Backyard chickens - Chicken coop and run updates
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- Опубліковано 2 жов 2024
- If you haven't watched my first video (the one with the most hits), start with that! After more than a year of bliss, the chickens started pecking out each others butt feathers :-/ What a hassle! Early research indicated it might be mites, but I treated for that and the problem continued. So, I extended their living space (adding 200 square feet of scratching space) and the problem seems to be improving; it looks like they were simply bored in such a confined space.
the pecking is from boredom and stress from being crowded. You did the right thing by enlarging the coop run! Smart thinker. And, the run is barely noticeable...good idea.
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.
good
I don’t have a home owners association, but my township has restrictions on how many chickens can be kept depending on amt of land you have. Also, they require a certain setback from property lines. I imagine your HOA might have some restrictions, but they could possibly ban them altogether. Eat at Franklin BBQ for me in Austin!
Pick the Right Breed
Keep the Coop Locked at Night to keep out Predators
Teach Chickens to use Nesting Boxes
I've always wanted to build 2 or more runs and allow the chickens access to one run at a time. I would plant wheatgrass in the one(s) not being used. Once the wheatgrass is about 6 inches tall (only takes 10-20 days) I would open that run for the chickens, and then plant the run they were using with another batch of wheatgrass. Keep alternating like that and they will be very happy and extremely healthy.
I'm looking into building another chicken coop after many years of not owning chickens.
Wheat grass excellent idea. My grandfather always grew alfalfa.
When you cut grass toss the clipping in the chicken pen, they need that and LOVE it !!
I know this video is a few years old, but I just wanted to say thank you for being so kind to your animals, its rare these days, unfortunately, People just treat them like things sometimes and its sad. That was an awesome run you built them too!!
Such smart ideas!
I like it. Using a "tunnel" to give them access to a larger area like you did seems to be a great solution for your situation. The deer fencing sounds good, but I'm curious: don't you need to worry about raptors trying to get chicken dinner?
What I've been thinking of doing is to have an easily movable tunnel (or three tunnels, each able to be blocked off separately) leading to three adjacent but separately fenced areas. My thinking is to let them scratch and forage in each area for a couple of weeks before rotating them to the next area. That would allow about a month for regrowing new grass (and weeds) in each area. (I also need to figure out the best way to protect them from hawks and eagles.)
At this point, though, it's all just general ideas, not even to the level of specific implementation plans. Right now I'm in the middle of moving and it'll take a while to start in on the necessary work.
I do worry about hawks / eagles getting them in the new fenced in area...but keeping them penned up and allowing them to peck each other seemed like an even more cruel option. I will probably put some lightweight garden netting over the top if that one keeps flying out. That will also prevent the raptors from flying in. I love your idea of rotating pecking areas. Sounds like a great solution!
You are hot ;) lol, thanks for caring for your chickens like they should be cared for!
This is awesome, thanks for sharing
Love the videos! I am looking into building a coop with a run. Do you recommend that fencing you use or the hardware cloth?
Definitely not this fencing. I never had an issue w it except for the snake, but one of my viewers said that he watched as a skunk squeezed right through it to get out. I’m thinking if skunks can get through, rats probably can too :-/
I saw your first video and really liked it and this second video is great too! I love the ideas that you shared and can't wait to get my coop going. This is just really amazing.
love your coop i wish i had it LOL... i love chickens seem to be getting more as we speak. i said 4 and i now have 12 and getting 4 more friday LOL... they are funny
Love your coop. Mine is smaller and I bought two extensions that fit more or less together so the chickens can have more room. I can move the extensions, which aren't too large around the yard so the chickens get a change of scenery - then just scoot them back for the evening. One thing we got was a shop vac to clean up the coop. I'm lucky and have a shed and electricity pretty handy. The shop vac works really well and then we just throw the pooped on shavings into a compost pile. Since we don't have as much room as you do, I throw greens into the run everyday - dandelions, lambsquarter and other 'weeds'. Isn't it fun having hens!
Diatomaceous Earth (DE) is great for external parasites on those girls as well as adding some quarter-annually to their feed to treat/prevent intestinal worms. Totally safe..just make sure you get the pure white food-grade type.
