Predator proof the chicken coop!
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- Опубліковано 27 кві 2017
- Keeping predators out of the chicken coop is a necessity. Hardware cloth and a Chicken Guard automated door is a step in the right direction. This build is coming to a close....finally. Chickens coming soon!
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You impress me with your concern for the chickens welfare, you have a kind heart. Thanks for the video.
Thanks to all who have posted their building projects and protection for their chickens, these ideas will be such a help to others who are just beginning. Thank you Fireballmalone1!
Sir, your chicken coop is like Ritz Carlton in Hawaii. When I die and reincarnate, I want to be
a chicken in your chicken coop. You have golden hands, man!
Love the idea of the screws and washers to attach the hardware cloth. I’ve heard foxes can yank out hardware cloth that has been stapled.
And less work to remove if you need to take it down.
I love your run. I love the natural wood color. High quality workmanship. I love your run so much I am going to save this video and build one exactly like it. I enjoyed this video!
Your such a very caring man to care & protect your chickens. God bless you.❤️🐓🐣🐓
Thank you very much for such a kind comment.
It's protecting his investment.
You have set the bar for predator proofing! I would LOVE to have a coop as secure as yours. Plus, it looks amazing!
Nice work. Looks good. You're going to have some happy chickens!
Glad to see there are more people that respect and care for animals. I am planning on getting some chicken transforming my shed into a chicken coop. Also want to build an area like you did so they can come out and be chicken. I live in the middle of the woods so I am worried about predators. Thanks for the video.
I'm building a Duck Run.
You helped so much! I am staking the area first and shoring up a good base. Watching your build helps a lot. Thanks.
I really appreciate your kind words. I truly hope for your build to be fun and without issue. Cheers!
You have done a good job for someone who knows little about what you were doing .. from now on it is onward and upward in the building department pal.. well done ...
Awesome build!!!
I subscribed.
Binge watching now, lol.
Thank you for sharing.
William Gallaher Thanks for the awesome comment!!
You must have lost some chickens like all of us. I plan on making my coop very safe too.
Thank you for your video .. I too had to rebuild mine into a Fort Knox !! Too many critters where I live!! But I am asking for a video to see your flooring!! I made a wood flooring put dirt all over it, left a 2x2 area of dirt with double chicken wire and boarded into a box shape. The critters over the last few years have eaten holes in places ... I've patched with hardware cloth then a board on top ... still they over a few months manage to break in some where else by digging underneath!
Very nice coop and run. For those just starting, don't wait until your coop is done (assuming you're building it) before ordering your chicks. They should be in an in-door brooder for weeks (maybe months) before transitioning to the main coop. Pick out an area, get some plans together, make a homemade brooder, order your chicks, then start on your coop. That'll get you motivated to finish.
You are a good man! I appreciate someone who takes the time to actually build a proper coop and run to protect your gals. Too many people build sub standard and shoddy coops, and then blame the predators! Then the next step for them is to pronounce war on simple animals, and to kill kill kill, by shotgun, rifle, or drowning. If a predator gets someone's chickens, it's their fault, plane and simple. Sadly, many people appear to get out smarted on a regular basis by racoons! You have shown us all the way an intelligent, compassionate human being deals with the issue. Your gals will be protected and safe, as are the other native animals in the area. My coop is not your standard, but you have created the benchmark in chicken coops, and I will aspire to copy your ideas when I upgrade this spring. Cheers from Victoria, Canada
Thank you so much for such incredible feedback. I completely agree with you about how, on average, people knee jerk reaction to a predator is to kill it, but that alters the natural balance of an area. We have raccoons, opossums, hawks, and I’ve heard of occasional bear and bobcat sitings. Some of those have tried and failed to get into the coop, but they love all the bird feeders. In the backwoods we carefully created a small pond adjacent to the stream we have for animals in the summer that roam the woods. I’m trespassing on they’re land really, so I try to minimize my impact. Adding chickens to the mix made me step up my game to make sure they would be safe without having to “remove” the natural threat. That’s why I sacrifice internet speeds, and quick jaunts to the store to live in a remote area. Nature is awesome and we could learn a lot from it and like minded people. Cheers!
Good protection. My coop was built on the concrete dog run. I have hardware cloth round the entire run.
