Mr Haystack was kind enough to share some of his ideas on building "up" in his coop as to not waste precious floor space. He sent some beautiful pictures and I know how he has been struggling to post photos, so I took it upon myself to ask him if I may share them with you.. and of course he said yes.. So in his own words from the back of his photos..
I have the grand pleasure of presenting Mr Haystacks' Amazing coop!
1. My new coop 16X16X16
2. As you walk in and look left pen is 8 ft long X 3 ft high & 30” wide. Notice floor space still available under pen!
Pen has 4 doors and hold 1 rooster and 2 hens or 15- 3 month old pullets. Notice nesting box for hens.
3. Walk in and look right, that’s Big Ben waiting for his girls. Note floor space still available. Dimensons are same as other pen.
There are 45 girls in this coop, plus those who are in the separate pens usually a total of about 62-68
4. This is the same pen looking straight back, what you see is the roost 10 foot long and 4 foot wide. It folds up against the back wall for easy cleaning and supports 40 birds.
See the light board in center and note chain in center that holds it up.
5. Panoramic view of roost when down, suspended by chains.
6. Side view of 3 coops, new one, lean2 =#2 and dark one not yet completed. The lean 2 is 10’X16’ and now has 18-3month old pullets
7. Roost folded up with collapsible legs, lousy pic as I could not show floor at the same time.
8. Same lean 2 with roost down, This is my first original coop and can hold about 25 birds.
9. Marans nesting with Blue Andalusian waiting her turn. Garbage can holds 3 50# bags of feed (new coop)
10. Inside lean2 young pullets
11. Lean 2 run with more pullets
12. (view of run) Trees grow out of ravine about 35 ft deep with 18” deep creek run goes clear up to 30 ft from home you’re looking at, which is about 700 ft.
Edited to add nothing.. 0
This message was edited May 11, 2009 8:50 PM
13. This shows width of run = about 80 ft wide.
fantastic!!! Haystack, I'm saving the pics of your raised boxes to show hubby, exactly what I want in the barn for the new hatchlings!!
ZZ, I think you and I should invite our dear friend, Haystack, over for a traditional Lodi coop raising!
Fran! I want to personallyl thank you, This was all Fran's idea and I can't thank her enough for her kindness for what she has done. I will be sending you something for your graciousness. Not being a photographer the pic's are not great but if they create ideas and some help others, great. The coop is actually five years old, and has housed chickens for one year. I clean it every two years. The birds keep it very clean actually. Even after one year there is no smell or poo to be found thanks to deep litter. Haystack
I just love your big coop. Wish I had room here for a big one. The inside pens are great. I'll show DH the pics to give him more ideas. That fold up roost is neat. You have a beautiful farm.
Haystack,
Could you share with me how you keep the coop and pen so clean with such infrequent cleanings? What do you put down on the ground in their pens? I'm brand new to chickens and need advice.
All I can say is WOW WOW WOW!!! Thank you Fran for helping!
Gotta love that sign!!!!!!!
Haystack.. that is such a great use of space.. That green grass is priceless for them! Wow... I'm just thrilled your chickens have such a fantastic place to live...
Wow..
I have to correct a typo, in pic 12 it says 3ft from house, it was supposed to say 30 ft from that house.
Thanks ZZ's!! I too love that sign, I was shopping for letters to make that sign and could not find ones that were large enough.
I asked a friend who runs the store where I was shopping and she said I have a friend that does sign work, I'll have her give you a call. I said ok, the lady called and I told her what I wanted in size and all, she said what colors, I said I want it seen from the road as you approach my home. You decide, the colors so it can be seen from about two hundred feet. Two weeks later she callen and said the sign was ready. My wife and I figured about $300.00. I never asked about the price. Went to pick it up, I asked how much I owed her? She said is eighty bucks to much? I just about fell over. I had to fight with her to take $120.00. Haystack
Hay, what did you use for the floor of your brooder/breeding boxes?
I am with ZZ!!! The sign is great!! The coop is wonderful. I just love the building up idea.
No wasted space. :) Thanks for sharing.
Hi Melissa: I used half inch plywood, it sits on a lip and comes out in three easy sections. I don't think it will ever rot, but just in case. I had thought of using treated plywood but decided against it because I did not want any toxics around the girls. Haystack
My Dearest Great Neice: I will be so glad when school is out so I can bug you a little more.