Do you have a recent update on your laying hens? Did you build any perches in the runs so they can get off the ground? I would be concerned about varmints in the large run. Like your videos.
WORM GITTER That's not a bad idea to put some perches in the large run...it would definitely buy some time if something did get in during the day. The netting on top and sides would deter any predators...but they could get in if they wanted to. At night, I close off the main coop from that netted portion.
I did have a hawk attack one of my hens (prior to the top netting). Surprisingly, she survived relatively unscathed. Other than that, my main concern these days is the lack of eggs / eggs that break (I have tried oyster shells but it does not seem to have made a difference). Thanks for the suggestion....
Another USEFUL idea by Mr. Fleming. I really like the look of the small shrubs.....makes the coop look twice as good!! Bravo!
Thanks! It also gave the chickens the benefit of some late afternoon shade to hang out in if they wanted to.
good video. thanks for the warning. I think ive got a little bit bigger run and less chickens but if I get the same problem I think I might build a trailer. then I will have to haul them around the yard every day. spoilt things....
yeah! Having a transportable coop solves a lot of problems. You might find some people referring to them as chicken tractors. I hope you never have to mess with all this ! what a pain!
I love the chute! We are doing that around our garden this year! When our hens get to picking on each other a lot (usually in the winter), we've found that giving them the Meat Bird feed helps. It has a higher % of protein.
I use the same coop style, for my run i placed a bale of hay they pick at it all day and spread it around so the grass will grow back.
Very nice coop and run, thank you. Alfalfa makes a real good ground covering for them and they like to eat it. Best part is the roots are tougher than grass.
I admire your talent. The first video was awesome and this addition is very impressive. I hope i will do the same some day.
Thanks for your sharing.
Hey E Fleming, I have quite a small yard for raising chickens, about 8ft by 12 ft. I was thinking about doing a two level(2 story) chicken run. Will that work? your advice will be appreciated.
Very nice video's, thanks for sharing. We only have two hens and they are big escape artist. They like to get out and hang out in the goat house - lots of worms and bugs to eat and super soft dirt. I'm going to be building a new coop for them off of our garden shed.
I like your water set up and feeder set up too and the door. Think I'll incorporate all of those into mine.
H good job I'm very proud of you I'm very happy to see something being done for the good
Cool stuff there Chris. Will use some of you ideas in my coop build. I would think about a solar charger on or near the coop if coop not in sun, and putting the shoot under ground so that you could walk around the back of the coop. and also an un knowing or thinking person would not get hurt (and yes even nefarious people)
UA-cam 'Fodder System' and learn to create another great food source for those girls! Better than having them walk on wire screens in my opinion.
Chickens don't have to fly the whole why, my chickens just push off about midway of the fence I have and finish flying the rest of the way out of their coop.
I was looking on my computer that chicken get board so giving them something to do.Dig up part of the ground and let them look for worms and bugs. I am waiting to hear about a farm we like.
Have you moved the fencing around and let them range through out the yard? This would take care of all your weed problems and to fertilize your yard at the same time.
An idea for your chicken run put in a wire mesh or plastic mesh (gentler on feet and beaks) about a foot off the ground and grow a grass below they love chomping on it as it grows daily.
+Edward Stevenson Interesting idea. I have tried to stay away from mesh because of "bumblefoot" but the plastic mesh is a decent thought. hmmm.
great coop I need to redo ours and this gives me some good ideas. We let them free range during the day and I built an auto door that has been working great Open at 8 am and close at 5 took a few days to train them but now they are out and in on time. I have to build a house for them and I like the way you did yours I am copying it. Thanks
One way you might go about getting grass back into their run is to make a small frame (e.g. 3' x 4') covered with hardware cloth, seed underneath it and the grass can grow without the chickens eating it. Once the grass grows move the screen to a different bare spot - the chickens can go crazy on the new grass and they'll have more when the 2nd spot has grass and you've moved the "screen" again. Not sure how easy it would be for you to do this as I didn't see an easy way into the run for you.
that is a good idea. I just may do that! I know there is a foot problem chickens can get if they spend too much time walking on wire (bumblefoot), and their nails can break off in it...but if there's no food up there for them, I can't imagine why they would spend much time on it. Thanks!
flemwad18
Yes, you have to watch their feet, and you can't ever predict what chickens will climb on! I wasn't my idea, I read it on a blog, just passing it along. You may be able to use plastic screening stapled to a frame which shouldn't hurt their feet and probably would let enough light in for the grass to grow. As a matter of fact, I think the blogger used an old window screen as an example.
getting a coop in a couple of weeks - using your great ideas to get up and running! good videos and you're straight to the point! hope to see more soon! thanks for sharing!
