I worked on burying the bottom of the wire on the runs and creating new paths for the water to run away from the walking areas.
There is still much to do on water management, but at least I am making progress.
On the meal worm front, they eat holes in slices of carrot! Very interesting. I replaced the carrot with slices of potato. We’ll see how that goes.
My husband and eldest started putting up wire around the runs!
We are using 1/4″ hardware cloth along the bottom to keep smaller critters out, but along the upper sides and top we are using larger fencing because of cost.
There is still lots to do before the chickens have free run of the place, but we are getting there!
with new doors on the lower storage area.
I used more siding scrap and was able to cut matching doors and install the hinges, handles, and latches. All the better to keep the chickens out.
And here is a cute picture of a chick roosting.
And here is some video of the chicks trying to get meal worms out of a treat dispenser.
We opened up the “fence” and made even more room for the chicks. While their inside area was opened up, they experienced bright sunlight outside for the first time. They preferred the shade.
I use some scrap wainscoting and screws to attach the ends of the barrier to the posts so we have less chance of escapees. They are really enjoying running around. We also gave them some grass clippings for the first time. They LOVED it. It was so fun to watch!
Or is it? Is wainscoting in again? Or did I just date my coop?
Not that it matters. I didn’t install it for looks (and there are no trim boards, so there’s a big finish no-no); I installed it for safety and cleaning. For safety: it keeps the chickens from pecking the asphalt paper and either damaging themselves (it is STICKY when it gets warm), or picking holes in the vapor barrier. For cleaning: the boards are made of solid PVC (polyvinyl chloride) which is a kind of plastic. Easy to clean and water-proof. It was not cheap (but cheaper than wood boards), but I am hoping it will work long term and be worth the investment. The whole coop isn’t cheap, for that matter, but we aren’t raising chickens to produce eggs for big-box company A, we are raising chickens for our personal educational, health, and entertainment purposes. We do have a budget, money set aside for the project, and are tracking costs. Not that I’m sensitive about installing wainscoting in my coop.
Critters and Craft 