Chicken Run Build | RECYCLED WOOD & PREDATOR-PROOF!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 มิ.ย. 2020
- Building a predator-proof run doesn't have to require burying wire fencing! The only digging we did was for placing the posts to support the welded wire. Digging a bunch of postholes by hand wasn't great, but seeing the chickens loving their new area at the end was well worth it (so make sure to stick around for the chicken cuteness). We also built the chicken automatic water/feeder which has made our lives a LOT easier. Biggest lesson learned from this project is that welded wire fence is crazy expensive!
We have SUPER detailed plans for the J-Tube chicken feeders: www.masondixonacres.com/shop/...
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Here's what we had to buy for this project:
Three 2x4x16s: $30
Two 2x4x10s: $13
Gutter: $35
4x100 Wire fence: $80
4x50 Wire fence: $60
3x50 Wire fence: $45
Door hinges/hardware: $20
Zip ties: $12
Rain barrel: $20
Rain barrel hose fitting: $18
5 gal bucket & lid: $6
Poultry nipples: $8
4" pipe/fittings for food: $45
Tab tape to fasten food pipes: $4
TOTAL: $396
Including the initial cost of the birds & chick brooder setup ($245), the coop build ($290), and the run ($396), our entire chicken setup totals out to $931. While this seems like a lot, we feel like we have one of the higher quality setups around, and chances are, we will be housing fluffy butts in this one (or at least reusing the materials) for life. Thanks for watching, please leave comments and questions below!
Check out our Pallet Chicken Coop Build video here: • Pallet Chicken Coop Bu...
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ABOUT US: We are Alex and Elaina, a couple in our 20s who are currently living on the 3-acre farm in southern Pennsylvania where Alex grew up. We have a garden, backyard chickens, and build or fix anything that we need to. We still work corporate day jobs, but are working to eventually leave the 9-5 lifestyle in favor of a self-built, debt-free, homestead on 6 acres nearby.
We upload a TH-cam video every Saturday night at 7️⃣pm EST, and post daily on Instagram.
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Instagram: / masondixonacres
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They are as content as can be. There is no greater sign of love, trust, happiness, and comfort!
Agreed!
That's called sunbathing! They'll only do it when there's warmth from the Sun or under an infrared heat lamp. At least that's the only times I see mine doing it. They are basking in the warmth!
haha yep that's what we figured! They're such funny little creatures.
-Alex
@@MasonDixonAcres it's called ☀️ Bathing
Also helps kills lice and bugs 🐛
Like that are living on there body
Saw the prices and was excited. Then I saw how long ago this was posted. Probably a 1,000 dollar job now with these economy. Excellent work I’ll be loosely basing my set up on this.
Haha it could be.. at least pallets are still free!
Excellent job by a great couple. It's so nice to see you working together as a team.
Thank you! We enjoy working together. 🙂
Cutr Coop and run, perhaps your ladies are sunbathing and just loving their new resort. Thanks for posting all this
Thanks for watching! Yep, they love to sunbathe! 🙂
It’s so comfortable!! It’s a sign! They love the run ❣️❣️🤩
First comes chicks, then comes kids! Great build, helps me get ideas for my first coop. God Bless. Could only dream I was as close to a homestead as yourselves.
Actually i had a daughter(single dad), first and now im having chicks..! You guys plan on doing another form of livestock? Pigs, goats, moo moo?
Everyone's lives takes a slightly different path! It's all about the journey. We are thinking pigs and sheep!
Try some diatamatious earth in their dust bath and in their coop as it helps control parasites. Very nice coop! Thanks!
Yes! We use that too! 😊
Sunbathing!
Love the simplicity of your coop and run. Well done.
Just one little i provement, round those edges o the swi g, the ladder, roosts. They are mighty sharp for chickenfeet!
Thank you! They really haven't used the swing sadly :( which is weird bc our neighbor has one and their chickens love it. The roosts are just 2x4s so they have slightly rounded edges, but you are probably right about rounding them further. I just did a bit of research and found a site where an experiment was done to allow chickens to choose their perch width, and 2" wide was the most popular. Might need to thin ours down a bit. Thanks for the comment!
That's the position they get into before they dust bathe! Or they are just sun bathing their underside!! God Bless!
Haha yeah I think they were sun bathing! When they were younger they didn't do much dust bathing.. but now there are holes all over place and they scratch the heck up out of their dust bath.. :)
-Alex
Damn hippy chickys! its a chicken sitt in!
they need a sandy area to "bath" in
hippy chickies 😂
Looks great!! I agree with you about the wire fencing. I have hardware cloth and I still have chicken deaths from predators. A determined predator will get in if they are really really hungry. Dogs help A LOT!!!
