Lucky chicks they will love this area. They will loves scratching the leaves and eating the bugs. I wonder if they will drink from the creek. Should be fun to watch. I've raised chicks my whole life so I enjoy watching this. A break from all the reloading haha.
Just found your channel AND I LOVE IT!! You are a better man than me. I would not have started your project until fall just because the critter and insect population is diminished to almost zero.
30:31 “pasty butt” forming. Baby chicks digestive system sucks the first couple weeks. If they get clogged up they can’t poop and die. Check em every couple days the first couple weeks and clean their vent (poop/egg hole) if it gets crap buildup with a damp rag GENTLY because you can rip their skin off easily.
I just staple feed bags to my coups interior walls in the winter. I like as much airflow as possible in the summer. You only need a laying box for every 3-5 hens if you don't have roosters. I kept up to 50 hens and for the most part the all lay in 2-3 boxes, a couple of broody hens claim a box, a couple lay where they stand, and a couple hide where they lay... If you are worried about predators, get a rooster and get the breeding cycle going, besides you get plenty of cull roosters for the table.
Hardware cloth for keeping kritters out. Chicken wire for a pen / run of some fashion. Free range as much as possible during the day. Definitely under the coop and around it. I wouldnt worry about day time predators too much. Get a rooster or two should be fine. Its at night when the varmints come out. So as long as they are up at night your good to go
I would leave the cracks between the boards alone. You need ventilation. You don't want a wind tunnel, but definitely need ventilation. Make sure your nesting boxes are up off the floor. That will help keep the snakes from getting the eggs. Also, if you are going to build a pen with a top, you want to make sure the wire is buried along the ground to keep coons and dogs/coyotes from digging under.
The main thing is to keep out the raccoon , skunk and coyote out . My buddy installed an electric fence around his coop . He hasn't lost a one . Critters will naw and claw at week spots in the wood to get to them chicks .
I like the the lightweight pvc chicken tractor. They are super easy to tow around the yard with a rope. Let them roost in the shack and walk them in the chicken tractor to where you want them. Have a door on each end of the tractor so you just butt the end to a coop slide door and take them for a little walk. The arched pvc gives them plenty of space to stretch their wings and eat your ticks. I had chickens until a Black Bear got into my coop. Then the Black Bear had chickens. Always be mindful of waste disposal and contamination of feed. Chickens shit a metric ton, have a plan. Good luck.
Make a small chicken door (separate from the door you use to access the shed) into a fenced in area at least the size of the shed itself (double would be better). You can free range them when you are in the yard or close by. You don’t have to entirely close the top if you run some string or wires across the top it will throw off the aerial threats. Some t-posts and chicken wire is sufficient 6 or so feet high (tall enough to walk in) hardware cloth along the bottom (smaller mesh) will deter snakes but you can never really keep them out.
I dont think the gaps are bad. I know everyone say the nesting boxes need to be accessible from outside, but as long as the coop is big enough to walk in, its fine.
Ok here are my suggestions for you to ignore. 1. Do a 10’ by 30’ run (only to be used when you are away or when the predator pressure is high) 2. Keep the crappy door and make a chicken door on the bottom half that is broken. 3. Let them free range all day and close them up at night. 4. Get a sheet of linoleum to completely cover the floor and 6” up the walls (to make it easy to clean with a hose) 5. Chicken tractors suck unless you have meat birds that aren’t “pets” or have a separate function other than being a meal for you later on.
I would put down some cheap linoleum over those floor boards to make it easier to clean and hose out the droppings. Love this series! I would build a separate shoot house that would be easier to insulate, sound proof, wire for ethernet and light for the live streams.
That shedxwasxa coop before... see all the chicken shit on the rafters... and the random boards.... it will be a nice little coop...!! I'm building one out of a metal carport on my property. Should be fun !!
Maybe go with chicken wire stapled to the walls. Your keeping out most furry creatures. I would build a run just outside that allows them to go under the cabin.