Such a beautiful job man. Great idea overlapping the chicken wire on the ground. Thanks for sharing. Have a wonderful and safe year.
Yep. That's how I did my coop and the lower portion of their run, hardware cloth (AKA rabbit wire) Nothing short of a bear will get past it.
Hardware cloth and chicken wire are not the same thing.
@@vkaygee oops. I meant rabbit wire. I made a video on my predator proof coop. I fixed my mistake, thanks.
Dude! You've got you a Fort Knox chicken coop! Awesome!
C F Thanks!! They seem to like it and we've had some break in attempts but so far no successes.
$1000+ coop for a $2.50 chicken..
NICE SETUP. ✌
I'm building a house and getting chickens once settled. Thanks for the tips, looks great!!
Better hurry up before the great reset.
Your coop/run is really nice. I'm trying to predator proof mine, but can only do a little bit at a time, due to the cost of hardware cloth.
Good luck with your chickens!
Thank you! It’s a shame that the prices on everything has gone up so much. Good luck with your upgrade! Cheers
you built one of the best i.,ve saw yet great job
Jeanette Street thank you very much! It has been a lot of fun and a great learning experience so far. ATB
Best I've saw yet?????????Where the hell did you attend school? Nowhere?
This is great!! Thanks for the ideas...this helps so much!!
pam t I appreciate you taking the time to comment on these videos. So far this has worked out well. I have had 2 incidents of an animal attempting to get in this winter by trying to dig under unsuccessfully and climbing over with no access points. I am going to add one more motion light and possibly a camera
If you don't have a camera, how did you know that there was an attempt made to access the coop by climbing over? Really good build, btw.
Paula Beattie I ended up getting a trail camera I setup on a tree facing the coop that runs at night. At one point there were some marks up on the roof where the run meets the coop that looked like claw marks or possibly bite marks. The added solar motion lights have really helped for that as well. Thanks for the kind comment. ATB.
Almost wish I was a chicken ! Great work !
Wulfy
Thank you SO much. We are constantly making adjustments and changes as the flock shrinks and grows, and the weather changes; and especially the more we learn. ATB
Brilliant excellent craftsmanship well done!
Mat Daniels Thanks! They seem to enjoy it ATB
Great job, good walk through!
Cheers. I have made some changes with experience but this has kept out quite a few "break in" attempts. ATB
This is the best coop ever!
Nice coop! You are one talented guy!
I like how you did the roof of the run.
Thanks. One thing we’ve changed since then was to upgrade the roof to a metal one. Living in a densely forested area has led to limbs falling and breaking plastic panels. It also helps keep the pen cooler in the summertime.
Looks wonderful!
Thank you! It has held up really well to some break in attempts out here in the woods, and the chickens seem to like it. Cheers
Nice job! Love it.
I just noticed this video was shot in April 2017. Do you have any new videos since then? Would love to see any new videos of your chicks and the whole area that you built for them over a year ago.
Summer Devlin I actually made this update after your first couple comments. I felt inspired to do an update. Hope it’s ok
ua-cam.com/video/uZl7ezBn4Ac/v-deo.html
Since you've had this a while, can you update if your protective perimeter hardware cloth worked well?
This is a fantastic job you have done on this. Where did you get your automatic door for the coup, and how many millions was it? I have been pricing them and I tell ya, I know they are worth it, but they can be pricey. Thanks for the time you took to make these videos, they are fabulous....
Darlene Woodhurst thank you so much for the kind comment. I think after everything I spent about $1500 to build it myself. The automotive door has a pretty hefty price tag but it's oh so worth it. I have installed a solar fan and inside rope lights since to try and improve there experience. They are amazing to watch and own. ATB
The best chicken coop so far I see , great work 👍❤️SUBSCRIBED
Thank you so much!
Great video where did you buy the automatic coop door opener?
Great idea with the screws and washers!!
I use a radio in my chicken house .keep mice out .I build my coop with concrete blocks totally safe . doesn't rot like wood.wash the hole place out when the weather is good. think you should definitely consider it if planning another coop..great job by the way.im a poultry breeder from ireland.back yard Framer.
