Monday, June 22, 2009

coop pics, sorry about the delay

It's not immediately visible, but there's netting on top of the enclosure, just in case anyone decides to trying any flying stuff and visit neighbors. And, I've since removed the 2x4 scraps and egg carton material from right below the plastic roof, and replaced that with mesh. I had to block up the holes because of local predators initially.
This whole side lifts up on hinges and attaches with chains to hooks up near the roofing material, making it a snap to rake out the overly-poopy straw and litter (we've since knocked it off w/ the corn cob litter, because the girls refuse to accept that it is not food...). And it's big enough for me to crawl in there and fix things or scrap surfaces, etc. One of the smartest things I did, although it goes against what one is supposed to do, is I lined the bottom with contact paper. I was afraid of rotting out the plywood. I'm reading about 'deep litter', and can see why people do it, but I am not sure it's for me. I need to read more before I rip up the contact paper on the floor.

On the right are the nesting boxes. There's three 'nests' in there, divided with plywood scraps, and packed full of straw. Yep, that's a lock. We have some boooooored kids in this neighborhood. Last thing I need is someone hopping the back fence and stealing eggs, or worse, my girls. This picture was taken when the enclosure was being built.

And then here's another pic from the front while the enclosure was being built. That's a polycarbonate window and the girls look out it when they're roosting inside. I'm getting ready to actually mount some wire on the outside, and then install the window on the inside, but it's going to be on hinges and have a rubber seal on it, for flipping down when the temperature drops. There's a window on the back of the structure, too. Hopefully, I'll get the coop painted this week. Red.

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