The last two weekends have been construction of a chicken coop and run. What started out as six chickens has turned into thirty. I guess that is what they call “chicken math.” We are going to have 10 Rhode Island Reds, 10 Wyandotte and 10 Mixed colored layers. So, twenty lay tan eggs and the other ten will hopefully be blue and green.
The coop is an eight foot by ten-foot monstrosity that stands two feet off the ground. Floor to ceiling is six feet tall at its highest point. We used recycled metal for the roof. Overall, the coop stands eight feet tall. We covered it with recycled pallet boards, so it looks like a patchwork quilt. It will have nine nesting boxes made out of a 9-cube shelf that we found at the Reuse Center, and three roosts. On top of a 16 by 20-foot run, we are going to enclose under the coop for additional scratching space. It will also keep them dry if it rains.
We are going to rototill around the perimeter of the run and lay hardware cloth about two feet wide to help stop predators from digging in under the run and coop. Apparently, according to neighbors, we have 2 foxes, a bobcat and a fisher hanging around the area. So, protection is a high priority for us. Motion sensor solar lights and a radio in the coop for noise are some of our other protection measures.
I think we are going to repurpose some buckets for feeders and waterers. It is amazing what you can find on Pinterest and YouTube to research do it yourself projects to save money. These chickens have most definitely been a costly investment even though we did all the work ourselves and used recycled materials when we could.
So happy that Spring is starting to show itself. I am finding random flowers popping up everywhere. That is the fun part about buying a new house in the winter, you never know what is planted or where. Stay tuned for more chicken news. Thanks for reading.
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