Thank you so much for the feedback. I built it off the ground and made sure to put it on block and after a few years it's still doing pretty good. I do like the idea of being able to spray out the whole inside though. We have a quick daily clean routine and about once a month I change out the shavings and every 3 I clean out the coop pretty thorough except in winter It's still a learning process and getting advice from experienced people like yourself has really helped alot. Go raibh maith agat!
Colm Cummings a radio to keep mice out? Could you tell me more about that?
Hello- beautiful job! I’m getting ready to put down a predator apron, but my coop/run is on a perimeter-foundation of cinderblocks. Do you have a recommendation for attaching the apron to the blocks? Or do you think I could just use landscape staples into the ground, right next to the foundation? I’d appreciate your thoughts. Thank you :)
I would think that the landscape staples should work just fine. I did that for a chicken tunnel and we had a dog try to get in and couldn’t get under it. And that didn’t have nearly the same stability as a coop. They work pretty well. Good luck!
Good job! I'm still trying to decide how to make a run out of pallets and scrap wood.
I have seen some pretty innovative builds with similar materials on Pinterest. That is always a really good tool for inspiration. I hope it is a fun build, and good luck!
Late to the party, but I made my run out of pallets, with lathe in between the slats
That’s a great idea, and good use of available materials. I am tinkering with the idea of building a shed out of pallets
I like the digging guard 👌
Just watching how you predator proofed your chicken run, because I still need to do that part. You hung hardware cloth. It is made of metal--correct? It appears you cut it with such ease. What did you use to cut it with?
Cindy Majors Hardware cloth is pretty great. It’s not too bad to cut but just takes time. I used HK Porter 8” bolt cutters. They work great on cattle fencing too. That’s what I did the big chicken with.
www.homedepot.com/p/H-K-Porter-8-in-Wire-Cutters-PWC9/100174049
I’m no affiliated or anything, but thought this would make it easier for you
Super job
Thank you SO much! It was definitely a labor of love. Some adjustments have been made but the overall build has been very successful. Cheers!
Just lost a chicken to a predator, I really appreciate this video. I love your setup man I also want my chickens to be able to come out for a while during the day. 👍🏼
Sorry to hear that.You’re gonna have close calls . My chicken coop extremely primitive. Do random inspections. Always always double wire. Animals are smart when they’re hungry. My coop sits next to my wood shed. I went in there one day and my snow blower and lawnmower were completely covered with dirt. A critter ate a hole in the shed then ate a hole through the floor and tunneled under the coop. But that’s all wired too. I’m back here looking again because I don’t think you can buy a predator proof coop. I think you have to make it. Good luck . Loose dogs are a problem too. Get some traps. A good quiet pellet rifle. And also I have a wooded area across the street so I always take leftover food and dump it over there as sacrifice thinking if they know where to find a easy meal they won’t come to battle with my chicken coop
Great coop! Not even snakes can get in!
Only one small problem, not much air for the chickens.
should you dig a parameter around the build area and fill with barbed wire or concrete so that foxes and other animals can't successfully dig under?
Nice job, It looks like artistic chicken coop, especially the roof . are you use 1/2 inch hot dipped galvanized hardware cloth?
great job...
Thanks!
does the cloth deteriorate less than wire? I've seen on another video that wire will rust and break.
ChickenGuard automatic coop door opener. They are the best of the best.
Very well made video.....
Thanks! They seem to enjoy it. Cheers
Nice!!
Is there hardware cloth on the top of the run? Because if not those plastic sheets can be breached. I also don’t recommend those automated doors because occasionally something will happen and a chicken won’t make it into the coop as one would expect. Otherwise I think you’ve done a fantastic job probably because a lot of the ideas you incorporated is what I have done as well. Especially having the fenced in the front for when you are home
Thanks for the great comment. We didn’t add hardware cloth under the roofing but that’s a really great idea. The automatic doors are really more for letting them out first thing. Every night someone goes out and counts them and makes sure the doors are secure and adjusts windows based on over night temps. It’s definitely not a hands off system. Most of the time it’s flawless and their in prior to the automatic doors going off, but you’re right that sometimes there’s a straggler or the light of the day may throw them off if it’s an odd late night. Thanks again for the hardware cloth on the roof idea!
Do you put the hardware cloth straight on the ground in the middle of the coop, or do you dig down like 6 inches , place the hardware cloth, then put dirt back on tp?