It might be a good idea to split that shed in two with a dividing interior wall (couple studs floor to ceiling and some chicken wire would suffice) one side could be the brooder for new chicks (you’ll probably find yourself getting a few replacements every spring) with access to the roosting boxes through the dividing wall. The other side is the main cooo/roost and chickens access to the nesting boxes. With a chicken door leading out to a run.
That portable coop that’s 12x10x2’ they have 75 chickens for that size. They have wheels on one side so they roll it by hand. They move it every day so it’s in a new spot each day in a row. They only move it 12’ each day.
Johnny I know this really isn't about chickens but with the price of lumber these days I would take one of those shacks and put it on some six-by-six timber skids and slide it over to your shooting range
Just me, but I would get the thinnest plywood and cover the whole inside and for the top by the roof some window screen to keep the air flow. Not sure what predators' you have but you may want to do that fenced area on the side and fence in the bottom of the shed.
Rats, mice, squirrels, etc. have a knack for chewing through thin lumber. The building is very small. Plate with subfloor grade advantec. Any "gap" becomes an opportunity to gnaw through a hole. We had our best luck after switching to welded chain dog kennels and I built a sturdy angled roof to go over it. It stopped the find hole/patch/find hole/patch routine.
Lows or home depot run and royal king run for supplies. Shed definitely need to be sealed up but need be vented I would say definitely fence in some area around it for them to they get big. Also keep eye for rats with chickens I local farmer lives next dad said they got bad after chickens
12 chickens in a tractor isn’t a great idea unless you make the tractor big, which means you’d need a quad to pull it. Although it’s doable if you have the power to move it. For a tractor you need at LEAST 4 square feet of space In the run PER BIRD. I’d You need a run, for when you’re out of town. Even if you free range most of the time. use a dog run…. They come in all sizes. Mostly permanent run would be my choice. Then use barn tin on top….. Use LED bulbs inside, so you don’t have to worry about dander and stuff starting fire on an incandescent bulb. Put your roosts right above that workbench, and leave it there! The work bench can function as a “droppings board” so that your floor stays clean. Then you just shovel the poo off. They do a lot of their pooping at night when they sleep. Chickens do much better in the winter than in the summer. The heat is what you really have to be mindful of. They don’t need insulation. Or extra heat in winter. I’d still probably cover those walls in some T11, OSB, or something… maybe even some kind of heavy duty plastic so the walls are wipeable. It’s to keep drafts out. The sofets are ok to leave as is, since the draft will help Carry out amonia from droppings, and it won’t be at chicken level. You may want to cover them in some hardware cloth, though. To avoid weasels and stuff getting in. I’d also get a particulate respirator for coop cleaning. Don’t want to be breathing that when the chickens are living there. We have a one cord wood rack that my chickens love to sit Under. Especially when the rack is full. So they’ll love under your coop. We ran a big extension cord out to our coop for the inside light. Works just fine. This is year 11. As for hose access I’d seriously consider investing $100 in a frost proof hydrant for the chicken water needs. Then, if you’re gonna run conduit anyway, run a line for a A19 (heavy duty) light fixture and run a Teflon coated 100 watt bulb with a 5 gallon bucket (or a half a cattle protein tub) on it just so the bucket doesn’t touch the bulb- and put it on a thermostat, so it comes on at 32 and below. Put your water source on the bucket. Bam. No frozen water. Then no worries about winter. We did it with ours and have no regrets.
The worse thing i have in my chicken coop is red louse (not sure of the translation, this is the pest: mes-poules.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/poux-rouges-poules.jpg ), for this shit, i have to paint the inside with a lime solution once a year and i have to had Diatomaceous earth ( again not sure of translation)inside the coop so the chicken don’t die of anaemia. For the external predators i had to bury the netting one foot, and ad four feet in height. For the predatory birds i had to give them a protection net on 10 foot by 10 foot from one side of the coop. I have 12 chicken and a rookie. Hope it help. Cheers
Fox and weasel are big predators of chickens also wood rats. So patch up any and all holes that a weasel can fit through. When they get big enough they can free range a bit but need put up at night just my 2 cents.
