All Cooped Up

Our ranch came with this chicken coop. I doubt it's the original one from 1879, but wouldn't be at all surprised to find out it's been here for 50 years. All things considered, it's in fairly decent shape.

Getting it ready for a flock of laying hens is my next big project. The architect Frank Lloyd Wright said, "Regard it just as desirable to build a chicken house as to build a cathedral." In honor of Mr. Wright,  I thought about calling the coop "Taliesin", but didn't want to jinx it. The roof has a few holes in it, so maybe "Falling Water" is more appropriate?

Although it needs some repairs, it won't take huge amounts of work to get it ready for a flock of chickens. 

All of this chicken wire needs replacing. It's wrapped around the exterior of the coop. It's what keeps predators from digging their way into the coop. In the first photo, you can see where someone used big rocks to try to fill in some holes.  

The door needs replaced.  

So does the window cover. 

Yes, that's particle board you're seeing. It's covering the entire south side exterior. That's got to come off and be replaced with something more appropriate for exposure to the elements.

The coop is huge with a 12' x 12' interior. It's at least 10' high at the peak of the roof.  Those are nest boxes on the right and perches at the back.

These drip craters on the floor are evidence of the holes in the roof. 

The nest boxes and roost/perch are in good shape. The whole interior needs a good cleaning, but seems to be serviceable.  All the dried chicken poop will go into my garden.

Amazingly, the coop has been upgraded with electricity. (Both lights and outlets)...The outlets will come in handy for heat lamps during the winter.

And there's a frost-free spigot just outside.

The enclosed run is 10' x 12'.

The run needs new chicken wire, too, but is otherwise in good shape.

The fenced, uncovered run is 21' x 24'. 

I'd close the chickens in the coop at night to keep them safe, but could let them out into the two runs in the day. I wonder how much danger hawks would pose if the birds are in the open run?

I'll use boards from this old pig pen to make repairs to the exterior of the coop. I don't want to use brand new boards on the exterior. It wouldn't look right.

We're going to tear out the pig pen anyway. It's falling apart and not suitable for housing pigs (or any other animal). Once it's gone and the ground cleared of any debris, we'll use that space for a round pen for the horses. There's a light pole and water spigot there, so it's a great location for a round pen.

While I was taking all of the photos and making my notes for repairs, Kipp was supervising. He's the self-appointed ranch overseer. The other two were eating breakfast, but Kipp left his to come see what I was up to.

In the next installment of "Meanwhile, back at the ranch..." I'll share with you the start of my adventures in cleaning out the old barn. There are piles of stuff covered with plastic in there. Probably all junk, but you never know!  

I did find this....Creative Computing from 1981.