I was able to get down about 6-8 inches and bent the hardware cloth at a 90 degree angle going outwards and the overhang bent section (flat) was 12 inches long and buried. I hope this helps. Cheers
Did you use hardware cloth all around the run? Working on my new run this weekend.thanks
recon14nepa yes I did. The hardware cloth overlaps at a 2x4 for security. I hope your build goes well! Good luck and ATB
Nice. Thanks
I have a rat infestation in my 4x10 coop in Seattle. I previously buried 12" square slate pieces vertically around the perimeter, and that worked for years, but rats are now tunneling through. The walls were chicken wire, and of course that will be changed out to 1/2" hardware cloth and I will keep the food secure overnight. What is the best way to secure the FLOOR (and underground perimeter) from further rat intrusion without a ton of effort? Hardware cloth on the floor? Burying hardware cloth vertically (and if so, how deep)?
Rats are actually pretty intelligent. I did have an issue during the day with rats and I only found out from dropping that started showing up and a camera I installed. Since that, I started raising the food at night and put a squirell baffle like those used on bird feeders and after a few weeks they have disappeared. But I am still diligent. The hardware cloth I buried down about 1 foot and came out horizontally about 14 inches. That has seemed to confuse opossums, raccoons and other rodents that I have seen on the trail camera trying to get in. As fat as the floor...Thats a huge mountain to climb. If your'e going to go that route, hardwire cloth will probably work and I'd go as deep as you can. And get some humane traps to keep the chickens from getting into bait or eating the dead rats. I really hope it helped. Cheers
I know this is an old video, but how much hardware cloth did you use?
Where did they come up with name hardware cloth? It is wire right?
Hi there, I want to build a coop using similar materials but live on a Greek island with limited hardware, my question is the hardware fabric you used,; is it plastic coated wire or just plastic or something else? Keep up the good videos well done to you
David Kiffin Thank you for the comment. The hardware cloth I have is a welded wire mesh made from galvanized steel. There is stainless steel out there too but it’s much more expensive. So far it’s done really against a few opossums and raccoons and the weather. I really hope this helps and wish you the best of luck!! ATB
I live your home set up and little pets
Great job! Just curious...are you concerned using treated wood instead of cedar?
It hasn't proven to be of any issue so far. The inside of the coop has been white washed and the wood wasn't treated. As for the pen that's attached, I was a little concerned about maintaining the integrity of the wood for a long time with the weather we have here and though treated wood would be the best choice. I have changed some things since this video, like the perches especially. Now I use natural limbs I find in the woods and clean and treat them with DE and they seem to love them. Thanks for the comment and ATB. Cheers!
That seems to be a pretty common misconception. Treated wood doesn't mean that it is toxic. People tell me all the time about how they don't want it inside their house, but in reality its completely harmless. Anyone who spends money on cedar lumber is a fool, considering that its literally no better for gardening purposes than any other type of wood and is extremely expensive. Also take into consideration the amount of environmental damage and the massive amounts of diesel fuel to harvest, process, and ship a specialty type of lumber in comparison to your average pine, which is 10× cheaper and can be harvested more efficiently and easily replaced. I've seen amazing raised bed gardens built out of things as simple as logs, or even dog-eared fence boards which are treated and only cost a couple dollars. I work at a lumber yard and I can tell you a little secret about cedar... the only thing its good for is remodeling or repairing older homes that were built with cedar products, unless someone just has more money than brains and feel like paying $40 for one 1 × 6. At that point you would be spending more money on growing your own food than you would by just buying it from another farmer that has more efficient methods of growing things.
Really impressive. What is “DE”...? (The substance you cleaned the new perches with...)
Where are you buying your hardware cloth, 4 feet x 50 feet is super exensive and doesn't cover much at all?
Suuegrl I live near a Mennonite community and they have a lumberyard that carries farm fencing. It is not cheap that’s for sure but it works really well.
Did you screen the top of the run under the plastic corregated roofing as well? Are you worried about snow load on it (if you get snow)?
