Change is for the birds part deux

When we built the new and improved coop I wanted features:

1. I wanted to be able to stand up fully inside the building and in the run.
2. I wanted to be able to collect eggs without having to go in the building.
3. I wanted a run that had a roof so that I no longer had to walk in muck.
4. I wanted an automated pop door.
5. I wanted good airflow.
6. I wanted electricity to the building but have it all run in conduit to make it rodent proof.

I got all of this plus a camera in the coop to count beaks however poor wifi signal meant to see them I had to be in the bathroom standing in the bathtub holding my hand with the viewer over my head and waving it around till I got a connection to the camera.  Believe it or not that wasn’t working for me so I stopped using it.  Yes, there are other camera solutions I just wasn’t fully committed enough to spend money on them.

I love the setup we have now but of course as time goes on you find things that can be improved.  The man door into the building had to be replaced.  We have a local door/window place in town.  When they replace a customers items they often take them back to the shop to dispose of them.  I saw windows and doors by their dumpster and went in to ask if they would sell them.  They charged me $5 for each door and let me just have the windows.  But the first door we got was an inside door which did not do well being exposed to the elements.  Never fear gentle reader I found another door but this one was better it was beat up but it is solid wood with a three pane window.

The pen is completely covered.  I love it.  The chickens love it.  The wood bees and hornets love it.  The chickens in the winter time they don’t have to walk around in snow.  We also wrap it in plastic (another upgrade coming) so the whole things stays warmer for them.  I love it because I can walk around in there and not be ankle deep in a substance which I prefer not to think about.  I did tell my husband if I ever fell down in there I’m not even going to try and get up I’m just going to lay there and will myself to die.   Love aside I realized that the man door into the pen becomes clogged with dirt from the pen that the chickens kick up.  I think this might be an escape plan devised by them.  Because as I am struggling to get all the dirt out so I can close and lock the door they are struggling to get past me and obtain their freedom.  Woman against chicken, chicken wins and woman ends up chasing chickens around the woods till they get tired and go back on their own.

The run is also covered from floor to roof with chicken wire so that IF we ever get to go on a vacation I don’t have to worry about them being eaten while we are gone.  Two problems with using chicken wire.  It isn’t really predator proof and racoons can reach in and grab things like their food or them.  Plus mice, rats, snakes, weasels can come and go as they please.  Up top carpenter bees, hornets, and even small birds run amok.  The bees are the worst they are eating the structure.  So we covered the whole thing in a smaller but heavier wire.  I also put a piece of roofing between the pen dirt and the door to prevent them from tossing dirt at the door to prevent it from closing.  Now the idea was the run would be all the space they could ever want.  It wasn’t.  Two years ago they looked sad, so sad.  I took a roll of chicken wire we had laying around and created the worlds most flimsy least predator safe larger run area for them.  Which they could only be in when someone was standing guard.  This extended the pen on the outside so now if you need to go in the chicken pavilion you have to go into the muck that is the chicken wasteland.  It is always mucky.  Put a brick down to step on to avoid the muck and the muck laughs and sucks it down.  The solution?

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/tractor-supply-pine-pellet-stall-bedding-40-lb

TSC Pelletized Bedding for chicken run.

They sell this type of bedding in town at Rural King, it has 37 reviews most of which are negative.  This product sold at Tractor Supply has over 4k reviews with a 4.8 star, out of 5,  rating it sounded worth a 30 minute drive.   I may still get some from town, it is $2 per bag less and it’s not a 30 minute one way drive, but I will test it in a different area.  I really this need area to be muck free.

Outside the pavilion door two bags of pellets down so far.

It has been down for two days and it was really wet.  It rained for more than a day straight and I mean the proverbial cow on a flat rock peeing kind of rain.  One bag didn’t get it done like I wanted it done.  So the next day I put down another bag.  Today the report has been good it seems to be nice and dry.

If nothing else if it helps with the smell of wet muck that chickens spend time in that will be amazing.  I think the chickens have been enjoying it.  Getting their feet up and out of the muck helps them out and keeps them healthier.  While they initially tried to eat it because they thought I was throwing out treats they seem to have stopped that.  They dig in it but don’t try and eat it.  If I need to shovel this out it can all go straight to the compost, anything that adds to our compost is a win in my book.

I anticipate a better year.