New Chicken Coop - Part 1

I spent last night drawing up the plans for our new coop and figuring out the material list.  I went back and forth with buying a shed kit, but the to get a kit close to the size I wanted was several hundred dollars more than building it from scratch.


What we've decided on is a 10'x6' coop, the inside would have 7'x6' (42 sq ft) of space for the chickens.  The other 3x6 space would be for storing food.  The idea is to be able to get eggs and feed the chickens while being out of the weather, while storing everything with the chickens.  The chicken area will have a small loft area above it for storing heat lamps, water heaters, and other supplied.  We're going to build the egg boxes so that they stick out of the chicken area, likewise with the feeders.  This way we can gather eggs and feed the chickens without having to walk through chicken manure (a plus for my wife).


Below is a visual of the coop plans.  I made this in about 10 minutes with Sweet Home 3D, http://www.sweethome3d.com/.

The middle wall in the image above will be welded wire with a door made of welded wire on a wood frame.  The egg boxes will come into the entry area, as well as the new feeders.  The new feeders will be made out of PVC pipe, about 3 feet long with a 180 bend at the bottom.  I saw a friend of mine in Seattle had these type of feeders that he built and they work great.


So, here is the material list to build the coop, broken out by where it is used:


Floor:
2x6x10' - 6
2x6x12' - 1 (cut in half to make 2 six footers)
7/16 OSB - 2 sheets


Long Walls:
2x4x10' - 4
2x4x12' - 9 (cut in half to make 18 six footers)
T1-11 Siding - 5 Sheets


Short Walls:
2x4x12 - 8 (cut in half to make 16 six footers)
T1-11 Siding - 4 Sheets


Roof:
2x6x10' - 1
2x6x8' - 6 (cut in half to make 12 four footers)
7/16 OSB - 3 Sheets
2 bundles of shingles
36' of drip edge


Trim:
1x3x6' - 10 (for the corners of the coop and sides of door)
1x3x8' - 3 (for the windows, top of door, and chicken door)


Most of the materials are now at the homestead.  We're going to try to get this built and the chickens living in it over the next 2-3 weeks so that we can get pigs in the barn, where we are currently housing the chickens. 


It's going to be a busy couple of weeks, stay tuned for updates.

Moving The Homestead

We are officially in our new home.  Technically we've been here since Thanksgiving, but with the holidays and everything that comes with that time of year, it didn't feel like we moved in until now.  Looking out at our pastures and the unfenced in parts of our property, we definitely have some work to do.  We want to change the fencing around so that the paddocks are bigger and fence in more of the property.  There is about 2 acres of grass/hayfield that we want to fence in and just let the cows eat it.

But back to moving.  Everything was pretty easy, then it came time to move the chickens.  Thinking about how are we going to get our chickens from the old homestead to the new one, an hour away, I spotted an old metal dog carrier that we had sitting in the wood shed. 

I waited until dark so that the chickens were calm and in their coop.  They looked a little cramped in there, but in hindsight it was probably perfect since there was really no room for them to move around and get injured during the drive.

We decided not to bring the old chicken coop, since I wanted to build a new/bigger one anyway.  Our barn had a section that was fenced off with gates, so we put up some chicken wire and put the chickens in there until a new coop was built.  I let them out to tour the pasture and eat bugs, but they seem pretty happy in the barn, with plenty of light.

Chickens in Barn

Our new chicken coop is going to be approximately 8x8, like a shed, with 1/2 of it for the chickens and the other half for storage.  I'll start construction this week, so look for a new series of posts detailing the construction of the new coop.

Spring Beginnings

It's been a busy week on our homestead.  With the warmer temperatures and lots of rain, our garlic really popped up. 

Garlic growing

We were really excited to see the garlic coming up through the straw mulch we put down.  And now we just can't wait to see how well it does at keeping the weeds down.  Because we plant in raised beds, we put the straw down really thick in between the beds and about 1 inch thick on top of the beds.  Next year, we want to mulch in the fall instead of the spring.

Today we got our new egg laying chickens, 8 red sex links.  We can't wait to have fresh, organic eggs again.  Since our chickens stopped laying in December, we've probably eaten 3-4 dozen eggs total in 4 months, compared to 2-3 dozen a week. 

New chickens

Now on to the chores and to-do list.  Fences to take down, fences to put up, new electricity in the barn, new raised garden beds, and the list goes on and on.

