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I've decided that I'm going to slowly start planning and building my next coop/run - mainly because the run I have built now is too small for them, despite them being in it only 2 days a week.... now it's getting darker, on those two days it's pretty much dark when I get home so they get hardly any, if at all time to stroll around the garden before they go off to bed.
Another reason is that the orientation of my coop means that wind and rain can hit the front side of it - which I've now seen can get through the pophole door (have noticed a bit wet inside by the pophole door).
So - I'm planning on building something similar to Flummery's Beak House - as in an enclosed run, and then build a coop to fit.. I've a kind of 'L' shape bit of land that's enclosed by a fence and a wall - where my current shed come coop conversion is. I'm moving the new coop I build opposite to where it is now, meaning that wind cannot get to it as easily, the roof of the run will be covered too, so hopefully that'll help keep the mud down (cleaned the run out today - with it being only 1m high, it was hard to get inside, and a very dirty job.. I also have now put pea gravel in the bottom of the run, which they don't seem to happy about so hoping to get a move on with the run at least anyway)..
My idea is to raise the coop up too, to place the feeder underneath the coop to keep it dry (have noticed splash back on my feeder!) and give them somewhere to shelter - whilst still giving them a bit more room to play around in, during the two days that they'll be inside it.
Attached is a plan of my area that I'm working with - I'm making it slightly smaller than the area it is (i.e. I've a 9' length, but going 7'6" to allow me room around the sides) - the plan isn't to scale - but what I'm interested in, is the coop plan. I'm hoping to build the nestbox on the side, external to the run so I can get at the eggs more easily than I can do now
Is the nestbox ok, with the pop hole adjacent to it? I'm planning on putting two sets of perches in there, to 'future proof' it (shhhhh Nicos
). What distance between the perches would be ok? I was thinking around 9" - 12" - but I've not actually worked out measurements yet.
On the plan, the blue area will be the fully enclosed run, red being the coop - with the pophole and nestbox as per the coop plan below it.
I've been thinking of creating a proper concrete base for it too, or maybe paving it - and having gravel boards (similar again to Flummery's!) so that when I do sweep it out I can wash the floor down properly - with the added bonus of this then being dig proof.
I'm also planning on using that angle iron, again like Flummery has.. but if I've a paved/concreted base - I'm at a bit of a loss how I'm going to fix the angle iron to the base. The base will have an overlap, so the run frame will be inset... unless anyone can think of a better way? Initial thoughts were postcrete or similar, but I can't really postcrete an upright through a slab?
Thanks in advance!
Another reason is that the orientation of my coop means that wind and rain can hit the front side of it - which I've now seen can get through the pophole door (have noticed a bit wet inside by the pophole door).
So - I'm planning on building something similar to Flummery's Beak House - as in an enclosed run, and then build a coop to fit.. I've a kind of 'L' shape bit of land that's enclosed by a fence and a wall - where my current shed come coop conversion is. I'm moving the new coop I build opposite to where it is now, meaning that wind cannot get to it as easily, the roof of the run will be covered too, so hopefully that'll help keep the mud down (cleaned the run out today - with it being only 1m high, it was hard to get inside, and a very dirty job.. I also have now put pea gravel in the bottom of the run, which they don't seem to happy about so hoping to get a move on with the run at least anyway)..
My idea is to raise the coop up too, to place the feeder underneath the coop to keep it dry (have noticed splash back on my feeder!) and give them somewhere to shelter - whilst still giving them a bit more room to play around in, during the two days that they'll be inside it.
Attached is a plan of my area that I'm working with - I'm making it slightly smaller than the area it is (i.e. I've a 9' length, but going 7'6" to allow me room around the sides) - the plan isn't to scale - but what I'm interested in, is the coop plan. I'm hoping to build the nestbox on the side, external to the run so I can get at the eggs more easily than I can do now
Is the nestbox ok, with the pop hole adjacent to it? I'm planning on putting two sets of perches in there, to 'future proof' it (shhhhh Nicos
). What distance between the perches would be ok? I was thinking around 9" - 12" - but I've not actually worked out measurements yet.On the plan, the blue area will be the fully enclosed run, red being the coop - with the pophole and nestbox as per the coop plan below it.
I've been thinking of creating a proper concrete base for it too, or maybe paving it - and having gravel boards (similar again to Flummery's!) so that when I do sweep it out I can wash the floor down properly - with the added bonus of this then being dig proof.
I'm also planning on using that angle iron, again like Flummery has.. but if I've a paved/concreted base - I'm at a bit of a loss how I'm going to fix the angle iron to the base. The base will have an overlap, so the run frame will be inset... unless anyone can think of a better way? Initial thoughts were postcrete or similar, but I can't really postcrete an upright through a slab?
Thanks in advance!
But I've been 'at it' two years now! LOL 
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