of space problem I have. It might be a bit cramped.


I don't mind roommates, as long as they remember not to poo on me in the night. I don't need much space, I sleep curled in the fetal position.


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## TomC

Got all the siding up today. As you can see in the pics, it was dark when the last piece was nailed up.

If everything goes as planned, we may be moving in new residents tomorrow evening.


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## robin416

WooHoo! Can't wait to see the pics of the girls in their new digs.


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## TomC

Made good progress today. Got all the windows covered with screen, made the door, and the built the roosts. I put my roosts on hinges so that when it comes time to clean, they can be lifted out of the way, which should make cleaning allot easier. I covered the hole for the chicken door because I haven't started the run yet. I also covered the nesting boxes, they're not near old enough to start laying and I want them to learn to use the roosts and not the nesting boxes to roost in. I washed down the floor and scattered wood shavings and realized that I sorely underestimated the amount needed, I'll get more tomorrow. Having everything secure enough to keep them in and critters out, I hung a couple of heat lamps, I didn't want to shock them too much by moving from a heated workshop to an unheated coop. So guess what, even though it was getting dark...

IT'S MOVING DAY!!!

They were not at all please with the process. We placed them in large boxes, about 30 at a time, and transported them via the grand-kids' wagon. Most of them seems quite insulted and traumatized, and huddled into the corners of the coop farthest from the door. But after a little bit, they started to relax and slowly began exploring their new home, a few even started to eat and drink. During the process, we were also able to get an accurate head count. Not counting the 4 RIR's, that we left in the brooding pen until they go to my daughter's tomorrow, we have 99 chicks. So I can no longer claim to have 100 chickens.


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## robin416

Moving day and we get the privilege to experience with you and them. 

Yeah, they're really not crazy about new things for a little bit. Chances are you're going to find them all over the place this morning. 

Two things, did you put in overhead lights? You're going to want them. And the waterer bases, they're going to have to be quite a bit taller if you don't want to have to keep digging shavings out them. Even my little Hamburg can fill a waterer up in no time. 

And aren't you down because an RIR found a new home?


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## TomC

Yes, I am going to put in lights and a few outlets, those are some of the finishing touches that I still have to do. However, they were getting pretty crowded in the brooding pen and have been noticing that they were starting to get just a little feisty with each other, it could also be that they're getting old enough to start figuring out the pecking order. So, I thought it best to get them into larger quarters and I could work on the others things over the next few days. I have already raised the waterers a couple of inches, they're sitting on paver stones, it has helped some with the shavings in them. I have new buckets and water nipples to make larger waterers, but that is another finishing touch that I haven't gotten to yet.

I'm actually down 6 birds, 2 adult girls, and 4 RIR chicks. They're going to their new home today. So, I had 105 birds, now down to 99.


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## robin416

LOL Even you didn't know how many you had. That's a hoot. My hubs used to ask me all of the time how many I had. I do a little computing in my head without seeing them and give him a number. It was always over 100. 

I was getting concerned about how big they were getting in that brooder. It's one of the things we warn about if they don't have enough room, they start going after each other and it's not pretty when it happens.


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## TomC

I wasn't real sure. We bought them at a couple of different times, from a couple of different places, the big hatchery always put in a few extra, and we lost a few early. So, it was hard to keep an accurate count, we got one now though.

They were allot calmer this morning when I checked on them. They are still checking things out and I don't think they are real sure of me being, actually, inside their house. Always before, I would mostly take care of them from outside of their pen, not in among them.

I'm going to go out in a little bit and sit with them for a while. I might even take a few individual pics. There are several that we aren't sure of their breed and a few that we suspect are roos. So I'll post some pics and get some expert opinions.


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## robin416

They'll get used to you wandering around in there, especially if you bring them a few treats. 

Well, you know it probably won't be me identifying breeds. But I can put out a call for others to take a look.


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## TomC

We have several silkies, so you can help.


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## robin416

I saw the pics and tossed in my two cents. 

Now the question is, what happens with the roosters?


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## TomC

I'm not one of those who gets rid of roosters, just because they're roosters. In fact, we kind of want a couple of them because they are great watchdogs for the girls. We'll watch them and if we have one or two that get aggressive, then we'll find them another home. There should be enough ladies around that they won't have to fight over them.