Injured Chicken

We were driving home the other day and as we pass the main road field, which is where our meat chickens are, we could see something odd going on inside their pen.  Upon investigation, I noticed the chickens torturing one chicken.  I don't know how it happened, but this chicken had a bloody head and it looked like it had a decent gash on the top of it's head.

Head Injury starting to heal

I watched for a while and sure enough, there was no way that chicken could stay in there.  So I put it in with the 5 layers we have.  Those chickens didn't peck at it's head, but they didn't want this new chicken in their area and they let him know it.  They basically stayed away and I figured after a couple of hours, they would all be used to each other.

I went out right before dark to check on things and the injured chicken was gone.  Disappeared.  We looked all over for it, but couldn't find it and eventually figured that it decided to go to a neighboring farm.  The next morning, he was back, inside the pen, as if he never left.  A couple hours later and he's back outside the pen.  So I captured him and wanted to see if he could go back in with the other meat chickens.  As soon as he went in, the torture started again.

So, I had to put him in the barn.  He's now living in the same kennel that they all lived in until his head can heal.  I know he would rather be outside, eating grass & bugs, feeling the breeze, but at least he isn't being eaten by other chickens.

Life in a dog kennel

I guess this serves as a lesson to make sure you have a "triage" area to put injured or sick chickens away from your other birds.  I thought about making a small moveable pen that I could use as a triage area.  But the dog the fold-up, portable dog kennel is fast, easy, and stores in a small space.

Chicken's New Home

We decided that our chickens needed more grass.  We have been letting them out of their run to walk around as they want, but they are too interested in the garden.  So I marked out a 40'x50' area next to the garden for the chicken's new home.  After pricing out fencing, I decided on welded wire fencing and NOT buying the T-posts, but to use the posts from the split rail fence we had lying around.  And since we were using the posts, we figured we might as well put the rails in too and make it look nice.

I dug 5 holes the first day and set the posts.  Then I decided to invest in a 3pt post hole digger.  After that, we got the rest of the posts set in just under 2 hours.  With the split rail fence up, we set out putting up the welded wire fence.  I went with 4 foot high fence and made sure that the coop and waterer were far enough away from the fence that the chickens couldn't jump/flap to the top of it.

The chickens love their new home, with all the grass and bugs they can eat.  With 2000 sq.ft. of space for 5 chickens, I don't expect that they'll be able to mow this area down to dirt.

Meat Chickens in Moveable Pen

After swearing to not raise meat chickens again, we decided to have another go.  Only this time instead of raising the Cornish X, we went with a more traditional breed, White Rocks.  Yes, they take longer to grow out, but we aren't running a meat factory.  Our purpose, and likely most people raising meat chickens in their back yard, is to raise chickens without chemicals or antibiotics, and to allow the chickens access to grass and bugs. 

So we bought 25 chickens at the local Tractor Supply, put them in the large stock tank that we have as a brooder, and got ready for meat chickens, part 2.  The 25 chickens outgrew the brooder fast, so I set up a portable dog kennel in the barn until they feathered out and could go outside.  In the meantime, I started on a chicken tractor using only what we had laying around. 

My idea was to build a 10x10 moveable pen, half covered with metal roofing and the other half in wire.  I started with two 10' treated 4x4 posts, cut the ends at an angle so that they worked as skids.  I then ripped a couple of treated 2x6 and 2x8 into 8 foot long 2x2s.  I couldn't dig out enough 10' pieces, so our pen wound up 10x8.  I some of the 2x2s into 2 foot long pieces for the sides, with 5 pieces down each side and 2 on the front and backs.  I then too 5 longer pieces built the roof supports, connect the uprights from side to side.

We had some extra roofing material in the rafters of the barn from when it was built.  I cut several 2 foot long pieces and screwed them to the sides and back.  Then cut 5 foot long pieces for the roof.  We had some welded 1x1 wired that I wrapped around the sides and front on the front half of the pen.  Then took some chicken wire we had laying around and attached it to the top.  For an access door, I cut a 2'x2' square in the top of the chicken wire and wired a screen window to the frame.  Then I realized that I needed access to the roofed area to put the food so that it wouldn't get wet, so I cut some wire and took a loose piece of siding and just lay it on top.

So we wound up with a rather sturdy moveable pen and it cost absolutely nothing.  Everything was already on our property, including the nails (we have 5 gallon buckets of nails from the previous owner).  All of the wood came from when we tore down the old deck, and the roofing/fencing was in the barn.

Here is the final result, with 25 chickens enjoying the grass and fresh air.