The automatic door on the chicken coop definitely helps as well!
hawks pull thru if over half inch grid on wire mesh
you guys did awesome! absolutely love the chicken coop, also when the chickens lay on their sides and spread their wings it just means they are sunbathing lol
Thank you, glad you like the coop! They love sunbathing!
Just chilling while sunbathing.
they bake in the sun to help with mites add some tires with diatomaceous earth mixed with fresh sandy dirt so they can roll around and protect themselves. hope this helps answer your question C:
Great build! Lots of great ideas and thinking before and during the build. When I was your age we didn't have TH-cam so I basically built a tool shed and put in the chickens😂
Still works great almost 30 years later. Clean up isn't near as easy.
You two look like you have a lot of fun. Great job on the coop and run. My husband and I building a coop this weekend, because our little chicks will be getting too big for their brooder very soon. Y’all were a lot of fun to watch and very clear with some great ideas. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed the video & good luck with your build!
Chickens are sun bathing. Sprawling out in the warm sun feels good to be alive.
Absolutely!
Dear Lord these people have money- holy moly
They are enjoying the sun
That is cool my friends about your chicken coop.
You young people just my dream of having a Chicken Palace
If you paint their little thingy off of the chicken door and the ladder thingy (allll around) with a couple of coats of exterior paint, you can easily wash it off with a hose. It's great! :)
That's a great idea!
If only I could make this!
Why haven’t I come across your channel before! You’re basically living the life myself and my mrs are trying to currently!
awe yay!! It's crazy how the TH-cam algorithm works?! I always say the same thing about channels!
MR DALE he's our hero - good save mr dale 🤣👍👏👏👏👏👏
hahaha we love mr. Dale! He's the best neighbor!
They are comfortable and sunning !
I love your set up but it’s not completely predictor protected. If a Predator can reach in between that wire fence it will shred your chicken’s to death. I would suggest hardware clothe for a chicken coop area. (Usually raccoons at night but just in case the chickens are left out-during the night) At least the bottom half of the run. Your probably not in a snake 🐍 infested area. But if you are then I would do the whole surroundings coop. Also secure your staples with another piece of wood on top. You’d be surprised how strong predators can be. The latches on your doors raccoons can figure out how to open as well. Sorry it might sound nick picking. Just don’t want to see your chickens 🐓 murdered. I also liked the level on the post secured with clamps while trying to level. 👍🏻. Great tip 👩🏼🌾
Thanks so much for all of the tips! We still haven't gotten around to adding hardware cloth or chicken wire to the bottom half of our run yet but we agree that it's a good idea. Our chickens are in the coop at night with a door that shuts automatically! Thanks again.
@@MasonDixonAcres hope you take their advice….it is all TOO TRUE.
Hardware cloth on iuside so it is harder to push through….can use exterior screws and denser washers.
Even fencing oeople make the mistake of putting fencing on the wrong side….imagine a goat pushing fencing out….predator would be outside pushing IN….
Love the run… it was hilarious that you both were right about which chicks would come out first … ( I love the sound of music lol)
I've watched both part 1 and part 2 and I'm really impressed by your abilities considering your young ages! I would love an update on how things are working for your coop, and what if any changes you'd make. I'm going to comment on a couple of things that I think are important, for instance: in addition to the windows for lighting and air flow, you also need adequate ventilation in the winter months without causing a draft. My suggestion would have been to cut multiple holes in the plexiglass windows to allow for that in winter. Also, while your welded wire fencing is great it still allows raccoons to reach inside and grab the chooks by their necks. Adding a strip of chicken wire to the inside of that welded wire would reduce that possibility. You didn't leave them much in the way of shade in their run. A solid or at least partially solid covering would protect them from rain and snow plus give shade. It also helps to keep the run much drier, which you will want to have in the future. I love that you gave them "toys" to keep them from being bored, but they'd LOVE a nice dust bath area, too! All in all I think you guys did a great job! Thanks for sharing
Thanks for the kind words! It's been great, the only issue has been related to our own cheapness to use scrap (non PT) wood for the doors, which have started to sag and the pocket hole joints come loose. The rest of the non PT wood has held up fine for its purpose, just more grey. Size has been plenty for our flock.
Soon after filming we did add a sandbox dust bath in the corner where we had that low roost. Same with shade, we added a shade cloth over that same corner. The winter ventilation is provided by the open soffit/rafters that have hardware cloth over them, I think there's better details on that in the coop build video. We haven't had any signs of predators and no birds lost, which is pretty amazing considering our rural area. In a more wooded area it is probably more critical to put tighter wire in, when we move the setup to our new house we will definitely need that as we catch fox and raccoons on trail cams nightly.