BaggioItal we get very little, if any snow here. I have a lot of 2x4s holding up the roofing so I think it should be ok, but I will keep an eye on it. I didn't do any screen under the roofing but I fastened it tightly all the way around. About 2-3 times a month I do a pretty in depth check on everything to see if any critters are attempting access. I have a trail cam out there too. Thanks for comment, atb
Im currently building a run very similar to your design. Thanks for the reply. Great job on the videos. Thank you
Thank you and good luck with your build. The only advice I can give is watch for drainage. I get some water inside the run when it rains really hard.
I've added a gutter and a long drain to the gully but it would have been a lot easier if I'd done it first. ATB!!!
you think 2x4s weight will stop racoons? all that house for nothjng
stai zitto, chiudi la bocca!
Lots of trees in the open area. Any problems wit fowl predi
ators?
We’ve been lucky regarding predators. Something that he’s helped is the crows that have found our many bird feeders. The crows will actually chase off hawks, and that has been very fortunate. The only other predator issues come at night and haven’t gotten in yet..
SUBBED, Great job.
vera747 Thank you SO MUCH! Really glad you liked the video. Cheers!
@@fireballmalone1 You have created peace on earth. I am inspired.
What tool did you use to cut the hardware cloth?
what kind of screws with washers are those?
Lookin good!! Are those white PVC roof panels?
It was a greenhouse heavy duty plastic. It held up quite well for a few years. Even after some impacts from branches and break in attempts from some animals. I have since upgraded to metal roofing and am planning on some panel windows for rain protection.
@@fireballmalone1 Thanks for the info! Sorry for the late reply, still getting a hang of this UA-cam thing. Maybe you'll do a video with your coop upgrades? :) :)
Some folks say a 2 foot predator apron is the standard.
That is probably a better estimate than what I did, but I can say from my experience of 2 years, 8 opossums, 3 raccoons and various other unknown animal break-in attempts; this has been very effective and resulted in no incidents. But, aside from that, I would say if I were to do it again I would consider a deeper buried and wider barrier circumference with electrified lines and more motion lights to possibly reduce the amount of attempts I am aware of. Not to mention the ones I am not. 2 foot is probably not a bad idea, but this has been sufficient so far. Cheers!
Great work keeping them safe! Have you had any issues with bears?
We have only had 1 bear that we know of come through the property that was captured by a trail camera I have out by the coop but it was more interested in the feed shed than the coop. Luckily there wasn't any damage cause we keep everything in food grade lockable bins. I have recently started getting the equipment to run an electrical line around the run because we've had some raccoon issues. Cheers!
Thanks for the reply! We live in black bear country so we re doing our homework before bringing chickens home. I’d love to know how the hot wire turns out. Cheers.
Wow that’s a luxury coupe mine is just a wrap a round plastic wrap held up by screws and pieces of old doors. Lmao. My chickens live in the projects.
hahahahaha, "the projects"!!! LOL. I've seen some pretty horrible "coops" that could be considered the ghetto for sure. I'm sure yours isn't nearly as bad as you think it is. I appreciate the awesome comment. Cheers!
@@fireballmalone1 lmao 😂 I’m serious! My chickens are straight hood! They even have a food stamps card to their name. SMH 🤦♂️ anytime bro. Cheers! 🍻
they make fence staples
I have my chickens for 4 years I only had bird predators until January 1. I saw my chicken on the ground. I saw the red fox on my neighbors yard staring at me! I was so horrified to see 4 chickens dead on the ground. The one was the next to be killed. We had fence on our property. I never thought a red fox can be my chickens 'predators!!!! It was a sad day!!! My other chickens don't want to go outside their coop. They only eat then go back to their roosting place!
I love it ,
Cheers!
Very well thought out and planned! It should serve you very well the rest of your life.
Cindy Majors I really appreciate it. I had never built anything like this before. As the seasons go by I keep having ideas for improvements but time isn’t always an ally.
I admire men that have hobbies and goals and use their talents. Your work is most excellent. Enjoy each day and what you are doing, because time travels by real fast.
Cindy Majors Thank you for the kind words. I try and remember how fortunate I am to live out here and have a chance to do this. Sometimes I’m not sure what I’m doing but figure in the end I’ll have made something, and hopefully it’s half as good I wanted lol. ATB!
Yep. Just wing it! Looks great to me! Remember, nothing has to be perfect--just fun!
Cindy Majors I second that. Too many times I’ve abandoned an idea before I began because I thought it wouldn’t be perfect. Not anymore!