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## robin416

There are going to be fights among the roosters. The concern would be for the bantams. And you don't want the standard birds trying to breed the bantams or it could hurt or kill them. 

You might end up dividing the coop off for the smaller birds.


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## Sylie

Wow Tom, good job!
I didn't see any individual pics so I can't weigh in on breeds but there are others that can help too.

If you have too many roosters you might think about building small individual pens to keep them in, a lot of roosters pic a couple of girls they like best and breed them until they are naked and dying if you aren't watching, it might be a good idea to make a back up pen to give them a time out (one pen per rooster that you want to separate) Or, I've heard of people, especially people that breed for specifics, have a breeding pen, one rooster and 3 or 4 hens live together and then they switch out the girls every few days or a week to make sure they are not over mated.
Just a thought


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## TomC

The shingles came in yesterday, so I got shingles on the roof and nesting boxes. Did a little extra trim work and built a screen door so that the girls can look out during the day. That's about all I can do to the coop until I make the windows and paint later this early fall.

From the last picture, can you guess what I hope to do this weekend???


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## robin416

Looks to me like they have scoped out their surroundings pretty well. Now for when that door can open and let them out into the world.

Please tell me you have hardware cloth on those clearstory window openings. I found racoon tracks where it scaled my building one time trying to get in through the soffits.


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## TomC

Yes, hardware cloth everywhere, I'm going broke buying the stuff. All the windows, the screen door and the eaves between the rafters are covered with hardware cloth. The fence around the run will also have hardware cloth 2 feet up from the bottom.


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## robin416

Man, you scared me. I kept trying to spot the wire and couldn't. 

The time the **** tried to get in my soffits was just a couple of days after I closed them all up. I got lucky.


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## TomC

Spent yesterday clearing and laying out the perimeter for the run. Had to cut down a few trees and clear brush. I also had to clear out a bunch of stuff that the previous owner had left laying around, like 30 20ft sticks of, still bundled, rebar that was half buried and covered with leaves, left-over bricks from building the chimneys on the house, all kinds of stuff.

Today, I'm working on driving the posts. Boy, sure is rough on an old, fat man's, shoulders.


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## robin416

Driving posts are no fun at all. I hated it. Tomorrow? Well let's not talk about tomorrow.

I thought you were going to put in a covered run.


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## TomC

Covered, as in fencing wire, yes. Not, covered with wood or anything. I was thinking about using pvc pipe, but the more I got to exploring, it was going to be way more complicated than I thought. I would have to special order some of the fittings, and they're not cheap. So, I figured out a way to do it with T-posts that will still do what I want.

For cover from rain and inclement weather, I'm going to leave about 1/3 of the coop area accessible to them underneath. The trees around the run will give them plenty of shade. Also, since it's dirt and will stay mostly dry, it will serve as an area for them to dust bathe.

I don't want to leave the entire area under the coop open to them, because, I guarantee, that several of them will decide to lay eggs back in the far corner where it's only about 10-12 inches off the ground. There is no way my fat a$$ can crawl up under there to retrieve eggs.

I promise, it'll be secure and you'll like it when I'm finished. Just be patient with me.


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## robin416

Just make it so you don't have to try and run around in there bent over like a pretzel trying to hustle the laggers in. Believe me, you'll not like it. 

Hubs got involved in my pen building, he said they don't fly the pens don't need to be that high, blah, blah, blah. I was ready to divorce him after a month of crawling in that low area. Next time he came home for a weekend I had the whole thing rebuilt. He never said a word.


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## TomC

Ha Ha! Yes, it's 6ft high. My wife asked me why I couldn't just make it 4ft because it's cheaper. I told her that I'm nearly 6ft and I'm not going to walk around in there all bent over.


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## robin416

Phew, I couldn't tell that from the pics. Good thinking. 

Wife will learn as time goes on that you're really not nuts doing some of what you're doing.


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## TomC

We'll be married 36 years in a couple of weeks. She learned I was nuts years ago. Now she just ignores it.


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## robin416

On this though, you're not nuts. You were thinking ahead. Nutty people don't do that.


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## Slippy

TomC said:


> We'll be married 36 years in a couple of weeks. She learned I was nuts years ago. Now she just ignores it.


@TomC

AWESOME COOP Sir! Man you did a great job on that Taj Majal! But then I saw the number of birds you had and it sure fits your needs.