@@MasonDixonAcres thank you for your in-depth reply! We live on 10 acres with several close-by neighbors in a small rural community. With the way our acreage lays, we have wooded areas close by, then open pasture then trees. We often have foxes...a family lived under one of our 12x20 sheds...when they move out the resident groundhog moves back under it. Deer and raccoons are plentiful during growing season and then there are dogs in the neighborhood. A close neighbor has lost quite a few chickens to dogs and foxes. I scared up a coyote out in the pasture this summer when I was bush hogging. By the time I finished they were gone because it was too open for them. I'm adamant about heavy wire but my husband thinks chicken wire is plenty. I'm insisting....also insist on a hard cover over the run for bio-security. Wild birds especially carry diseases so I want them protected as much as possible. I'm glad your coop has held up so well without too many problems. I think you did a really good job on your coop. Keep up the good work!
It's like I saw something flying behind you at 11:30
They were just catching some rays an chillin out.
I found this very entertaining, inspiring and educational! Thanks.
Glad you enjoyed it! We had fun making it!
I Love yall's videos. I learned alot. At the end of yall's video of coop playground ,the birdies were laying on their sides, I'm sure yall know by now. I didn't know how to comment lol. Your birds are sunbathing, relaxing, enjoying life. I love to see them play then root around and play in the dirt then lay stretched out on their sides. Thank yall for your videos have a great day. From Russellville, Alabama.....
Thanks for following along! We appreciate it! Glad the videos are helpful for you. We love watching our hens relaxing as well. They are so fun to have around.
Just to let you know, I have that same wire fencing running around my 5 acres! Believe it or not, some of my chickens can go right thru those holes in the fencing and into my neighbor's field! Neighbor and I was wondering if they flew over the fence. then we both watched a chicken squeeze thru the hole in the fence! So if you have any smaller chickens or younger ones not yet fully grown completely? You may be surprised how skinny your chickens really are when they squeeze thru your fencing! 😂 I ended up having to add chicken wire to the fence around my property to keep my chickens from escaping! Fortinately that also help keep out the rabbits out of my garden too!
Chikens need SUNLIGHT for so many things, that's why they lay out in the Sunshine.
good job I am so happy to see more Yung people going back to the way it should be.
Thank you! We really enjoy DIY projects and working on our homestead!
Great job guys, liked ur coop, actually I've been watching some videos to build a coop for my chickens and think this is the best one.
Great!! Glad you found it to be helpful. We saved a lot of money by using recycled wood.
Wonderful job! I'm loving the channel
Thank you!
Awesome job!
Alex - Dude - that was a missed pro-tip. I never thought to use a clamp hold a level on a post. Great idea. Keep up the great videos.
Haha glad you picked up on it! No idea where I learned that one, guess I was taking it for granted 😄
Nice. Waiting for more “chicken action” like using the swing
Yes! They are so fun. We will have to make another video soon 😊
I think I followed your build too closely! I went to lift mine with a John Deere 3032 and it wouldn't budge! Luckily we have friends with a much bigger tractor! Hope you guys have a great season!
Hah! Sounds very familiar... always good to have friends/neighbors with the right tool for the job. Looking forward to the warmer weather, same to you!
Excellent! Ive been watching so many models on utube - this is the one for me. Insulated, clean, practical & hurricane proof. Love it. Good job!
Btw - that pise is chicken yoga.
Wow, thanks! We know of at least one other person who basically replicated the same design. It's been great for 3+ years now
This video is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you so much!!
I suggest to use small opening mesh so to keep gopher out.
Glad it helped! Thanks for the suggestion!
They like to sun themselves and dust bathe. 😀 I guess their instinct is to sun underneath of their wings and dust bathe to prevent mites and such. Mine do this all the time! They used to free range 24/7 until they picked my flower beds as their favorite place for it. 🙄
Ours are starting to love their dust baths as well, digging chicken-sized holes in the process 😅 when I (Alex) was a kid, we had chickens with total free range of the yard, and because of that we had almost no grass or flower beds.. so i get what you mean, I’m glad they have a designated area for digging now!
Mahalo ( Thank You)
Learned lots
Nice job
The chickens are gathering heat
Sun bathing
You might have noticed doves doing this.
Also after hot days when a light misty rain starts they will lift up a wing to gather some moisture to keep their skin soft and supple.
No joke
TYVM for sharing
they laying down when they feel very hot like super hot...chicken likes warm they fall asleep fast
Love it, great job!
Well you're not kidding,those post are over kill .Good work tho!
