Chicken coop Prodject for labar day weekend....Help and in-put + parts list

[Mrs. Krabappel]

Waiting for pics of the chicken palace!

I sold my roo at the chicken swap Saturday and without him my hens have already started wandering too far. I have a baby roo who is not quite up to the task of keeping them in line yet.

So, I'm headed out today to pick up a BIG beautiful docile light brahma roo I found on CL. Interesting to see what the gals think of that.

 

[MasterMech]

Wow this works...After doing some rearrangement's there really liking the teddy! :cheese:

Good to hear!


I went to a chicken swap today to SELL some of my chicks. I came home with 3X more than I brought with me :roll:

No, no according to chicken math you came home with 1/3 the number of chickens you took with you, that means you need to go back and get twice as many as you came home with. Ain't chicken math fun ;-).

LOL Too funny! I have decide to Make two coops and the second one will be set up for meat chix's and goats, And turkeys! On a rotation!

My FIL said something about getting 100 cornish crosses this fall. He may be crazy enough to actually do it too.

We finished his coop last weekend. It is 8x16...a chicken barn.

That would do 100....lol I am thinking 50. Going 4x8 (16ft run)on this one and as soon as its done i am doing a 8x8 out of polar (20 foot run) for meat.

Smokin are you building on skids?


zap

No it will be more like stilts! The floor will be 2 foot off the ground and its portable. It Will do lots of laps around the garden! lol The 8x8 will be on wheels.

Sounds like you might need one of these down the road.

(broken link removed)



zap

No way! lol I cant stand that kinda of stuff....Lived on a farm could not handle it then. Deer hunting isnt much easier for me! For 2.25 per bird you can get them freezer wrap and cooking instruction ready for sale or freeze. Thats money well spent in my book!

+Infinity

I processed meat birds when we had a group ready for a 100% certified organic farm I worked on. (Lived on 1 farm, worked on another as a kid, does that qualify as 2 jobs?) We used a device to pluck feathers that used the same rubber fingers as the one in the link. It was a rotating tub with the fingers inside and it rinsed the feathers away with hot water. (I was usually scalding/plucking.) Three of us could do 200 birds easy in a weekend. Those were some of the most unpleasant weekends I ever spent farming but hands down the best fresh chicken I've ever had. Any other meat animals I produced were always dropped off at the slaughterhouse and picked up in packages.

Jay I really wish I could dig up a pic of the coop we used for the meat birds once they had grown a bit. It was basically a half-moon framed with galv. fence pipe and wire/mesh stretched around it. It had 4 wheels and we used to tow it around the hay fields just after they were cut. The birds would graze the alfalfa through the mesh bottom and provide fertilizer along the way. Plus it was super easy to clean in-between batches. Just be sure to tie it down during windstorms. Found the birds on the other side of the field once, whoops!

 

[smokinj]

Waiting for pics of the chicken palace!

I sold my roo at the chicken swap Saturday and without him my hens have already started wandering too far. I have a baby roo who is not quite up to the task of keeping them in line yet.

So, I'm headed out today to pick up a BIG beautiful docile light brahma roo I found on CL. Interesting to see what the gals think of that.

Not done yet started siding today..Be doing details after work (lighting calking) framing, 3 window painting floor and back wall painted roof is done. 3/4 of the front is sided with 3/4 inch black walnut and bees waxed...Its really taking shape. Scronges henges for all three windows and the front double doors today as well.

 

[smokinj]

[quote author="smokinjay" date="1314428794"]
Wow this works...After doing some rearrangement's there really liking the teddy! :cheese:

Good to hear!


I went to a chicken swap today to SELL some of my chicks. I came home with 3X more than I brought with me :roll:

No, no according to chicken math you came home with 1/3 the number of chickens you took with you, that means you need to go back and get twice as many as you came home with. Ain't chicken math fun ;-).

LOL Too funny! I have decide to Make two coops and the second one will be set up for meat chix's and goats, And turkeys! On a rotation!

My FIL said something about getting 100 cornish crosses this fall. He may be crazy enough to actually do it too.

