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Chicken Condos
I’m going to have to break up my updates in to smaller posts to get all caught up…
Layers on range
After the loss of yet another laying hen we went back to the drawing board with regards to our free range chickens. It was still very important to us that our chickens are able to range and be chickens, but the loses are hard to sustain. With thorough consideration, and following our relative success with the broiler chicken’s house, we decided to build two range houses for the new (and old) layers. The plan was (and still is) to move the layers in to the goat pasture, once we get the pasture fences up. For most months out of the year this will work well for us. For the few very cold months we sometimes get we are keeping the coop down by the house that also has the heater installed. We can relocate the flock during the harsher weather if need be.
We stuck with the same design as the broiler’s range house with some minor modifications. We raised the peak of the roof from 3 feet to 4 feet to create more room.
Nesting house
In the first house we built in as many nesting boxes as we could fit which turned out to be eight. We also put in exterior egg doors as well as hinged the roof as we had planned for the broiler’s range house. Eight boxes is enough to support 24-32 layers so that gives us some room to grow.
In the second house we reversed the side the door was on so we could get the maximum space for roosts. By doing so we could build in three tiered roosts which creates enough roosting space for about 15 chickens, which is how many layers we have in total. On this house we also added heavier handles for mobility. The nesting house shouldn’t need to be rotated often, but the roosting house will need to be moved to prevent manure build up.
Roosting house prepped
We stopped by the local hardware store and picked up some exterior “oops” paint in a bright miami teal green. Once completed and painted we started the task of moving the houses up the hill to where we anticipate the goat pasture to go. We got the heaviest, the nesting house, moved with some serious effort. Unfortunately, building the range houses took longer than expected and we didn’t get the pasture fences up as well. Since then the calendar has kept us busy and we still haven’t had a chance to put up the pasture fences. Instead of moving the roosting house up the hill we moved it to the yard with the broiler’s range house and moved the new layers out in to the yard as well. It’s an acceptable hold over location until we can get the pasture fences up which will probably still be a couple weeks out.
Here’s the cost breakdown:
| 3/8″ CDX Plywood sheets | 5@$8.46 | $42.30 |
| Light Wt Door Pull | 4@$2.59 | $10.36 |
| Hook & Eye Latches | 2@$1.99 | $3.98 |
| Screws | $8.69 | |
| 8 foot 2″x2″ | 7@$1.71 | $11.97 |
| 5 1/2″ Door Pulls | 4@$3.79 | $15.16 |
| 2 1/2″ Safety Latch | 2@3.49 | $6.98 |
| Roof Hinges | $4.79 | |
| Door Hinges | $2.89 | |
| Bolt Barrel Latches | 2@$3.29 | $6.58 |
| Total | $113.70 |
We used scraps that we had already, which aren’t included in the price list, for the nesting boxes as well as some of the scraps that resulted from the project .
And for paint and supplies:
| “Oops” Ext Paint | $15.00 |
| Paint Roller Cover | $2.49 |
| Paint Roller | $2.29 |
| Paint Tray | $3.99 |
| Total | $23.77 |
Our grand total including paint and hardware came to approximately $70 per house (plus tax of course). Overall it’s still a very good deal.
10. June 2009 at 3:16 pm :
I know you have some plans to be out of town for a few days. Please let dad and I help move the coup or split wood or something helpful when we get there. I love to split wood. We would like to make your Summer a little easier, if that was possible.
12. June 2009 at 7:16 am :
where is it located?
12. June 2009 at 1:04 pm :
Hello Celeste! Right now the nesting house is up off the road from the goat’s house waiting, since the little chickens don’t lay eggs yet. It was a lot of work to get it up the hill. The roosting house is in the lower part of the front yard with a chicken wire fence up to make a safe yard for the little chickens. The big chickens are still using the coop next to the house for now. When we move everything in to the pasture we will move the big and little chickens in together and put both houses in there for them to use.
8. March 2010 at 12:15 pm :
[...] We still need to put up the tarps, roosts, complete the front wall with poultry netting, and add a “handle” for the tractor to pull it. Unfortunately we also realized that we did the bottom wrong and will need to add skids. The plan is for the meat birds to move in to the hoop coop this next weekend. I’m a little nervous because it’s been getting relatively cold at night still and this design provides less protection from the colder temperatures than the range house. [...]