Thread: Chickens

Nice setup Dutch. How did you get the dividers to stand in the nesting box? I'm assuming you cut notches in some 2x2s. That is how I'm building mine.

Originally Posted by SNAKE

Nice setup Dutch. How did you get the dividers to stand in the nesting box? I'm assuming you cut notches in some 2x2s. That is how I'm building mine.

I built the whole thing by myself so I took the easy approach and made the inner dividers 12"x12" out of the OSB scraps and notched the rear bottom corner with a circular saw to fit over the 2x2 I used as bracing for the box floor. I used an air stapler for all the connections. The entire box is made out one sheet of OSB with 2x4 scraps and (2) 2x2 deck rails I had laying around. For mounting the box, I attached a leveled 2x4 the length of the nest box to the wall 14.5" from the floor which I used as a mounting bracket to sit the finished next box on for mounting. That put my nest box 18" from the CDX floor or about 14" after a layer of shavings and diatomaceous earth (DE) was laid on the floor.

I am a believer in the deep litter method where you continue to add pine shavings to the floor, which break down over time with the manure and would do only two coop cleanouts a year. Every 2-3 weeks I would sprinkle a feed scoop full of DE over the shavings and turn over the litter to mix. The DE kills any mites/lice the chickens may pick up in their run and also keeps bugs from setting up shop in your coop. Some claim that it has deworming properties, but studies have disproven that theory.By using this method I kept up to 40 chickens at a time between two coops and never had a foul aroma that I could smell around the house come from the coop. The run stinks after a while if you let them eat it to bare dirt and the mud and manure get wet, but the coop itself was never offensive.

I also learned the value of a cup watering system and chicken nipples to use instead of the messy traditional gravity waterers you buy at the feed store. Just Google "chicken nipples" (safe-for-work) and see for yourself how much cleaner they are. Less moisture in the coop equates to healthier chicks and less odor. I would start them in the brooder as day-olds with a 2L bottle and a single nipple screwed into the cap. They take to the device amazingly fast. For the big girls, 5-6 nipples mounted on the bottom of a 5gal bucket hanging from a chain in the coop worked wonderfully. I transitioned to a chicken watering cup system before I sold the farm that was gravity fed from a 5 gallon bucket on the outside of the coop. It kept me from having to physically enter the coop to refill the water. It worked AMAZING and it took up less interior space than the 5gal bucket/nipples or the traditional waterer.

Wow Dutch! You answered a lot of my questions without me even having to ask! Your coop is/was amazing! Kinda puts mine to shame, LOL! Anyone having any advice on keeping raccoons out of the coop/run? That would be our main threat up here.

Lock the coop up at night. Heavy hardware cloth on any ventilation openings and flare out a good foot with it under coop apron to prevent burrowing/digging under coop. Trim tree branches away from the coop to make it harder for them to get to the roof. Hardware cloth over any windows that have the potential to be left open. Chicken wire is an absolute no-no, it only keeps the birds in and does nothing to keep raccoons or dogs out. Even with my chainlink I would find a headless bird in the run once in a while where a raccoon had pulled it through the wire to eat the head, unable to pull the bird out.

I've looked on my laptop for pics of my watering setup, but seem to have deleted them. I sourced my parts from a company called BeakTime and received great customer service.

Thanks again Dutch, solid advice!

Dang'it man... Dutch is a regular Chicken Whisperer.

Very nice coop!
Mine is just a 4x4x4 box on stilts with a laying box off one side. I will try to post some pics of it.

Yeah that is essentially what I am building Carl. Mine is 4' wide x 6' long and 4' high. I also constructed a 7' x 13' run for them as well. Like to see your pics Carl.

Y'all got minks there, Carl? Seem to remember that was the their behavior in a coop.

I am in town, mink (or weasels) are not a problem. We have a dog too, so don't have to worry about raccoons & cats getting in the run either. But my run is completely enclosed just in case, sides & top. Bottom boards along the fence to prevent dig-ins.
Make your next boxes accessible from the outside, easier to gather eggs.