I've been meaning to write about the new chicken coop for a while - particularly for @nateonsteemit and @goldenoakfarm - but I've been too busy with the garden and chickens and many other things to do it! I had written a few weeks back about scoring a second hand coop from a guy in the next town for $100 - a real bargain (around 70 USD) as he threw in two big rolls of 1.8 metre high fencewire which are worth at least twice that, all the tin, wood, screws, a door, a gate and even a ladder! There's no way you can buy the materials for that. We even saved and re-used all the nails and screws, so we didn't go to the hardware once to build this, which really made us super happy! Love a treasure find - @steematt, I think you might even be impressed with this!
We even knew the chooks would be impressed. Well, this chook was - at least I don't have to smash my head on the ceiling every time I bend over to get in to collect eggs. The old coop was a rotten mess and ten years old, and it was about time for an upgrade. My new Australorps, left by the housesitters, were going to nest in style.
We had to cut down an elder to find a spot for it, which is just beyond our vegetable patch - the chickens can still be directed in to work over a patch for me.
We started by building the back wall, as we knew it was something we could get nice and straight. We decided against concrete, as we thought it would be self supporting, and we didn't want more environmental impact than necessary or have to buy a ton of postcrete! We only hit one tree root digging post holes, which was lucky really - and we managed to miss all the gravel from the septic through some strategic mapping before hand. Being winter, the ground was soft enough to dig no problem. Well, no problem for me - harder for Jamie, who was doing the digging.
Next was the side beams. It was hard and slow going, because we found the original shed wasn't square. Not a suprise - hardly anyone seems to know how to make things square! We've found it time and time again with these kind of builds. Jamie did some clever stuff with string and triangles and we managed to make it perfectly square. It took much longer, but we got there in the end.
Then, we put up the side struts. By this time it was getting complicated - lucky I'd taken lots of photos of the shed erected, and we managed to piece it together. As it wasn't square, but was now, we did have to do a bit of fiddling and cutting to get it in place. The roof struts were a bit short but it didn't seem to matter too much. At this stage, it was getting late, and we were getting hungry - and the wind had come up. You don't want to put corrugated iron up when it's windy! We decided to wait for the next day.
I made Jamie get up pretty early for putting on the tin - exciting stuff! It was all on by lunchtime, though it was super complicated to work out which piece went where. The guy HAD pencilled a code on them we struggled to decipher. Did RB mean right side bottom, or right back? Seriously, code it yourself if you're doing a similiar job.
Finally, I got my old chickens back from my neighbour. I actually left him three (a crazy leghorn and two bedraggled marans that looked like ISA browns - nice birds, but I had to draw the line at 8 birds or I'd have to many) but collected the plymouths (who are great mothers) and the copper maran, a really pretty and friendly bird that was Jamie's favourite.
They settled down quite quickly, being the chilled out birds they are. I did have to check they were all on the roost after dark, and sure enough, the australorps were in the corner, having not managed to make it up to the roost. I had to lift them up one by one. Sure enough, the next night they'd worked it out. I sat down and watched them. They start off in non colour order, and squabble and carry on until they shuffled into their colour groups.
The australorps like to lay eggs super high, so since I took these photos I had to built a nesting box a bit higher for them, right up by the ceiling! It's quite funny watching them find their way up there - but they are good jumpers! The plymouths can't seem to be bothered and don't mind the nesting boxes lower down, though they aren't quite laying at the moment. The australorps are meant to be eggscellent layers - in fact, it's an Australorp that holds the record for laying 364 eggs in a year! I'm finding them delightful birds, really friendly and curious.
Their dust baths are hilarious. They don't seem to do it on their own, but in one big cuddle puddle of feathers, beaks and wings.
Jamie has now sworn he will never build me another chicken coop again - he's done with them now, and reckon this one might do. I think it's pretty perfect for my needs, so I don't think I'll have to bribe him. We just have the fencing to go, but that's for another day.