I named mine BBQ, Chicken noodles, rotisserie, fried, etc.
Looks great! Man, those sleeping chickens made me laugh. I have no idea why I found that to be so funny.
The chickens are so silly! We had no idea how much they loved sun bathing before this day!
This is awesome, be careful, they will peck your eyes. Had my little roost try it once lol, thank goodness for reflexes.
Oh gosh haha roosters can be total menaces 😂
Good job. Hello from Connecticut
Hello there! Thanks for joining us!
The chicken at the end is sunbathing,it's how they do it
So cool guys
That coop is like a tank! Great job!
Thanks a lot! It’s been holding up well for about a year now!
-Alex
Suggestion for more shade...plant some climbing roses to train over the top then in summer when it's real hot the roses provide shade and roses are perfectly safe for chicken. Just plant on the outside of the four corners so the chicken won't dig up the rose bush.
Awesome. Perpendicular crossbeam.
love the coop!
Thank you!
Great Job !!! Looks really good :)
Thanks a bunch!!
Great job. Gave me some ideas.
Glad to hear it! Best of luck building 🤘🏼
Great build!
Thanks!
I loved it! And your Chickens are so sweet.
You might need to add some hardware cloth to the lower half of the run. I can think of several very common predators that can fit through a 2” X 4” hole. Like Black Chicken Snakes, Rats, Ferrets, Minks, young Raccoons and Opossums. And from personal experience, a 6 ft Boa Constrictor named Elisabeth! Once she swallowed the bird whole, she could not get back out, but that didn’t help the bird. 🥺
Woah, that's insane.. the snake swallowed a whole chicken?! I didn't know boa constrictors ran wild in Kentucky 😅 We luckily haven't had any predator issues in the past couple years, not sure how honestly. The coop itself is pretty tight once they are inside for the night. Hardware cloth is pretty pricey which is why we haven't done that yet. Hopefully that doesn't bite us!
Looks great 👍
Thank you!
Love the playground! The only thing missing, in my opinion, is a place for a dust bath. I saw a video where they just used an old tractor tire, then added sand/ash/dirt, etc as the level dropped.
We since have added a dust bath in the one corner! We used two large logs.
great set up! chickens are sunbathing. Thats what I always thot it was.
Thank you! Yess! They love to sunbathe!
Beautiful coup. I think I would of used the fencing to keep snakes out. Snakes can fit through wiring. Lovely coup.
Thank you! We've thought about adding chicken wire along the bottom but haven't yet.
Outstanding video, thank you for sharing. I am guessing you don’t get much snow in your area! I am looking forward to watching more of your videos.
thank you! Not a ton of snow anymore sadly
Really hate it when snobby TH-camrs say “follow us on out journey”
Nice!
Very very nice job excellent coop and area . when can I expect you over to do one for me lol .
Thanks! I'm not sure we are ready to do it again lol 😂😂
Use street elbows where you can less fittings and cuttings
Not sure if they make those for NDS pipe!
Small❤❤❤❤❤
Awesome
Cool set up. Thanks for showing how you put this together.
One thing..... the swing might need a much thicker rope on each side through a bigger hole to keep the swing steady under the chickens. It flips back and forth so they aren't able to get a purchase on it to sit steadily on it to swing. Just a thought. Have a good one.
Good point! Thanks for the input
Subbed!
Haven't read any comments, so sorry if it's repeated. I would advise you to add a strip of chicken wire around the base as well as the 2x4 wire. I had a mink come through my 2x4 wire and devastate my flock of 12. I did have chicken wire buried on the inside of my coop, but as the chickens scratched and took dust baths in the corner, the chicken wire was unearthed and the mink took advantage of it. I don't want you guys, or anyone else for that matter, to go through what happened to me. It was a pretty down moment for our family. Just discovered and soon to subscribe to your channel. Hope it goes well! ;-)
Oh wow the mink slipped right through the wire? Our friend had that happen with her ducks a year or two ago.. so sad :( We will have to put up some more reinforcement. The girls do have a second line of defense when asleep which is the coop itself, which is pretty well sealed with hardware cloth. Thanks for the comment!
-Alex
@@MasonDixonAcres I wouldn’t rely on the coop for defense against mink. This happened during the day. There were 3 eggs laid that day, so know it happened after they came down from roost. Had the mink entered during the evening, which it may very well have, it couldn’t get to the birds. My girls were so use to our daily visits with our house cats (on leashes) 😉 that they probably weren’t even afraid of it.
Aw that’s terrible. Minks are ruthless creatures. We will take your advice and put up some chicken wire at the bottom!
