Jump to content

Unofficial Home of Old Simplicity & Allis-Chalmers Garden Tractors

Hen house building pics!


jsarro

Recommended Posts

I built this two summers ago. Greg was asking to get a closer look. I hope this helps others get some ideas. It is my minds eye design after looking over several coops online. The chickens have added a lot of life to the yard and our kids love them as pets!








Link to comment
Share on other sites

Before it got too big and heavy it was time to move it outside. The legs are 4 X 4 cedar and they are placed on pavers to decrease wear and rot.









Link to comment
Share on other sites

I got some opened discount shingles at Lowes and did the roof. I can take credit for all the construction, but my wife Suzanne stained it inside out, and painted the trim.








Link to comment
Share on other sites

I lined the floor with acrylic removable trays from the roofing department at Lowes. This makes clean out very easy. The floor is a 4 X 8 sheet of plywood.








Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used wire in the open sofit for air flow all year. This keeps the hens healthy and free of lung infections. We close the doors on the windows in the cold weather. The end of the coop has a trap door to slide out the clean out trays. The only thing I would change would be to put more of a pitch on the nesting box door, then I would have been able to hinge it better and avoid rain seeping in the seam in my design. I will fix it this fall. I used deck screws for all the framing and galvanized nails on the trim. The legs are 2 feet long and this allows the hens to be out in the rain and snow under the coop.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very nice job. Thanks for all the detailed pics...Do you close them in at night or does the fence keep out preditors? I have ALOT of coyotes around my place (they got a rabbit & 2 of our ducks). Whats your egg output? was that 3 nestboxes? I think I will copy your design, very cool 8D
Link to comment
Share on other sites

quote:
Originally posted by GLPointon
Very nice job. Thanks for all the detailed pics...Do you close them in at night or does the fence keep out preditors? I have ALOT of coyotes around my place (they got a rabbit & 2 of our ducks). Whats your egg output? was that 3 nestboxes? I think I will copy your design, very cool 8D
Thank you! Your welcome! We have a pretty safe pen, but my wife feels better closing them in at night. When I rebuild the pen out of framed lumbar and wire fence we will probably be predator proof and leave the coop door open at all times. Right now it is just fence post and wire fence. We have lost hens mostly to hawks when they were free ranging. We have lost guinea hens that roost in our trees to , raccoon and fox. We get about 4 dozen eggs a week. My kids give the extra eggs away for $5.00 donations per dozen. The chickens are free ranging a lot and we only give them organic feed. They were able to pay for a good chunk of their new swing set with that extra money. You can bury 1-2' of fence to keep out predators. We did that but have not seen any digging. In my new pen I will build a wire roof with wood framing. Right now we just have a hawk net. That will solve the potential issue of something climbing up and over and into the pen. We have 14 hens, the coop probably maxes out at 16. Yes, 3 nesting boxes.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's pretty fancy for a chicken coop. Any I have seen have been pretty simple or rough looking. I really don't understand the whole deal. I have studied a lot of biology, zoology, micro, ento, eco, etc., all kinds of stuff - and I don't know beans about chickens. I have never pursued it either - to me they are just egg laying machines that seem to defy all the laws of nature and reproduction. I don't know how they do it; just that eggs pop out. Kinda like babies come from storks. :D It makes me laugh how ignorant I am about chickens. Seems to me you really should have a happy rooster, 8) at least one, in the herd. I guess the word is flock (?). Sometimes I think if the pump is primed, it works forever - I just don't know anything about this entire operation. Except, I do know that what they eat is directly related to the quality and nutritional content of the eggs - better food, healthier eggs; and I believe that's about biological magnification, and concentration. But how it all happens, I am lost. I'm sitting here just giggling at how I have studied so much bio, and know nothing about this common genus, and this fairly common activity, and this very common food. Actually I know some things about eggs as food; but that's it - if it ain't the stork, then the babies were found under a bush somewhere. 8) Ignorance is bliss. sm03
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it's cool that the kids are seeing how swing sets get payed for. That's really great. And the price for eggs from healthy, well-cared-for chickens, fed organic food - that's all good, and very important. In local groceries stores, there's quite a price range between various eggs; but the consumer doesn't know the real history, it's just a trust thing. Knowing the source and how they are cared for and what they are fed, etc. - priceless! dOd A very interesting book drifted into the circle of friends a few years ago, and some of it was about olde Tibetan wisdom. It was called Eternal Youth, and was full of info about living forever. Some of the info was about nutrition, they recommended mono-food meals, similar to simple combinations concepts. But there was a thing about eggs where they said "if you going to work in the fields", to eat the whole egg. For lesser physical activities, it was said to eat either just the yolk, or just the white, I can't remember which is which. The basic message was that eggs are high energy food - but if you are not using that energy, it can come back on you, making the body breakdown excess protein. In our world, we often eat too much protein - like the 16 oz steak and such. Obesity and liver problems are in the background of this too. Details were largely absent in this book - a lot of it was almost unbelievable. But there was other stuff about yoga, etc. The book is out of print, and I would pay for a copy. The exercise part has spun off into other books, one is called The Five Tibetans. Some info is online, it's a little sketchy. I consider the useable info to be very valuable; tried it, it works. Most of the health problems we have are optional; the missing link is simple information. Just a few do's and don'ts; and a few other tricks that anyone can use to work supposed miracles. Unbelievable. No problem.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Who's Online (See full list)

    • airgunner
    • mbsengineer
    • BLT
  • Recent Status Updates

    • gwiseman

      gwiseman

      As you know SimpletrACtors.com has changed some recently. Working through this so PM me with questions, suggestions, and/or challenges you have. Appreciate your patience and feedback.
      · 0 replies
    • gwiseman

      gwiseman

      Site programming updates were made 3/23/2024. As a result some things have changed including dues payment options. We will continue maintenance and work with technicians to regain credit card payment option and clear up minor challenges. On positive it appears attaching pictures is now easier. Good day. Gene 
      · 1 reply
  • Adverts

×
×
  • Create New...