8N Ren
Gold Member
Eddie as always you are doing a fantastic job, I appreciate the time you take to snap pics/post, I know I'm not alone on that. Your coop will be nice, strong and secure, can't wait to see the finished product.
My Chicken Coop
- Thread starter EddieWalker
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EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
We spent a little time working on the chicken coop this weekend. I framed the roof and then worked on getting the door to seal. The door is going to be an issue, but I'm making progress. I then put the bottom three feet of quarter inch wire mesh on and framed the opening for the hen houses. They are going to stick outside of the wall so we can get to them without having to go into the coop. Karen wanted to pour concrete, so we dug out one wall and poured a dozen 80 pound sacks. The goal is to make it snake proof!!!
Eddie
Eddie
txdon
Super Star Member
Good idea Eddie. My neighbor took this pic a week ago. A rat snake a.k.a. chicken snake eating a blackbird. Keep this in mind as you build.
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EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
Progress has been hit or miss. I put the roof on and wrapped it in quarter inch galvanized wire during the week. Then Saturday I had to go fix a plumbing issue for a client, so Karen went to Lowes and bought concrete, mixed it and poured it at the base of the wire. I'm so proud of her!!!! Sunday morning was spent getting it sealed up and ready for the birds.
Friends who work at the hospital with Karen gave us a dozen guinea fowl for our wedding. They are now two months old and this is when we told them we would be ready to take them home. When we got to their house, they surprised us with 16 chickens. All sorts of different types!!!
So now Karen is behaving like a little girl and buying them treats and reading up on what to put in there to make them happy. LOL
I still need to finish off the trim and painting. Then I'll make the nesting boxes sometime in the future. No rush since everyone is still so young.
Eddie
Friends who work at the hospital with Karen gave us a dozen guinea fowl for our wedding. They are now two months old and this is when we told them we would be ready to take them home. When we got to their house, they surprised us with 16 chickens. All sorts of different types!!!
So now Karen is behaving like a little girl and buying them treats and reading up on what to put in there to make them happy. LOL
I still need to finish off the trim and painting. Then I'll make the nesting boxes sometime in the future. No rush since everyone is still so young.
Eddie
weldingisfun
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Do you plan to let them free range when they get larger? Where will you be putting the nesting boxes?
Tororider
Veteran Member
Looks great Eddie! You will have very happy birds.
One thing that might make Karen and your life easier is making a nipple waterer for the birds. I made one here Coop Security and a New Waterer | homesteaddad
You could also make one out of PVC that you could fill with a hose from the outside. It has been really nice not having to change/clean the waterer every couple days.
I have since modified my hanging system to include two size four nite Ize a biners.
One thing that might make Karen and your life easier is making a nipple waterer for the birds. I made one here Coop Security and a New Waterer | homesteaddad
You could also make one out of PVC that you could fill with a hose from the outside. It has been really nice not having to change/clean the waterer every couple days.
I have since modified my hanging system to include two size four nite Ize a biners.
kf4uda
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Eddie that looks like the chicken Hilton. Great work as usual. If you have an extra game camera, it might be interesting to put it up there for a while to see what comes buy to investigate the new coup and maybe test the security.
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EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
Our goal is to let the guineas go once they are bigger. We have three right now that have figured out how to survive here, but when we've bought more, the coyotes have eaten them. We are thinking that if we let one go at a time and it joins up with the three smart ones, it will learn and follow them around. Then another and then another.
Coyotes and raccoons are thick here.
We are not positive that we just have hens. There might be a few roosters in the mix, and once we figure out who I who, we will either butcher them or let them go and see if they hang out. Anything that eats bugs is a good thing and we both enjoy seeing animals wonder around the place.
Our long term goal is to have automatic waterers and 50 gallon feeders that they cannot get on top of or scratch the feed out of. For now we are just using the inexpensive plastic ones from Atwoods.
I temporarily sealed up the opening for the nesting boxes with scrap pieces of plywood and OSB. You can see it in the picture on the left wall of the door. Our theory is that we will be able to get the eggs out of the boxes without having to go into the coop and disturb the birds this way. I'll build those in my shop towards the end of the year and have them done before winter. They will also provide shelter for the birds from the cold wind
So far we are all having fun giving them treats and watching them run around. Something new that is very entertaining!!!
Eddie
Coyotes and raccoons are thick here.
We are not positive that we just have hens. There might be a few roosters in the mix, and once we figure out who I who, we will either butcher them or let them go and see if they hang out. Anything that eats bugs is a good thing and we both enjoy seeing animals wonder around the place.
Our long term goal is to have automatic waterers and 50 gallon feeders that they cannot get on top of or scratch the feed out of. For now we are just using the inexpensive plastic ones from Atwoods.
I temporarily sealed up the opening for the nesting boxes with scrap pieces of plywood and OSB. You can see it in the picture on the left wall of the door. Our theory is that we will be able to get the eggs out of the boxes without having to go into the coop and disturb the birds this way. I'll build those in my shop towards the end of the year and have them done before winter. They will also provide shelter for the birds from the cold wind
So far we are all having fun giving them treats and watching them run around. Something new that is very entertaining!!!
Eddie
deerseeker001
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good job Eddie
brin
Super Member
Eddie...I have heard guineas are like watchdogs with wings....they sound the alarm when anything approaches....Do the ones you have let loose do that ?