A mink (or is it weasels) can fit thru some pretty small holes. Chicken wire is not really designed to keep anything out, just designed to keep chickens in. The most secure wire barrier is a 1"x1" welded wire or a 1/2"× 1/2" hardware cloth. A very determined predator might figure a way to breach even that but in general that's pretty secure and fool proof...
@@gerrymatheson4020 I've not actually ruled out weasel, and without video I couldn't really say 100% mink, however, if it were weasel I believe the 1 chicken that was pulled to the point of entry probably wouldn't have been at that particular place, knowing a weasel could probable slip through in other locations. Also, there was a hole chewed in the coop door, which was pretty dilapidated, that was the size of a mink. I could see it had returned a couple days later, chewed the hole, then burrowed into the bedding and around a few partitions I keep in there for brooding and separating meat and layers birds. I've been an avid outdoorsman all my life and trapped for many of those years, chasing the mink. Again, can't say without a doubt it was a mink, but will say it is likely. We also have a pond a few yards away from the coop and see them occasionally making rounds. Only seen 1 weasel in my life, and although I don't want them around my chickens, I'd be honored to have them around. They're amazing little creatures!
Sunbathing. Magpies, dogs, cats, horses, pigs I have seen doing it.
They love it! They are so much happier now that the weather is warmer outside!
They are sunbathing...lol...where's their dustbath?🤣
Getting their vitamin D
Beautiful Chicken coop & Birds!!! I love my chickens (& rooster) but boy are they dirty birds : /
What do you do in the winter? Or do you not get a couple of feet of the white stuff?
Do you have any videos of the barn restoration?
Great coop! How well do your J feeders work? Does the feed keep flowing by itself? Can the chickens reach it ok? Any moisture problems? Do you have trouble with the caps sticking? I plan on mounting them just like you did. Thanks!
J feeders work great! We have had some moisture issues and think we might upgrade to regular PVC in the future. We just make sure to keep an eye on it and wash them out pretty frequently.
When they lay on their sides they are soaking up the sun. When they kick dirt on themselves they are trying to get rid of mites or other irritants on their skin. Nice playground for the feather kids.
Would you have done anything differently with the coop, run, water, feeder?
Not really! The scrap wood we made the doors out of has weathered pretty good the past couple years, those should have be made from PT lumber but they still do the job. Otherwise everything still works great to this day!
They take sun bath when the sit on one side
Are you sure they aren’t laying down just to cuddle with each other?? 😉
Squirrel and rodents will walk right in
@MasonDixon, do you worry about smaller predators (i.e., rats, snakes, etc.) climbing through the holes in the fence material?
Also, how do you prevent mice from entering "Chicken Acres?"
I agree, our current run fencing probably wouldn’t keep out smaller predators such as rats or snakes but we haven’t had any issues so far! If we do notice signs of these animals we will likely add some chicken wire along the bottom of the run. We have 4 barn cats which helps with mice/rats. Our feed setup also prevents the chickens from spilling the food all over the ground which might attract the mice/rats.
@@MasonDixonAcres, I both like and appreciate the "J" food pipes; an ingenious idea.
They lay on their side for cooling themselves.
Our chickens do this as well. I thought it was for cooling, which made sense. But they seem to pick the sunny places to do it. You’d think if they wanted to cool off, they would pick a shady spot!?
PS: love the playground, but think you should add a place for dust baths
Currently building my chicken run. How is the wire holding up compared to something like hardware cloth?
The wire is great, it's galvanized and shows no signs of wear. You may need to supplement with hardware cloth in some areas to decrease hole size, depending on what predators you have. We haven't lost a single bird to predators
SOO great but lots of us don't have any anything like tractors or land big barns etc. not fowling and more
They're sunbathing
Have you guys had to worry about snakes coming through near the base?
Are you going to filter the water from the gutters? When it usually rains the elements from the roof goes into the gutter.
Just a filter screen on the rain barrel, the roof is just unpainted metal so the anything coming off with rainwater is negligible
Do you wanna see something really awesome get a baby pool punch a couple holes in the bottom and fill it with sand preferably play sand that way the chickens can actually take a dust bath they love doing this it gets rid of all the mites that they have sometimes and overall they just love doing it. I have one in my runner. Also them laying out in the sun they’re just sunbathing soaking up the sun while they can.
I really don't know about the feeders, how many birds? They do fight over food and it seems to me that dominant birds will just take over each feeder and not allow less brave birds to feed. Almost all birds will sunbathe given a nice sunny place to spread out in. I forgot to say how much I love the run and the coop, just watched again !
We now have 2 J feeders for 6 birds, they seem to spread out their eating times enough that there isn't much competition. I think with more birds it would definitely become more hectic
nice
Thanks!