Canesister's 2025 journal - Bushel & Peck Farm

[Baymule]

I like your design.

 

[fuzzi]

Back to square 1.
There was a guy training on A Shift (days) that was supposed to replace me mid Sept. He quit last week.
<sigh >

I'm working on a way to divide up the inside of my chicken coop. The building is an 8'x8' shed. There is the 'people door' on the front (N side). A closed up pop door under the roost that was part of a broody pen years ago (W side). An inoperable auto door in the middle of the bottom of the back (S side). And a big window in the middle of the E side.
The roosts are roughly waist high on the W side.
If I take down the current roosts - divide the building in half diagonally with chicken wire - reset roosts in the opposite corners.then I'll have a secure night coop for the Breese that I can easily access during normal daily chicken chores. My chicken pen is roughly 50'x100' with the coop in the middle. It would be easy enough to run a chicken wire fence out each side to make 2 roughly 50x50 pens. Adding a 2nd bulk feeder & 5gal waterer would be simple enough. A shared heated waterer for winter (1/2 on one side 1/2 on the other) would be easy enough too.


I've been wanting to do a whole makeover in there for a LONG time. It's dark & dirty in there. I want to give it a GOOD cleaning & paint the bare plywood walls. Probably strip the floor down to the gravel & rebed with pellet bedding.

Feeling stagnant around the farm lately. I need a project ... & a the emotional boost of completing something that improves things.

None of the construction needs to be heavy duty. Just enough to keep the flocks apart. I'm pretty sure I have most of it already in the barn.
4' Chicken wire
Maybe some 5' chicken wire
Scrap 2x6, 2x4, 2x2
Will need a few t-posts
Already have a gate hanging on the W side of the coop from when the pen didn't extend out in front.

What do ya think? Suggestions?
View attachment 120100

Watching.


I recall reading something about not creating diagonal roosts, but don't recall the reason.

Let me see if I can find out pros and cons for it.

 

[fuzzi]

Found it.

A diagonal roost has wasted space on both ends, too cramped.

Why not run the roost across both sections? You could keep the chickens apart with a board or just wire.

 

[SageHill]

Found it.

A diagonal roost has wasted space on both ends, too cramped.

Why not run the roost across both sections? You could keep the chickens apart with a board or just wire.

I've got diagonal roosts, one gets used during the day but at night they all pile into the nest boxes maybe if I change that they'll choose that over the nice comfy nest boxes (so I don't have to clean them out every morning would be really nice).

 

[canesisters]

Found it.

A diagonal roost has wasted space on both ends, too cramped.

Why not run the roost across both sections? You could keep the chickens apart with a board or just wire.

I'll have to do some measuring.
Currently there are 3 roost bars (2x4's) lined up along the W wall. They take up almost 1/2 of the space in the building. BUT, at one time there were nearly 30 birds out there ! I don't plan to get anywhere near that again , so I might be able to do a single roost along each side & have plenty of space. Google says 8"-10"/ standard bird so.....
...
Oh lawd... chicken math is gonna have me building an entire new coop within a year isn't it

Working out a door between the 2 sections is the tricky part. I have several options for a light-weight panel. Having room for it to swing is an issue. I'm playing around with the idea of some sort of a panel hanging from a chain & secured with C-clips. I have LOTS of verticle space, not much floor space.

 

[fuzzi]

I have been told that 12" per bird is a good minimum to plan on. Each chicken often wants extra space between themselves and the next bird. During colder weather they'll forget quarrels and roost tightly.

 

[fuzzi]

I'll have to do some measuring.
Currently there are 3 roost bars (2x4's) lined up along the W wall. They take up almost 1/2 of the space in the building. BUT, at one time there were nearly 30 birds out there ! I don't plan to get anywhere near that again , so I might be able to do a single roost along each side & have plenty of space. Google says 8"-10"/ standard bird so.....
...
Oh lawd... chicken math is gonna have me building an entire new coop within a year isn't it

Working out a door between the 2 sections is the tricky part. I have several options for a light-weight panel. Having room for it to swing is an issue. I'm playing around with the idea of some sort of a panel hanging from a chain & secured with C-clips. I have LOTS of verticle space, not much floor space.

Put the nest boxes outside the coop, on the east or north side so they don't get hot in the summer. That will free up some floor space.

 

[SageHill]

I have been told that 12" per bird is a good minimum to plan on. Each chicken often wants extra space between themselves and the next bird. During colder weather they'll forget quarrels and roost tightly.

LOL -- mine cram themselves into the nest boxes - 2-3 birds per box - at night they've got plenty of roost space but I think they are asking for a chicken condo.

 

[canesisters]

Eva harvested her first pumpkin.

 

[drstratton]

And we out west are in a drought.

I'm in Eastern WA, near the Tri-Cities. It's pretty normal for us right now. It's always kind of a drought in the summer here. Where are you near?