I may build one like this. Only thing is its not wild predators im trying to keep out. Its my german shepard, she would catch wild turkeys and bring them to the house and eat them and i dont know what she would do with any chickens. One thing i am going to do is put the coop in this little 0fenced off area i have. But she dug under the fence and bent it on the 4th of July, shes very gun shy. So i dont know if i could do chickens but will definitely do something to keep her out
thank you for that video i going to get chickens
That is awesome to hear, and thank you for the comment. They are so amazing and such a great addition to the family. Cheers and best of luck!!
unless you have hawks chickens wont run too far away
The penned up run is attached to an open run that is circled by about 250 feet of cattle wire. I have since topped it with bird netting and the wild crows we feed have helped with the hawks. Cheers
Hey bud do you do line work for a living ?
Common Sense Did the boots give it away?
When u did the extra run,did u put a top on it?
No. I thought of a few option long netting, and it fell apart after like a week. We’ve been lucky because we’ve never had an issue when they’re penned up. We do free range them whenever we’re in the yard all day, but have lost 2 to dogs unfortunately.
Sorry about your dogs😥
Thanks, they were some strays that just happened to be wandering through the woods at the wrong time.. lesson learned a hard way. Have a great day!
i have seen raccoons and possums eat thru chicken wire
how sure are you they are not gonna chew thru your hardware cloth?
Its been a few years since the initial build and with the trail camera I've installed I have been privileged to see quite a few thwarted attempts to gain access into the coop. We have been very fortunate to not have lost any chickens to predators and that includes some wild dogs that were a bit of a menace for a short time last summer. I admit I have made some minor repairs but so far so good and the hardware cloth has been a great success. Cheers
Genius
Thanks! It’s still holding strong
Do you think regular chicken wire would be breached by fox and raccoons?
Yeah, I think racoons can chew threw it. I used hardware cloth because its hella tough. It really isn't that much different in cost and it adds axtra strength to the structure. Hope this is helpful, good luck!
Going to take your advice on this and stick with hardware cloth. Thanks for the help man!
@@Arthurdankarelli Anytime, sorry it took so long to get back to you. Let me know how it turns out! Good luck.
fireballmalone1 Absolutely. Thanks again!!
*_P O S T - M A L O N E_*
SteamCracksPacks I am unaware of the relevance of that statement
Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice.
Cherokee Judy
What size washers and screw? Type?
I don't have the answer off hand but this weekend I will find the answer and leave an additional reply. I hope that will help and apologize I don't know.. Cheers! ......maybe friday
Bill’s Coop- For obvious reasons, this is one of my personal favorites. rb.gy/px4rks This coop features a suspended upper house with a full range below, a ramp for easy entrance to the upper level. This design has my personal touches and I have had some clients throw wheels on it after building for easy portability.
nice
Katalin Váradi Zsoltné I wish you the best of luck with keeping your dog out. That’s gotta be a rough challenge to tackle.
Get the Right-Sized Coop
Keep Chickens in an Area Using a Pen if you don’t have a Fence
Increase Egg-Laying
What did you use to cut your hardware cloth? Great looking coop!
Summer Devlin thank you! I used a pair of Tekton 8” bolt cutters. They’re pretty great. They worked on the hardware cloth and. The cattle fence I used for the run. And they were inexpensive at about 9$. They carry them at Home Depot and Lowes. Hope this helps, good luck and ATB!
Thanks for the quick response. When you were cutting the top panel of hardware cloth that was hanging over the bottom panel it looked like you did it so "seemlessly". It looked too easy and this cloth is tough. I thought I would have to buy a dremmel saw for about $70 dollars. I do have a Black & Decker Hand Saw (electric) that I thought I might use but it seems it would be awkward in tight spots. Thanks, again. I'm very impressed with your coop!
Summer Devlin I appreciate the kind words. I have used that cutter for all kinds of stuff and even though you have to cut each piece your hand doesn’t really get tired. There’s very little pressure need in my experience to cut. It just takes a while.
Thank you, sir. With all the money I have already spent I really don't need to buy a metal shears tool, dremmel saw or grinder with cutting disc. I will just get the Tekton 8" bolt cutters or try my large handled wire cutters. Thanks again, for all the information and the quick responses. I start to work on Saturday so needed to know soon.