Chickens in moveable pen

This specific pen is kind of heavy and moving more than the 10 feet that we move it every 2 days, is pretty tough. The 4x4 posts on the bottom are the main weight issue and in hindsight, they could probably be replaced with 2x2s or 2x4s to cut the weight drastically.  If we stick with this pen, we'll likely end up drilling holes in the back to attach wheels when we need to move it.

Our chickens are extremely happy and with the grass & bugs, they are only going through 1 gallon of feed every 1.5 days.  If everything continues to work out well, we have already discussed raising another 25 or 50.

Chickens Eating Eggs

We had a problem with one or more of our chickens eating eggs.  I tried to catch the culprit, but I was unsuccessful.  We had 2 eggs eaten in the nest box and another 4 eaten that were laid in the coop.  All of the eggs except for one had a soft shell, and the eggs in the coop were laid right before dark.  Anyway, after doing some research on the internet, I figured that the nest box was too big.  At one point, there were 3 chickens in there, one laying and the other two harassing her.  So I put a divider in the coop and immediately the we had no more issues.  I was worried that there wouldn't be enough room, but they had plenty of room and seem happy.

Divider in next box

Last Friday I watched one chicken fly out of their run.  The fence is 5 feet high and I didn't think they would be able to get over it.  She drove the other chickens crazy, so I left them all out for the evening.  They couldn't get enough grass.

The next day we were out of town for a family reunion.  I was hoping that the chicken wouldn't fly out again since we wouldn't be around and it was hot day.  Getting home, I checked the coop and sure enough there were only 5 hens.  So I went around the back of the barn to the wood shed and there she was.  I carried her to the coop, gave her water & food, and turned the light on for another hour.  She sounded like she was horse and I'm sure she didn't have water throughout the day, unless she ventured down to the creek to get a drink.

 We got hit with a big heat wave on Monday with temperatures in the 90s and heat index over 100.  I made sure the girls had plenty of fresh water.  Tuesday morning I collected the eggs and all the chickens looked fine.  Tuesday evening when I locked them up there was the hen that had flown out on Saturday laying dead in the nest box.  My assumption is that being out of the run on Saturday put too much stress on her and the heat wave put her over the edge.

In hindsight, I should have put a waterer outside of the coop on Saturday knowing that one of the chickens had flown out the day before.  Needless to say, we are putting chicken wire over the run.

First Egg

I went out today to check on the chickens in between raindrops and I found our first egg. I was so excited I ran back into the house, grabbed my phone, and snapped a picture.  Now Debbie gets to spend some time thinking and looking up new uses for egg. I'm thinking I could get used to having quiche as a regular part of my diet. 

Spring Work

Unfortunately, we've all been sick the last couple of weeks, bronchitis, flu, ear infection, and severe cold.  Needless to say, the work has slacked.  Finally feeling better and with the great weather we've been having (and forecast to have for the next 10 days), spring work has gone into full gear.

I had a 1 bottom plow given to me and bought another one sight unseen for $20.  Unfortunately, they are both 1 point attachments instead of 3 point.  So I decided to try to convert one of them.  Without going into all of the details, I will just say that it was a failure.  I'll be purchasing a plow at one of the dealers or a local farm this week, both have listings in the paper for used plows and discs.

 We put in 2 types of lettuce, spinach, beets, turnips, and radishes this weekend.  We started with 64 radishes and will continue with a 16-32 rotation.  Beets & turnips, we planted 36 of each.  We don't know if we like beets, my dad does and will gladly take them if we don't.  With the warm weather, I'm going to put beans in this week and attempt sweet corn for the first time in my SFG.  The green beans are moving from a 4x4 box to a 1x10 box with a cattle panel.  We are tired of bending over to pick the bush beans, so we are growing pole beans and using the cattle panel for a trellis. 

The peppers are being hardened off this week, in hopes of transplanting this weekend.  The super hots are doing really well.  Hopefully everything works out and we don't loose any as they are our first profitable product from the "farm".

The chickens seem to be happy in their new home.  I'm still amazed at how much grass they eat.  Here are some pictures of the finished coop painted to match the barn, the run, the man door, and the window which I forgot to put in originally.  I bought the 18x24 single hung window at Lowe's for $32.

Coop and run

Happy chickens

Man door into run

Chicken Coop Completed

It is snowing pretty good today with a brisk wind.  Fortunately, I was able to get the chicken coop completed before work.  All it needs now is painted and it can go outside.  The chickens also relocated today to the barn, still in their brooder for a couple more days, until the temps get up.