Do you know about the #featheredfriday tag? You can post bird photos and be noticed by a community who loves birds. It's run by @melinda010100 - she also has a cool caption contest that's worth joining in on too! You can also find the community here. Probably less chickens and more noble birds, but hey, chooks have feathers too.
With Love,
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That certainly is a Taj level chicken coop!! Wowie - I literally know Burmese refugee families who live in smaller-less-sturdy dwellings.
I'd be terrified of snakes going in though - it'd be so toasty warm and cosy, right? How DO you snake proof it?? If the chickens lay close to the wall on a hot morning, do the eggs cook themselves by lunchtime? 🤣
Are you selling the excess eggs? Or dehydrating?
They DO look very snuggly in the Arctic MEL winter.
I know right? We could even happily live in it. The nesting boxes are on west side, with arvo sun, and the elder trees plus a eucalypt will shade from morning sun in summer.
Excess eggs will be sold and/or traded and/or gifted to family..so far Jarrah has happily taken excess eggs as he can't afford them at moment and will only eat eggs from happy hens.
We have NEVER had a snake so close to house. I suspect the many birds of prey and a large resident magpie family keep them away. Funny how they used to pick on the chooks when they first arrived - now they try to protect them from intruders!!!
!ENGAGE 25
ENGAGEtokens.Don't know too much about chickens and never owned any, but that first pic is simply top notch. So sharp and detailed and well timed. Thumbs up.
Thanks. They came to see the camera!!!
Very cool! And square too! :))
Couple of concerns... We've recently, after 32 years, had rats move in from the neighbors. Do you not have them nearby? (Looking at plastic can feed storage...)
You mentioned having a nestbox really high. From butchering, we have seen the damage to breastbones done from jumping from too high. Especially large bodied hens, as the Australorps will become. Just saying....
Birds taking dustbaths sure can look ridiculous or even dead... We've had to take a double or triple take a few times...
Wow!! You know, I was really hoping for your advice and that's interesting about the breastbones!! Our problem is STOPPING them jumping.. they just seems to want to. And in nature they'd do that too, right?
We don't have rats that chew through feed bins. We have had plastic bins for years and never has a rodent chewed through. We keep things fairly tidy and put a couple of traps in the shed behind the coop.
In nature, they'd long since have been dinner. The original chickens were jungle fowl and they are a very light body bird. The inbreeding to produce a large body that will lay lots of eggs or produce lots of meat has changed all that.
Our highest roost is 3', with deep bedding under it. The roosts are staggered 1' apart and down. But the damage we find to breast bones at butchering time, when they are 18 months old, is nasty.
I know some of our will jump too. And you do offer the ladder. Not sure what else you can do besides block off high areas...
I think we will shift things around with that knowledge.. glad you could advise!!!
Great, good work! With the update of you and the birds!
Wow, my whole city is surrounded by farms....I grew up around farms.
My last 4-5 generation was farmers and my father has been farming after being retired.
But we don't enjoy simple things like that. I actually miss these little things. Kind of culture difference maybe. Or maybe my family is vegetarian. LOl...I would love to move to a different country some day....get old, move to a farm...and do things like these.
What an excellent post for the #featheredfriends Community! Your photos are wonderful and I love your new coop! What a bargain indeed. I love your mixed flock. They must be such happy ladies to have a delightful new home. Thanks so much for posting this to Feathered Friends and for the promotion of the Community and the contest, too!
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Thanks!! That means a lot!! You might notice I haven't been on HIVE much for same reason. When the land needs you it's important to listen! We all do our best. I.hope you get chickens soon!
Awesome looking coop! Wow, y'all did a lot better job rebuilding a complete bought coop than I did. Mine wasn't all that grand when it was built, but I managed to COMPLETELY stuff it up when I remade it. Y'all would have hated it if you prefer squareness lol
Such pretty birds too! Oh my goodness 😍
HA Yeah Jamie is pretty pedantic when it comes to erections :p
hahaha!