I had to chuckle on your post about cutting a birds mouth! I do the same thing, trace it on a rafter and go from there vs. trying to use the speed square to figure it out!

And you are so right, Hardware Cloth is dang EXPENSIVE!

Again, great job and I bow to your mad skills!


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## robin416

I need to ask a question, is there any support under the right front of the coop? Early pics don't show one but then it looks like there might be now.


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## TomC

Rough day hanging fence today. The temperature was good, about 75, but the humidity was 90 - 95%. Plus, it kind of rained all day. One of those days where it just kind of drizzles and sprinkles for about 10 minutes every hour or so. Just enough to keep you wet all day, but not hard enough to stop working.

Anyway, I got all but about a 30 ft. stretch of the main fence up. Should be able to get that and most of the ground barrier and hardware cloth up tomorrow. I'm shooting for getting it all finished by Monday evening.

Then with a little luck, Tuesday morning will be the Grand Promenade for the girls, and a few boys.


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## robin416

Yeah, those high humidity days make working outside pretty rough. But the girls are in their big digs so at least you don't have to worry about how tight things were getting in the brooder. 

And it's wire. There's no time that is fun working with wire.


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## TomC

They are just itching to get out. Every morning I leave the main door open with the screen door latched. There is always a group huddled the screen looking out, watching me every time I walk by. It's like they're saying, "Hurry up, we want to come out and play".


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## robin416

They're getting to you, aren't they? That's the plan. Guilt the human, get him to do our bidding.


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## Sarah1up

Tom, if I may ask, how cold does it get where you are? I am in Missouri and it gets quite hot and quite cold. I was thinking of putting the ventilation windows at the top like you did for summer but worry it would be too cold in winter and I would need shutters for them to block any kind of drafty cross breeze? But i still need ventilation. Argh.


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## robin416

You can do the windows, just make them operable so that one can be left cracked open. Are you adding to the existing shed or changing the existing window?

I think the two you are in the same geographic area as far as weather. I don't remember what state Tom said he was in.


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## TomC

Yes, it gets cold sometimes in the winter, but not normally for long periods of time. I am going to make windows and put them on hinges, that way I'll be able to close and open them as needed. Shutters would work to regulate temperature, but won't allow sunlight in, which they need, even in the winter. I have electricity in the coop, so if I do get a cold snap, I can put some heat lamps in.

Where are you in Missouri? I'm about 30 miles east of Columbia.


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## TomC

robin416 said:


> I need to ask a question, is there any support under the right front of the coop? Early pics don't show one but then it looks like there might be now.


Yes, the whole coop is set on 4x4 posts spaced every 4 feet, 24 of them.


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## robin416

TomC said:


> Yes, the whole coop is set on 4x4 posts spaced every 4 feet, 24 of them.


Optical illusion. It didn't look like there was one when it was just the platform so I kept watching. Once the building was up I really couldn't tell. Obviously.


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## Sarah1up

You know what, I said shutters but I meant some kind of hinge door for winter. It seems like you are building what I was thinking. Thank you again for posting pictures! And don’t be surprised if my coop looks terribly similar to yours  I was closer to you on highway 70, we were in St. Peters for three years and just moved south west of St. Louis on 44. Land was expensive there on 70 and everyone was moving out to the wentzville area. It got really crowded even in the short time we were there. We now live out past eureka (six flags!) and it feels like we are in the middle of nowhere.... just how I like it.


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## TomC

Another fun filled day of fencing... Did I mention, I hate fencing. At least there was no rain today, but the showers during the night made it sloppy muddy. The boss made me hose down my shoes and pants before she let me come it the house.

I got the main finished, as well as the anti-tunneling wire and the hardware cloth all around the bottom. Tomorrow I hope to get the top on and secure up around the bottom of the coop. I also have to build a gate and make a door for the chicks.


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## TomC

Sarah, I am normally over in your area pretty frequently. I normally prefer to run to St. Louis and when I can I work at the Wentzville GM plant. With everything being slow and shut down, my seniority only allows me to work to Kansas City. I have friends that live over around Steeleville and Washington.


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## robin416

TomC said:


> Another fun filled day of fencing... Did I mention, I hate fencing. At least there was no rain today, but the showers during the night made it sloppy muddy. The boss made me hose down my shoes and pants before she let me come it the house.
> 
> I got the main finished, as well as the anti-tunneling wire and the hardware cloth all around the bottom. Tomorrow I hope to get the top on and secure up around the bottom of the coop. I also have to build a gate and make a door for the chicks.