I really wish I didn’t live in a place with a tiny yard… ive always wanted chickens but I don’t have room for a coop. At least I could have chicks but then when they got to be about 6 weeks old I’d have to give them up
Also, everything eats chicken. Owls, hawks, cats, mountain lions, bobcats, weasel, dogs, coyotes, you name it. Do not free range them, and for Gods sake go kill that damn bear!!!!
Lucky chicks they will love this area. They will loves scratching the leaves and eating the bugs. I wonder if they will drink from the creek. Should be fun to watch. I've raised chicks my whole life so I enjoy watching this. A break from all the reloading haha.
Just found your channel AND I LOVE IT!! You are a better man than me. I would not have started your project until fall just because the critter and insect population is diminished to almost zero.
This has been a strangely riveting series.
I would happily join on patreon for a Spooky JRB channel where Johnny just investigates spoopy old sheds and creeps us out.
Call it JRB Shed Investigation. People could call him from all across the country.
30:31 “pasty butt” forming. Baby chicks digestive system sucks the first couple weeks. If they get clogged up they can’t poop and die. Check em every couple days the first couple weeks and clean their vent (poop/egg hole) if it gets crap buildup with a damp rag GENTLY because you can rip their skin off easily.
Sooooo a poo plug 🙃
leave the gaps, their fine ventilation. You just need a roosting bar and laying boxes/area.
I just staple feed bags to my coups interior walls in the winter. I like as much airflow as possible in the summer. You only need a laying box for every 3-5 hens if you don't have roosters. I kept up to 50 hens and for the most part the all lay in 2-3 boxes, a couple of broody hens claim a box, a couple lay where they stand, and a couple hide where they lay... If you are worried about predators, get a rooster and get the breeding cycle going, besides you get plenty of cull roosters for the table.
You're definitely a good worker JRB, that's a great attribute along with adoring animals. Thanks for the entertaining videos!
Hardware cloth for keeping kritters out. Chicken wire for a pen / run of some fashion. Free range as much as possible during the day. Definitely under the coop and around it. I wouldnt worry about day time predators too much. Get a rooster or two should be fine. Its at night when the varmints come out. So as long as they are up at night your good to go
I would leave the cracks between the boards alone. You need ventilation. You don't want a wind tunnel, but definitely need ventilation. Make sure your nesting boxes are up off the floor. That will help keep the snakes from getting the eggs. Also, if you are going to build a pen with a top, you want to make sure the wire is buried along the ground to keep coons and dogs/coyotes from digging under.
The main thing is to keep out the raccoon , skunk and coyote out . My buddy installed an electric fence around his coop . He hasn't lost a one . Critters will naw and claw at week spots in the wood to get to them chicks .
I like the the lightweight pvc chicken tractor. They are super easy to tow around the yard with a rope. Let them roost in the shack and walk them in the chicken tractor to where you want them. Have a door on each end of the tractor so you just butt the end to a coop slide door and take them for a little walk. The arched pvc gives them plenty of space to stretch their wings and eat your ticks. I had chickens until a Black Bear got into my coop. Then the Black Bear had chickens. Always be mindful of waste disposal and contamination of feed. Chickens shit a metric ton, have a plan. Good luck.
That bush on the end looks like Coprosma of some sort. Usually called mirror plant or mirror bush down under in Oz and NZ.
Really enjoying this series. This was like watching the Blair Witch ... errr uhhh Johnny witch project as you were exploring the shed LOL
I used spray foam insulation for my gaps. Then the chickens ate all the foam insulation. Don’t worry about the gaps
Those gaps In the wall boards are ok. They need ventilation. Make your nesting boxes accessible from the outside.