We finished his coop last weekend. It is 8x16...a chicken barn.

That would do 100....lol I am thinking 50. Going 4x8 (16ft run)on this one and as soon as its done i am doing a 8x8 out of polar (20 foot run) for meat.

Smokin are you building on skids?


zap

No it will be more like stilts! The floor will be 2 foot off the ground and its portable. It Will do lots of laps around the garden! lol The 8x8 will be on wheels.

Sounds like you might need one of these down the road.

(broken link removed)



zap

No way! lol I cant stand that kinda of stuff....Lived on a farm could not handle it then. Deer hunting isnt much easier for me! For 2.25 per bird you can get them freezer wrap and cooking instruction ready for sale or freeze. Thats money well spent in my book!

+Infinity

I processed meat birds when we had a group ready for a 100% certified organic farm I worked on. (Lived on 1 farm, worked on another as a kid, does that qualify as 2 jobs?) We used a device to pluck feathers that used the same rubber fingers as the one in the link. It was a rotating tub with the fingers inside and it rinsed the feathers away with hot water. (I was usually scalding/plucking.) Three of us could do 200 birds easy in a weekend. Those were some of the most unpleasant weekends I ever spent farming but hands down the best fresh chicken I've ever had. Any other meat animals I produced were always dropped off at the slaughterhouse and picked up in packages.

Jay I really wish I could dig up a pic of the coop we used for the meat birds once they had grown a bit. It was basically a half-moon framed with galv. fence pipe and wire/mesh stretched around it. It had 4 wheels and we used to tow it around the hay fields just after they were cut. The birds would graze the alfalfa through the mesh bottom and provide fertilizer along the way. Plus it was super easy to clean in-between batches. Just be sure to tie it down during windstorms. Found the birds on the other side of the field once, whoops![/quote]

I need pic's for sure want some thing much simpler for the meat chickens. These eye layers are going to be some spoiled birds. Even the inside is painted to help reflect the sun light and fluorescent lights. lol

 

[JDC1]

If you google search "chicken tractor" there are a million different ideas. Just one thing to keep in mind- Light enough to move very easily but heavy enough to buck the wind.

 

[smokinj]

More to follow.

 

[thewoodlands]

Looks good smokin, what type of wood is that in the third picture?


zap

 

[smokinj]

Looks good smokin, what type of wood is that in the third picture?


zap

Thank you, Thats the black walnut. 3/4 inch.

 

[MasterMech]

I could sketch it for you but I warn you I'm not much of an artist. It followed the basic "Chicken Tractor" concept but instead of having the birds right down on the ground it held then about 6" off. Not a prob in the hayfields we were using and there was little chance of injuring a bird during the move.

 

[smokinj]

I could sketch it for you but I warn you I'm not much of an artist. It followed the basic "Chicken Tractor" concept but instead of having the birds right down on the ground it held then about 6" off. Not a prob in the hayfields we were using and there was little chance of injuring a bird during the move.

I seen some on the net, if you draw like me it would not be much help....lol

 

[thewoodlands]

I could sketch it for you but I warn you I'm not much of an artist. It followed the basic "Chicken Tractor" concept but instead of having the birds right down on the ground it held then about 6" off. Not a prob in the hayfields we were using and there was little chance of injuring a bird during the move.

I seen some on the net, if you draw like me it would not be much help....lol

Here is a picture, not sure it will help.

zap

 

[smokinj]

I could sketch it for you but I warn you I'm not much of an artist. It followed the basic "Chicken Tractor" concept but instead of having the birds right down on the ground it held then about 6" off. Not a prob in the hayfields we were using and there was little chance of injuring a bird during the move.

I seen some on the net, if you draw like me it would not be much help....lol

Here is a picture, not sure it will help.

zap

That would be a lot easier...I am around 15 hours into this one and can see there at-least another 20 hours to go. :bug: (And down 80.00 so far)

 

[smokinj]

Here is a question on the lighting I have painted the inside of the coop to reflet THE light. Birds will be of laying age about mid Dec. The coop is 4x8x4 on the inside how much lighting is good?