I swear it's when you get down to that little bit the whole thing seems to slow down and take forever to complete. Here's to hoping the weather holds so you can get it finished quickly.


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## robin416

Waiting impatiently here.


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## TomC

Well... since you're waiting... impatiently.

Here's an update.

I have spent the last two days hanging 1600 square feet of chicken wire above my head. It has taken longer than anticipated for two reasons: 1) I underestimated the task at hand (not an uncommon occurrence for me). 2) It was done in 2 ft. strips.

When I went to get the chicken wire they were out of 3 ft. and 4 ft. (which I wanted) rolls. My options were 1) special order 4 ft. wire and wait 3 to 4 weeks for it to come in. 2) Wait until their regular stock came in (they had no idea when that would be, they didn't know until it showed up on the truck). 3) buy the 2 ft. rolls.

So, after hanging some 700 feet of 2 ft. wide wire, using some 1800 hog rings. The run is covered. However, my hand is swollen from crimping hog rings and my arms look as if I've been in hand-to-hand combat with a pissed off bobcat.

All I have left to do is build the gate, ramp, & chicken door, and put hardware cloth on the 3 remaining sides of the coop. Really, this shouldn't take but a couple of hours in the morning.

I promise, barring natural disaster, that the girls will get to see the outdoors tomorrow.

And, of course, I will take lots of pics of the finished results.


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## robin416

I didn't think I'd ever say this to you but I feel bad that you've been thrown a major challenge into getting the run completed. I know hog nose rings, if your hands are even moving after that much crimping I'm amazed. 

But the impatient waiting is because of your own declarations of how this next step would get done in X and then the other by X. So, this is all your fault.


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## TomC

robin416 said:


> But the impatient waiting is because of your own declarations of how this next step would get done in X and then the other by X. So, this is all your fault.


I refer you to reason #1.

The problem isn't with with be ability to things, it comes with estimating the time it takes me to do them. My mind still thinks I can do things the way I did when I was 20 or 30, my body says "Oh, no you can't".


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## robin416

Oh boy, is that ever true. Luckily I didn't give an estimate for how long it was going to take me to reorganize the garage because even after days of working on it I'm nowhere near done. 

And I've learned never to think when working with wire that it will get as done as quickly as I wished it did.


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## Sylie

lol! My father has the same problem, his mind thinks he can still do things he could in his 30's but his 80 yr old body COMPLETELY disagrees.


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## TomC

Ok, here it is. I still have some minor things to do, cover the ground wire, some hog ringing (Ugh), concrete step and under the gate, and such. But, for the most part, it is about as safe and secure as I can make it, I think. As always, I am still open to suggestions.

I will post the emergence in another thread.


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## Sylie

It looks great Tom and I do really hate to say this but...there are a couple of concerning gaps, I am hoping that you already have seen them and have plans to deal with them. The ones that I am talking about are in picture #5 at the base of the coop, from this angle it looks like there is a gap between the ground and the wire in 2 of the sections. I'm sure that you will be filling that in with dirt or something before letting them out to play  Chickens dig like dogs do, I"ll get a picture of the crater that mine have dug in their run, they are just about ready to jailbreak now. I need to get it filled in.


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## TomC

Your right Sylie, I plan to bring in some dirt tomorrow and build that area up, one of the several minor things on my list. Even if they were to get under it, they still can't get out there, only under the coop. Although, it would be a major pain for me because I would have to take the wire loose, then crawl under and retrieve them.


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## robin416

Wow, just wow. You can really get a feel for the work that took to put all of that in place in these pics. 

If you're concerned about under the gate you can put a paving stone there. I had something try to dig under the door of my outside pen one time. A couple of cement cap blocks stopped that. 

Should I ask how hard it's going to be to bury that wire?


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## TomC

I've already got the Quikrete to put under the gate and pour a step around the porch. I thought about stepping stones, but I have a couple of young grandsons who like to pick that kind of stuff up and drag it off somewhere to build roads, ramps, bridges, and such for their trucks. Makes for interesting mowing when I let the grass get too high.