I trimmed the coop with pine boards.  I had 8' 2x8 boards in the barn when we moved in, so I ripped them at 2.5 inches and was able to get 3 boards out of each one.  In total it required five 8 foot boards.



Trim in progress

 I decided to reinforce all of the doors.  The small doors have 2 sheets of OSB attached to them and the man door has a full 2x3 frame.

For electricity, I put in a ceramic light fixture with a 100 watt bulb.  I also wired up a receptacle so that I could plug a water heater in during the winter.  The receptacle is covered so the chickens can't get to it and all of the wire is in conduit.

In thinking about design and security for the chicken door, I went through several different ideas before coming to the finished product.  The chicken door hinges from the top and has a barrel latch on the inside.  To open/close the door, we will first have to open the "man" door, but that also gives us a chance to see how the conditions inside the coop are on a daily basis.

I was hoping to plant some cool weather crops today, but it looks like it will have to wait until later in the week.  Turnips, beets, radishes, lettuce, spinach, and onions are all going in the ground.  The peppers seedlings look great.  I think I'll take them out of their mini-greenhouse by the weekend.  According to the weather forecast, spring is only a couple of days away.  I know we can't wait.

Coop Almost Finished

It's been a couple of weeks, but the coop is almost finished.  Between the cold evenings, busy weekends, and being sick, things just haven't got done as fast as we would like.  Anyway, here are some pictures of the coop in progress.

Tractor picking up coop

I forgot to start the coop by building it on legs, so after I got some of the walls covered and it felt sturdy, I put the forks on the tractor and picked it up.  I also wanted to make sure the tractor could pick up the coop, since I will need to move it out of the barn.
 

View of interior

The egg box is built on the side of the coop.  It is 22"x12" and the roof goes from 12" to 16", giving a 4-12 pitch.  I should have grabbed a picture before the siding went on, but if you look at the picture above, you will see that the shingles and the roof extend inside the coop a couple of inches.  I wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to have any leaks, and trying to keep the cost down, this wound up working out really well.

Egg box

Now we just need some warm weather and the chickens are just about ready to head to their new home. I added a roost bar for them to hang out on since they were jumping on top of their waterer. 

I used some scrap pine from the trim of the coop.  The legs are 4 inches long, the roost is 24 inches, and the leg supports are 4 inches.  A couple of them are starting to sleep on it at night.  We are all enjoying watching the chicks grow and get their colors.  It's funny, the pecking order was established almost on day one and the light colored bird on the left of the roost has established herself as the queen bird.

Chicken Coop

The chicken coop is almost done.  Here are some pictures of the framing done.  The coop is 4x4 with the ceiling going from 4' up to 5'4".  I have 2 walls, the roof, and the laying box, which is off the left side.  I'll get those uploaded tomorrow.

The framing is all 2x3.  The floor and roof is 7/16" OSB.  I still need to decide if I will insulate it or not and if I will cover the walls inside.  I've been contemplating covering the walls/floor/ceiling with some type of plastic, kind of like a bathtub surround, to make it easier to clean.  There is still a ways to go.  I'm going to wire it up with one light and possibly an outlet to plug a water heater in the winter time.

Floor Frame

Floor

Walls & Roof Frame Isometric

Front

A new year and new projects

We've decided to get a couple laying hens.  Our plan is to buy 3 hens that are already laying, then get 3 chicks during Chick Days at Tractor Supply to replace the older hens.  That being said, last night I started construction of the chicken coop.

After looking at dozens of plans, pre-built coops, and kits, I decided to design my own.  Our coop is 4'x4' with a roof that goes from 5'4" to 4' (16 inches of drop in 4 feet = 4-12 pitch).  The coop will be raised off the ground 16 inches on 4x4 stilts, allowing the chickens to have that 16 sq.ft. of shade as part of the run.  The whole run will be approximately 20x5 or 100 sq.ft.  The laying boxes will stick out from the main coop for easy external access.  That will also allow my wife & kids to harvest the eggs without having to enter the run or the coop.

Last night I got the floor done, the short wall and high wall, and the rafters on.  Tonight my goal is to have all of the framing done and ready for sides.  Our goal is to be ready to pick up our hens and rabbits in 2 weeks and the pigs shortly after.  So with so many new projects, hens, rabbits, pigs, commercial garlic growing, it should be a more exciting blog this year.