Coop Roof On

This weekend, dear hubby finished the roof on the coop. The coop is now 12'(w)X14'(l)X6'(h).

We left a small gap at the top, which will be covered with chicken wire, for ventilation.

I made two roosting areas. One I made from 1X2 and 3/4, 5/8" dowels, and a 1" treebranch. This will give the chickens preference as to what size roost they would like. I attached it to the wall with zip ties at the  top and buried it in the ground at the bottom, for stability.

I made a second roosting area out of an old, salvaged, pony cart scrap. it is higher up, and they will have to fly up to it, but gives a second option for the girls who want more elbow room.

I still have to finish the front. Hubby is going to make a door for me, and one that is chicken size. I will be enclosing the front with chicken wire and the two doors. Then to the side, the chicken door will lead to an outside run, so the girls can go out during the day when I'm not home. When I am home, I am going to make a "chicken tractor" out of PVC and poultry netting, to turn them out in different parts of the yard. During the winter, we will make a wall out of outdoor paneling, that will go up with zip ties, and straw bales for extra support to enclose the front, and keep the coop draft free.

I've ordered "chicken nipples" to create my outdoor waterer. I will use a 5 gal bucket (with lid), and drill a 3/4" hole toward the bottom. I will then insert a 3/4" PVC pipe, with the nipples inserted, for the water to go into. This will keep the water up off of the ground, and the lid will keep the water clean (and mosquitoes out). If I wanted, I could even mount the bucket outside the coop and run the nippled part through the wire. I think, during the winter, if I put a heat lamp over the bucket, it would keep it from freezing.

I also have a cool idea, that I picked up from a chicken website, of a feeder I'm going to make, using a relish tray and a lidded paint container (bought new, having never had paint in it). I'll post photos if it works. I plan to hang it a bit off of the ground. With it hanging, it should keep the girls busy, when eating, having to peck at it to get their food.

I've also found a website from a lady who is making her own "whole grain" food for the chickens. She has cool "recipes" for complete nutrition, so I don't have to do too much experimentation to find the right "formula". I will start them with proper chick formula, but as they get to be about a month old, I'm going to wean them onto whole, natural food, unprocessed, just like they would get in the wild. Pound for pound the cost should be close, if not a little cheaper.

10 more days until the chicks arrive!! This week we will prepare their baby chick home. I will be using an old water trough (it has a leak, so we don't use it for the horses). In it I will have corn cob litter, covered with newspaper (for the first 3 days), food and water. I will also have a heat lamp to keep them toasty. The trough will be kept in our barn, to keep the chicks safe and draft free.

Until next time...