Covering the wire won't be too difficult at all. I have a huge pile of wood chips that I'm going to cover it with, about 4 inches deep. Hopefully, that will also help keep weeds from growing up in the fence.


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## robin416

Knowing you don't exactly have easy dirt to dig I figured you'd have to bring a load of dirt in but wood chips works too. And you'll know where the wire is and to stay away from it with the mower.


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## TomC

I have some dirt available too, I just have to go get it. My sister had a friend of hers to bring her a half a truck load of dirt to fill some flower boxes. She was thinking half a pickup truck, he brought half a dump truck.


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## robin416

But I'm guessing you'd have to shovel it into your truck, then shovel it back out and spread it. Let your sis keep her "half pickup load of dirt" and use the chips.


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## TomC

Yeah, my tractor has a loader on it. I'm going to use it to move the wood chips over to the run. But, I will have to go get some of the dirt to fill in a few spots like Sylie pointed out. Plus, since my wife found out that my sister has extra dirt, she has found a couple of places she wants flower beds.


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## robin416

And how did your wife find out?

Unless sis has a tractor with a loader that would mean either shoveling dirt or dragging your tractor to her place.


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## TomC

Sister has a big mouth.


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## robin416

Here I was sure it was you that told her.


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## TomC

Oh, no, no, no. My honeydo list is already longer than I care to think about.


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## robin416

And as you focus on the secure digs for the feathered ones it gets longer and longer. 

I know mine is but it's a list I've made for myself.


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## TomC

Got the concrete poured today, wheel barrow had a flat and wouldn't take air, so I improvised and mixed the concrete in the loader bucket on the tractor, worked pretty well. Filled in the gaps that Sylie noticed. Spent most of the day cleaning, picking up tools, wire scrap, lumber scrap, etc. Started on covering the ground wire with wood chips.


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## robin416

And about the time you get that done all the waterers and feeders will needed a deep cleaning and the coop will need to be dusted. That's life with chickens.


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## TomC

Yes, I was thinking today, when I had them all out, that It's probably time to clean out the coop and put down fresh bedding. Project for this weekend.


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## Sylie

They are a lot of work but they are sooooooo worth it, I don't know how I ever lived without chickens before I got my first ones.


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## TomC

At least now I'm at the point where I can actually start enjoying them. There are still a lot of things I want to do, and am going to do. But, I think I've finally reached the end of the frantic, have to get it done now phase.


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## Slippy

TomC said:


> Ok, here it is. I still have some minor things to do, cover the ground wire, some hog ringing (Ugh), concrete step and under the gate, and such. But, for the most part, it is about as safe and secure as I can make it, I think. As always, I am still open to suggestions.
> 
> I will post the emergence in another thread.
> 
> View attachment 33282
> View attachment 33284
> View attachment 33286
> View attachment 33288
> View attachment 33290
> View attachment 33292
> View attachment 33294


Awesome TomC

You've done a remarkable job! Kudos Sir!


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## TomC

I cleaned and disinfected the coop today. Boy, that was fun. I also cleaned and disinfected the waterers and feeders. Put in all fresh water, feed, and bedding.

I also bought a couple of box fans and hung them from the ceiling. I've noticed over the last couple of days, several of the girls seem to be panting. It has been pretty warm, temps in the upper 80's and humidity 90+. I don't want anyone getting over-heated so the extra airflow should help.


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## robin416

That's the biggest struggle with some of them, the Silkies in particular when the temps climb. 

Yep, that's the less fun part of bird keeping. The cleaning up after them.


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## Sylie

some other "beat the heat" options are (my girls favorite option...) frozen treats, I put corn, peas, mealworms, sunflower seeds etc in a bowl, fill with water and freeze then give it to them when the temps start to get higher, usually in the low to mid 80's, they peck and eat the ice to get to the frozen treats, it cools them down from the inside, entertains them for as long as there are still treats in the ice lol and as long as the ice lasts and then, they have a fun bowl to toss around and kick like a soccer ball (my wyandottes are all about playing with things). There is also spraying water until it puddles in the run, they like to stand in the water to cool their feet which cools their bodies. (if you don't mind a mess, you can make a puddle pan inside the coop with any sort of rectangle shaped container that is low lipped so they can just step inside and step out again)


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## TomC

Those are some great ideas, I'll keep them in mind. I also made 4 more water buckets and put them out in the run, so they don't have to come back into the coop to get a drink.


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