Summer Devlin The money does add up really fast when building something like that. It’s exciting to think your starting it! I love building stuff like that. I hope it’s a fun project.
any plans, material list available?
Unfortunately not, sorry. I am not experienced in building and kind of just build off an idea and don't write stuff down. I used 4x4s for the uprights and 2x4s for the rest. The chickens coop is 8' wide and the run that is attached is 14' long. The vertical posts were dug down about 1 1/2' which was dictated by bedrock, then cemented in. I used hardware cloth around the whole structure and buried it as deep as I could to keep from digging in, which has proven effective after 2 years. I did have a small issue with the pitch for water and debris runoff because I am 6'2" and wanted the low end to withstand my height. I would have made it lower, or the coop higher in hindsight to avoid the cleaning I have to do on the roof due to the pitch not being steeper. It is still effective, but could have been more efficient. I really hope this helps, and apologize I don't have proper plans for the build available. Good luck if you attempt something similar, Cheers!
Thanks for the material list mate, great job on the coop. Looks professional! Just had a question what is the automated chicken mechanism that operates your coop door? Anywhere I could find one? Thanks again 😊
Does the hardware cloth go over the roof what keeps the raccoons from ripping up the top of the roof
mist No but the roofing is bolted down pretty good. So far we haven’t had any issues with the roof but there’s been some signs around the base with some digging. I’ve installed a trail cam and haven’t caught any critters in it yet
mist If you have a lot of raccoons in your area I think it would be a great idea to cover the top with hardware cloth. After you mentioned this I’ve been thinking air about it and am considering an over haul and doing it myself. If you do let me know how it works out. Good luck and thanks for the idea. I think it’s a great one. Opossums are smart tricky little buggers too and this would help keep them out as well. Cheers
good
I am going to build a laser activated predator catcher which I use my HP (Hewlett-Packard) laptop to set a cage on a wild predator prior to training it as my hunting weapon against other wild predators
Mice sure áre a problem here..they dugg their holes under the run and are getting the chickenfood...when they poo and pee on the food, the chickens can het sick..😢
Cynthia Molenaar As much as I hate killing anything, I have to admit we set mice traps. Obviously no poison because chickens eat everything. But we do our best to keep mice out of the coop and clean the coop practically daily. The last thing anyone wants is the chickens getting sick. Thank you for the comment and all the best
fireballmalone1 please don’t feel offended by my remark, I only told you what my problem is...We have a real ”explosion” of mice in the Netherlands, famers have their fields full of them, and we have them in town in our backyard and the garage. Now I really make an effort to make my new coop and run anti-mice and hope to make sure that they cannot reach the food that is avalable for the chickens to eat. 😳
Cynthia Molenaar No offense at all. Actually, I appreciate you sharing your experience. For food storage I make sure all of the chickens food is in durable airtight food grade containers. Every weekend I dump the food left over in their feeders out for the birds and replace with fresh food. We definitely go a little overboard by cleaning the coop daily but It isn’t an inconvenience but I think they enjoy a clean cook over the alternative. I’m really sorry to hear you have so many challenges with mice where you live. I think some of the best ways we can improve any chore, hobby, or activities that we try to be good at is through the community of people like you who take the time to offer insight. I wish you the best and thanks again for the words of encouragement. goede gezondheid
fireballmalone1 thanks!! The learning process works both ways! I am so happy with video’s like these and people who take the effort in making them.
I don't understand why everyone calls hardware cloth/mesh "Predator proof"
IT ISN'T!!
Just as easily as you can grab it and rip it off from the staples or nails, so can a raccoon. Hardware cloth is VERY EASILY ripped open by most animals.
Hardware cloth is only necessary on the bottom two feet of the coop or anywhere a chicken may physically be next to so that the raccoons cannot reach in and grab a chicken that is sitting next to the fence.
The entire Coupe needs to be surrounded by 14 gauge fencing at minimum even where the hardware cloth is, there needs to be a layer of 14 gauge on top of it.
There also needs to be a layer on the ground so that they cannot dig into the coop
Viper fukgoogPlus Will you provide a link to your UA-cam chicken coop build?
I got mine on Amazon.