I have had to slap myself to keep from bugging you. Thanks for the positive comments. The lady that did the sign is wonderful. We are greatful. Haystack
OH Catscan!!! I forgot to tell you my bags are packed, Does the room come with room service? LOL Haystack I and my wife would love to meet you and ZZ's.
Leave enough room for the 2 blues to ride home with you..
I'll sneak a few in the trunk Catscan.. LOL Any noisy roos that he can rehab (at his house of course) .. LOL
Wouldn't that be awesome Catscan!??!! Okay.. that's too many LOLs but I really am giggling..
I wish we could ALL meet and spend a weekend laughing our bunz off.
Another question Haystack... what did you make the brooder out of? 2x4's or something else?
Sorry so many questions, but that's exactly what I want in the barn for my babies. :)
Thank you so much for posting these pictures. They will be a great help when I get ready to build my new coop.
Hi Melissa! The questions are fine, thats the purpose of the forum. I make the frame out of 2x2's I built it in sections for easy assembly, and the back is very thin almost like a veneer. as there is no pressure against it. That keeps it light weight. I and my wife do everything around here so I try to keep it simple and light for the sake of my wife. the slanted top is not really part of the coop itself, I added that later to keep the hens from wanting to roost and pooing on the enclosed girls. One thing I would warn you about is if your dh wanted to screw it into the studs of the coop rather than put legs on it then you would want to use at least 3/8 plywood so the screws would not pull through. I'm speaking of the back. I just got finished building a new pen and built it with a small door in the back so that in nice weather you could put a small temporary run within a larger run and let the little ones out and still keep them seperated from the adults. I have taken pic's and will post them in a few days. Haystack..
WOW Greykittyn : Your to fast for me. Welcome to Daves garden forum. You are welcome for the pic's and please enjoy the beautiful people here. Haystack
Wow Haystack, I missed this post while I was out, but I am catching up... I must say VERY Impressed, you are my hero... When I pass on (Which wont be for awhile) I want to come back as a chicken that lives at Haystacks place...
Wow, what a palace those chickens have. Love the pictures and will have to show my dh, he is always looking for ideas.
Am I missing something or are you using milk crates as nesting boxes? You just fastened them to the wall and that's what they use? I have 30 milk crates sitting in my garage, yet my DH and I are online looking at $60 nesting boxes.
Haystack, you're a resourceful genius.
Haystack, if you are using milk crates, did you cut them in any way??
I use milk crates among other things for nesting boxes and they are the favorites - no cutting, just as is.
Sweet porkpal, I needed to move the big nesting box (3 boxes connected) in Billys chicken pen since there are 4 hens in there, and my pen only has 2. SO I put a wooden box in there since both hens lay in one nest, but want to put another one in there just in case... I do have a milk crate, and I figure you fill it 3/4 way with hay?
Mine are filled less than 1/2 with hay, and I add more when it packs. The favorite sits high in the coop at the same level as the roost, but they also use one on the ground and a couple mounted about a foot off the ground. They completely ignore the built - in wooden boxes I provided.
This just sounds like a really good idea. I built external nest boxes, and they use them, but in this heat, I'd think the vented milk crates would be better.. If they would use them, at least they could get some air! They really suffered today..
MsJuris!! No genius here my dear, Just an old fashioned cheapscate. LOL
MsJester!! With all you do for Billy, your my hero also. and Yes I do alter the milk crates for nesting boxes. I cut the front where they enter down to the first solid bar across the front. About three incher or so. I also cut a thin sheet of plywood for the bottom of the box so the shavings don't fall through. Also I cover about half of the top to give them some privacy. I try many things til I find what works best for them. LOL
Aww Haystack, that means alot to me.. I will have to try that when I get back from vacation, as they threw all the hay out of the box, but still layed the egg on the wood in there. I would like to have 2 incase there is a hen war...
Thanks for the info...
I went to Haystack's the other day to check out his chicken operation and I can tell you, it's even better than the photos show! It's beautiful and the chickens have huge areas to roam. These are lucky chickens indeed. The coops are really nice. Haystack keeps them immaculately clean. It's really a first rate operation.
