New to goats and SO excited!

Devonviolet

Herd Master
Joined
Nov 22, 2014
Messages
3,402
Reaction score
8,170
Points
513
Location
East Texas - Near Sulphur Springs
Yeah, that's next for us. :celebrate With this being a new property for us, we are putting a fence in first, and,then a nice new chicken coop. I keep sending him links for plans to build cool chicken coops. :lol: There a ton of them out there - all shapes and sizes. :th

After that it will be a moderately sized barn, to accommodate at least 10-15 goats, and of course a kidding stall and a milking parlor, with a sink, a small stove and a refrigerator/freezer. :celebrate
 

Baymule

Herd Master
Joined
Aug 22, 2010
Messages
33,089
Reaction score
98,639
Points
873
Location
East Texas
@Devonviolet are you going to put a floor in the coop or a dirt floor? My coop has a dirt floor and I really like it that way. I put in bags and bags of leaves in the coop and run. They scratch them to bits, poop on them and make me lovely compost. I also toss in pea hulls, corn shucks, grass clippings, sweet potato vines, spent garden plants, anything and practically everything. What they don't eat, they compost. I dig it out to put on the garden or in a wire compost bin several times a year. I studied BYC for months before building my coop.

I started with only 2 hens and this coop, 8'x7'

chicken coop side view.jpg


Then I added a 12'x8' cow panel hoop run. (and more chickens) LOL

Hoopy coop finished.jpg


Hoopy coop finished side view.jpg
 

goats&moregoats

True BYH Addict
Joined
May 9, 2014
Messages
925
Reaction score
1,037
Points
243
Location
Vermont
@Devonviolet are you going to put a floor in the coop or a dirt floor? My coop has a dirt floor and I really like it that way. I put in bags and bags of leaves in the coop and run. They scratch them to bits, poop on them and make me lovely compost. I also toss in pea hulls, corn shucks, grass clippings, sweet potato vines, spent garden plants, anything and practically everything. What they don't eat, they compost. I dig it out to put on the garden or in a wire compost bin several times a year. I studied BYC for months before building my coop.

I started with only 2 hens and this coop, 8'x7'

View attachment 5931

Then I added a 12'x8' cow panel hoop run. (and more chickens) LOL

View attachment 5932

View attachment 5933
Love this!!
 

Devonviolet

Herd Master
Joined
Nov 22, 2014
Messages
3,402
Reaction score
8,170
Points
513
Location
East Texas - Near Sulphur Springs
@Devonviolet are you going to put a floor in the coop or a dirt floor? My coop has a dirt floor and I really like it that way. I put in bags and bags of leaves in the coop and run. They scratch them to bits, poop on them and make me lovely compost. I also toss in pea hulls, corn shucks, grass clippings, sweet potato vines, spent garden plants, anything and practically everything. What they don't eat, they compost. I dig it out to put on the garden or in a wire compost bin several times a year. I studied BYC for months before building my coop.

I started with only 2 hens and this coop, 8'x7'

View attachment 5931

Then I added a 12'x8' cow panel hoop run. (and more chickens) LOL

View attachment 5932

View attachment 5933

LOVE THIS Baymule. Love the colors and the cattle panel wire hoop house! We are actually thinking of doing something similar. Will have to show DH your photos. I'm thinking of doing a more traditional henhouse - PAINTED RED with white trim! And then adding a wire hoop house, for the run. It looks like that is what you did. Right? Can your chooks access the hoop house from under the coop? Do you have your smaller wire dug into the ground a bit to keep predators out?

We haven't decided what we will do about the floor yet. What you do sounds like it works well. DH is 6'2", so we need a tall coop, to make for easy access for him. :D
 

goatgurl

Herd Master
Joined
May 22, 2014
Messages
2,048
Reaction score
3,977
Points
343
Location
Arklahoma
@Baymule, love that chicken house and run. i do a similar thing with leaves, straw, garden waste, etc. i put it in the hen house in the winter, throw a little cracked corn in on top for good measure and by spring tadaaa compost. i learned the hard way to use cracked corn not scratch grain because they could never find all the millet seeds and the next summer i would have little millet plants coming up all over the place. not a problem with the corn.
 

Baymule

Herd Master
Joined
Aug 22, 2010
Messages
33,089
Reaction score
98,639
Points
873
Location
East Texas
My coop has 12" of hardware cloth all around it at the bottom for ventilation. I just cut a 9" hole in it at the back of the coop so the girls can come and go to the run. I hog ringed 2' welded wire, laid flat on the ground, all around the coop and run. Even though we (now) live in town, we have snakes, possums, raccoons and my own dogs. They are great with the chickens, but Paris, our Great Pyrenees, was given to us because she killed chickens. It took me 2 years to turn her around, but she now is the best chicken guard ever!

I love, love, love the dirt floor. I wouldn't have it any other way. It is practically maintenance free. If you don't have enough leaves, grass, and other garden clippings to start with, just use pine shavings.

The beams for the run are up on blocks, because they aren't treated and they are what I had. I used mostly used lumber on the coop and run. BTW, keep in mind that Lowe's has a reject lumber rack. It's half price!

I did have some expert help building the run!

Cohen with paint brushes.jpg
 

Devonviolet

Herd Master
Joined
Nov 22, 2014
Messages
3,402
Reaction score
8,170
Points
513
Location
East Texas - Near Sulphur Springs
My coop has 12" of hardware cloth all around it at the bottom for ventilation. I just cut a 9" hole in it at the back of the coop so the girls can come and go to the run. I hog ringed 2' welded wire, laid flat on the ground, all around the coop and run. Even though we (now) live in town, we have snakes, possums, raccoons and my own dogs. They are great with the chickens, but Paris, our Great Pyrenees, was given to us because she killed chickens. It took me 2 years to turn her around, but she now is the best chicken guard ever!

I love, love, love the dirt floor. I wouldn't have it any other way. It is practically maintenance free. If you don't have enough leaves, grass, and other garden clippings to start with, just use pine shavings.

The beams for the run are up on blocks, because they aren't treated and they are what I had. I used mostly used lumber on the coop and run. BTW, keep in mind that Lowe's has a reject lumber rack. It's half price!

I did have some expert help building the run!

View attachment 5939

Thanks for the explanation, about your coop. I would love to see how y'all do the floor, if you have any. What you describe, for keeping varmints out, is pretty close to what I was thinking of doing. I've seen the reject bin at Lowes, but living in a condo, in PA, we really didn't have a call for much reject lumber. But, now we are going to have to check that out.

You have quite an artistic helper there. What a cutie!

Sometime I would love to hear what you did to break your Pyre from killing chickens.
 
Last edited:
Top