Looks like a good solution to the problem.
Survivor, you're one of my most loyal viewers. Always one of the first to comment :-) Thanks!
:-) Thank you for always sharing.
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thanks!
I really enjoyed your video , and those chickens sounds like they really enjoy the grass... hmn I may get some chickens once I have my other projects in order.. thanks for a pleasant video and great idea.. your coop and chicken run look really nice :D
Nice work!! Love learning from your chicken coop videos. You have some really great ideas so thank you for sharing!!
Great videos and I like your design. We repurposed an old horse stall to a chicken coop and used deer fencing to enclose an adjoining outdoor run for them as well, which is also covered in netting to protect from hawks. An experienced farm kid/friend said we could have 50 chickens in there, where we only have 5 but they would still pick feathers off the butts of the weaker ones, especially during molting. Turns out they will do this for added protein, so my guess is that whatever food you were giving them wasn't high enough protein and that you've solved this since they're laying so well now. They do get bored even in our large run, so whenever I'm weeding in the garden I make multiple drops of buckets of weeds for them to scratch and peck through, and yes, as someone else said, an $8 bale of hay with the strings cut will keep them busy for several weeks (and they'll mulch the area for you, too!). I read another person's idea in the winter to hang a green cabbage inside so they get some exercise hopping up a bit to peck at that. Hope all your girls are still doing well.
I've really enjoyed all of your chicken coop videos. I'm just starting my first build, and all of your videos have been extremely helpful and very informative. I have a simple question on your run. I noticed that the 2x4 base plates are vertical (4" side vertical). Did you toe nail the 2x4 studs that form your walls into the base plate? Or did you use really long screws and screw from the bottom of the place plate up into the wall studs? Thanks for your help and all the great tips in your videos! -Tom
Hey Tom, great question. I toe nailed the bottom of those 2x4s to the plate piece. To deter predators, I think I actually used a 2x6 as the plate board and buried it in the ground a bit. Good luck with the build, let me know if you run into any more problems along the way.
Eric
would a 12 ft and the 2ft x 6 under the coop run for 6 chickens be enough?
Not enough room and boredom are definitely the number one cause of feather picking.
enjoyed your video, have you ever heard of a chicken tractor, its a moveable lot and nest box set-up, and chickens can fly like crazy, but you can trim their wings back some without hurting them
I have heard of a chicken tractor and would love a moveable coop...unfortunately, I'm not sure that my neighbors would enjoy looking at a coop in the middle of my yard. Someday when I have more land, I'll go that route.
Maybe you could keep them section off areas where you have planted seeds of something they like, and then let them access that area, and alternate it, giving them a new area each day to peck.
I had thought about that, but its unbelievable how quickly they destroy a section of grass. they seem to love scratching in the dirt to find worms a lot too
I know, mine actually spent more time under the mulch looking for worms, than destroying the grass. A couple of bags of mulch would probably help feed the worms, and of course they LOVE a bail of straw ! It feeds the worms too. Keeping the ground well mulched will attract a lot of earthworms.
Hi, loved your design and was just out today looking to buy parts per your blueprints but now I see both your video and design images are taken down. Will they be back up?
Bryan Mastis I'm sorry about that, I took them down at night thinking I would be reposting the completed video and plans shortly. Unfortunately, I had repeated issues posting the 5GB video. The plans are available again now. www.flickr.com/photos/coopinstructions/sets/
Awesome. Thanks so much. Its clear you put a lot of work and love into this.
Great Coop you have there. We live in a community that will not allow chickens :( One of these days we are going to get out of the city to an area where I can have them!! Have they started laying yet?