Side the outside ,seal the soffit and get rid of that vine on the side it will damage the shed
Make a small chicken door (separate from the door you use to access the shed) into a fenced in area at least the size of the shed itself (double would be better). You can free range them when you are in the yard or close by. You don’t have to entirely close the top if you run some string or wires across the top it will throw off the aerial threats. Some t-posts and chicken wire is sufficient 6 or so feet high (tall enough to walk in) hardware cloth along the bottom (smaller mesh) will deter snakes but you can never really keep them out.
I dont think the gaps are bad. I know everyone say the nesting boxes need to be accessible from outside, but as long as the coop is big enough to walk in, its fine.
Ok here are my suggestions for you to ignore.
1. Do a 10’ by 30’ run (only to be used when you are away or when the predator pressure is high)
2. Keep the crappy door and make a chicken door on the bottom half that is broken.
3. Let them free range all day and close them up at night.
4. Get a sheet of linoleum to completely cover the floor and 6” up the walls (to make it easy to clean with a hose)
5. Chicken tractors suck unless you have meat birds that aren’t “pets” or have a separate function other than being a meal for you later on.
I would put down some cheap linoleum over those floor boards to make it easier to clean and hose out the droppings. Love this series! I would build a separate shoot house that would be easier to insulate, sound proof, wire for ethernet and light for the live streams.
This is 100% a MUST. I will never regret the linoleum floors in my coop.
100% correct ! The only way to go if you like easy clean up !!!
That blue quart jar may be collectable
You need to fence in the chooks. They will walk off and not come back. You need to lock them in at night. They won’t last a week without protection.
I would use that shed as a shooting shed and the other rabbit shed for the chickens
Cut a new 2x4 and notch it to slide in beside the broken one to repair the roof.
That shedxwasxa coop before... see all the chicken shit on the rafters... and the random boards.... it will be a nice little coop...!! I'm building one out of a metal carport on my property. Should be fun !!
Maybe go with chicken wire stapled to the walls. Your keeping out most furry creatures. I would build a run just outside that allows them to go under the cabin.
It doesn’t even look like there were very many brutal murders in that shed.
Now he got plenty so cute now just wait till they grow up
It might be a good idea to split that shed in two with a dividing interior wall (couple studs floor to ceiling and some chicken wire would suffice) one side could be the brooder for new chicks (you’ll probably find yourself getting a few replacements every spring) with access to the roosting boxes through the dividing wall. The other side is the main cooo/roost and chickens access to the nesting boxes. With a chicken door leading out to a run.
That portable coop that’s 12x10x2’ they have 75 chickens for that size. They have wheels on one side so they roll it by hand. They move it every day so it’s in a new spot each day in a row. They only move it 12’ each day.
Cool
seems like the other shed would be a better fit
Johnny I know this really isn't about chickens but with the price of lumber these days I would take one of those shacks and put it on some six-by-six timber skids and slide it over to your shooting range
6:55 Well, that looks like spidey-ville, so you can count me out.
A run with wire roof red tail hawks are everywhere now days . My son just made a small coup both you all gonna have your hands full.
Just me, but I would get the thinnest plywood and cover the whole inside and for the top by the roof some window screen to keep the air flow. Not sure what predators' you have but you may want to do that fenced area on the side and fence in the bottom of the shed.
Rats, mice, squirrels, etc. have a knack for chewing through thin lumber. The building is very small. Plate with subfloor grade advantec. Any "gap" becomes an opportunity to gnaw through a hole.
We had our best luck after switching to welded chain dog kennels and I built a sturdy angled roof to go over it. It stopped the find hole/patch/find hole/patch routine.
Think about using those l.e.d. Petal lights. You would only need 1
Looks like a poison ivy special. That’s a nope for me, I would be covered up in the itch after that.
I am digging the chicken series. Letting them roam the yard would be awesome but I just don't know how long they would live...
Put a reloading bench in the shoot shack
If you let them get under the coup, they will lay eggs there out of reach. That can be a royal pain.
Lows or home depot run and royal king run for supplies. Shed definitely need to be sealed up but need be vented I would say definitely fence in some area around it for them to they get big. Also keep eye for rats with chickens I local farmer lives next dad said they got bad after chickens
Tar paper on walls
If you find an old Samerian book laying around you might want to leave it alone.