 

[Mrs. Krabappel]

I don't think it has to be much. You are just extending the "daylight" for them a bit to trick their bodies into continuing to lay eggs.

I don't use a chicken tractor. I have just one acre and live in a neighborhood, and they stay in the yard no problem and then head to the coop at dusk. The rooster helps with that. They enjoy making their rounds. They are more exposed to predators, but my losses have not been unreasonable. I do have a pen I leave them in some of the time.

 

[smokinj]

I don't think it has to be much. You are just extending the "daylight" for them a bit to trick their bodies into continuing to lay eggs.

I don't use a chicken tractor. I have just one acre and live in a neighborhood, and they stay in the yard no problem and then head to the coop at dusk. The rooster helps with that. They enjoy making their rounds. They are more exposed to predators, but my losses have not been unreasonable. I do have a pen I leave them in some of the time.

The issue with lighting is because they will be coming of age mid Dec. 3 big window's should do well but our Dec. is always dark and gloomy.

 

[billb3]

13/14 hours from what I've read.

We had a lamp timer set for 5AM on and 6 or 7PM off.
with a photocell on a 40 or 60 watt bulb hanging near the window.


We used to trim one wing so they couldn't fly straight over the top of their pen's fence (open top).
They would get to their roosts and egg shelf OK.

 

[smokinj]

13/14 hours from what I've read.

We had a lamp timer set for 5AM on and 6 or 7PM off.
with a photocell on a 40 or 60 watt bulb hanging near the window.


We used to trim one wing so they couldn't fly straight over the top of their pen's fence (open top).
They would get to their roosts and egg shelf OK.

I think the timmer is perfect they will be 5 months old in Dec. and many days go by here with no sun light at all.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I have florescent flood lights on timers. They come on in the morning before sun up and are off for a few hours in the middle of the day and come back on before sunset and go back off latter in the evening. The light doesn't have to be bright just there in some form for 14 hours or so. Mine are in the 40 watt equivalent range and could likely be lower in wattage but that was what I had.

 

[smokinj]

I have florescent flood lights on timers. They come on in the morning before sun up and are off for a few hours in the middle of the day and come back on before sunset and go back off latter in the evening. The light doesn't have to be bright just there in some form for 14 hours or so. Mine are in the 40 watt equivalent range and could likely be lower in wattage but that was what I had.

Same boat here I have a double 2 footer not being use. I was hopping that was enough sounds like it is.

 

[smokinj]

Ok, finally got this thing done. Covered run, lights and a passive ventilation system floor and ceiling insulated. Kinda my Owen thought on the ventilation gig. Now the chicks are 5 weeks old and putting on lots of weight. (17 out of 17 made it so far). Will post some pic's soon. Took 5x longer than I planed for. Coop 4x8 covered run 8x12. 65ft of roosting space.

 

[timfromohio]

If you google search "chicken tractor" there are a million different ideas. Just one thing to keep in mind- Light enough to move very easily but heavy enough to buck the wind.

jdc - whereabouts in NEOhio are you located?

 

[JDC1]

If you google search "chicken tractor" there are a million different ideas. Just one thing to keep in mind- Light enough to move very easily but heavy enough to buck the wind.

jdc - whereabouts in NEOhio are you located?

Akron, we have a
hobby farm on a golf course. It is funny when the people from the development ask where the chickens in the tractor went. My woodpile is about 35 yards from a green, I have to be careful not to get hit if the course is busy.

 

[timfromohio]

Small world - we're also in Akron - west Akron, Bath Township. Do you produce (eggs, broilers, etc.) for the public or strictly for your own consumption?

 

[Mmaul]

Awesome you guys are from Akron went to High school at ST. Vincent, St. Mary's, glad to see there are some people on the forum if I ever decide to move back.

Jay If you need another 5 footer light let me know. I have an extra one.

 

[smokinj]

Awesome you guys are from Akron went to High school at ST. Vincent, St. Mary's, glad to see there are some people on the forum if I ever decide to move back.

Jay If you need another 5 footer light let me know. I have an extra one.

One is an over kill but thats what I had. Should start getting eggs in Dec. Will take any wood shavings?