:-( sorry to hear that. Oh yeah, the chickens are laying machines now!! I get about 45 eggs a week out of 7 chickens. It's crazy!
Did you have to move the run to the side where the grass was growing?
Looks like you will have to constantly keep swapping their run area from side to side as they eat all the grass away. I still have to say...what a great idea!
Initially I had thought about trying to keep grass in there, but I think I will probably just leave things the way they are. As it is now, there are a lot of leaves at the bottom and they love scratching through those to find worms.
I hope this doesn't come off as too creepy but what state do you live in!? it looks extremely beautiful and I love all of the background bird sound
kyliefornia175 Pennsylvania
i also put up deer fencing in my yard for the chickens. This worked really well until some neighbor's dog broke through the net fencing and killed one chicken and maimed another
+Chris Linderman :-( thats terrible!
Appreciate your vid's!
Very nice!
How many chickens can I put in this chicken coop?
That's a really good idea, Your birds are looking good for the Freedom
What do you use for the floor of the run? Just sand?
Excellent!!! Thanks for the update. Looks great!
That's a really awesome coop and your chickens seem really happy.
Why not let them free range. They won't tear up all the grass that way and they eat all the bugs and fertilize as they go. They come back home when it get dark because they know that a predator will get them.
1) Predators can get them during the day (hawks, dogs, cats). 2) I have neighbors
We have all kinds of predators in our area, Osprey and Falcons and Owls mostly. My neighbors cats. We still let them roam. They help to control the bugs and till the soil not to mention poop every where. I put traps out and catch all kinds of critters. Cycle of life.....
I built a chicken tractor for my hens and i am having trouble getting them to sleep in the house it's self. I am open to any ideals. for some reason they like to huddle in the corner under the house at night is there any way to make them go in ???
Hmmm, thats interesting. do they have an actual roost in the coop (a raised piece of wood to sleep on)? You might be able to PUT them all in there for a few nights until they get the point. For a few nights, I had some that liked to do that.
i do have a roost and boxes in the house, it is like 4ft x 4ft and maybe 31/2 ft tall, would a low roof make them not like the roost or house maybe? all 4 hens will be 19 weeks this sat. they aren't laying yet, they are buff orphingtons
Lucky chickens!
Around how much did all this cost?
We started making our coop following your how to video but now the video is gone. Will you be putting it back up? We would like to finish the coop to look like yours. Thank you
Heather Arave how is the build going?
It's going good. He got it done to where the chicks can go in. He still needs to build the nesting boxes but we have time for that. Thank you so much for your plans. We still have a ways to go but I love it so far. If I could post a picture I would.
Awesome! Please let me know how the plans work out so I can make adjustments as needed for others.
Hen's love grass.
Oh, totally want this one day!
You are such a sweet chicken dad
Great video Thanks
Thanks for these. Very helpful.
More videos man
How do you keep predators out of your run area? The deer netting looks very easy for critters to get in.
At night, I put a piece of wood down to prevent animals from getting in. The chickens only have access to the deer netting section during the day. I don't worry too much about the predators around here during the day.
thank you, but where do you put the piece of wood? Do you use it as a roof?
if you look under the nesting box area, I have a small door framed out. I slide the piece of wood over that and use a clamp to keep it closed. So, at night the chickens are in an area that is entirely caged in by metal...not deer netting.
k -I'lll have a closer look, Thanks for responding
The chickens fly out of the run but will not fly back in. I watched your first video, the lights are not needed chickens dont fall off their roost. Try deep composting your hen house, you should only have to clean it every few month or if it gets wet.
whyyyyyyyyy! just let them run around man! terrible cage run!
Interested in getting updates.
Hello! What sort of updates would you like to see? I have a few other videos that might help
@@E_Fleming I was hoping for a new coop video seeing what you would or would not have changed with the new location. Thanks.
It’s been a crazy year getting moved in and settled down at the new house. There will be a new coop video before the end of August. Won’t be as big or elaborate as this one, but I’m planning a few new features. I’ve gotten a bunch of comments about the price tag of my two other builds, so the emphasis of this one will be low cost. Hoping to keep it to under a hundred bucks. Stay tuned!!
I LOVE YOUR CHICKENS!!