12 chickens in a tractor isn’t a great idea unless you make the tractor big, which means you’d need a quad to pull it. Although it’s doable if you have the power to move it. For a tractor you need at LEAST 4 square feet of space In the run PER BIRD. I’d You need a run, for when you’re out of town. Even if you free range most of the time. use a dog run…. They come in all sizes. Mostly permanent run would be my choice. Then use barn tin on top….. Use LED bulbs inside, so you don’t have to worry about dander and stuff starting fire on an incandescent bulb. Put your roosts right above that workbench, and leave it there! The work bench can function as a “droppings board” so that your floor stays clean. Then you just shovel the poo off. They do a lot of their pooping at night when they sleep. Chickens do much better in the winter than in the summer. The heat is what you really have to be mindful of. They don’t need insulation. Or extra heat in winter. I’d still probably cover those walls in some T11, OSB, or something… maybe even some kind of heavy duty plastic so the walls are wipeable. It’s to keep drafts out. The sofets are ok to leave as is, since the draft will help Carry out amonia from droppings, and it won’t be at chicken level. You may want to cover them in some hardware cloth, though.
To avoid weasels and stuff getting in. I’d also get a particulate respirator for coop cleaning. Don’t want to be breathing that when the chickens are living there. We have a one cord wood rack that my chickens love to sit Under. Especially when the rack is full. So they’ll love under your coop. We ran a big extension cord out to our coop for the inside light. Works just fine. This is year 11. As for hose access I’d seriously consider investing $100 in a frost proof hydrant for the chicken water needs. Then, if you’re gonna run conduit anyway, run a line for a A19 (heavy duty) light fixture and run a Teflon coated 100 watt bulb with a 5 gallon bucket (or a half a cattle protein tub) on it just so the bucket doesn’t touch the bulb- and put it on a thermostat, so it comes on at 32 and below. Put your water source on the bucket. Bam. No frozen water. Then no worries about winter. We did it with ours and have no regrets.
Keep in mind the width of chicken wire used and the dimensions of building a run !
🙃Okay judging buy the size of the jard you can really stretch the range out
The worse thing i have in my chicken coop is red louse (not sure of the translation, this is the pest: mes-poules.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/poux-rouges-poules.jpg ), for this shit, i have to paint the inside with a lime solution once a year and i have to had Diatomaceous earth ( again not sure of translation)inside the coop so the chicken don’t die of anaemia.
For the external predators i had to bury the netting one foot, and ad four feet in height. For the predatory birds i had to give them a protection net on 10 foot by 10 foot from one side of the coop.
I have 12 chicken and a rookie.
Hope it help. Cheers
Fox and weasel are big predators of chickens also wood rats. So patch up any and all holes that a weasel can fit through. When they get big enough they can free range a bit but need put up at night just my 2 cents.
My dad neighbor farm pick good pest problem with rats after they got chicken 🐔
If small run electric fence or just regular chicken wire 5ft but you must clip their wings chickens fly i just dont know what velocity
I really wish I didn’t live in a place with a tiny yard… ive always wanted chickens but I don’t have room for a coop. At least I could have chicks but then when they got to be about 6 weeks old I’d have to give them up
Predators to worry about weasels owls raccoons
Consider arieal predators with any outdoor run.
Cut down the tree and shrub! That will help keep snakes and other predators out!
What's the chill music you used for the time lapses (no credits in the comments)?... Sort of sounds like Aphex Twin.
Looks like a tea olive
You will need to make some chicken swings. Yes it’s a thing.
Margrette Hatcher?
I'm sticking around for the reloading tutorial on a Stihl Trimmer - just how do you get the string in there the right way? :)
Also, everything eats chicken. Owls, hawks, cats, mountain lions, bobcats, weasel, dogs, coyotes, you name it. Do not free range them, and for Gods sake go kill that damn bear!!!!
Extend your range and add measurement in meters ..........JMO
Looks like a tea olive