So, for 100 birds they will need 25 lbs of food and roughly 30 gallons of water a day. Maybe take the front 2 ft of the "coop" and make an enclosed feed box that'll hold a weeks or more worth of feed. Attached hanging feeders will prevent you needing to pick them up daily when moving them around and maybe attach a spool for a hose to wind up on the coop. Being able to move everything all at once without having to move everything twice is worth the extra time.
Josh, if one of your hay wagons is missing it's floor you might want to consider replacing it with expanded metal. That way the 🐓💩 drops through to fertilize the pasture under the coop. Just a thought 🤔. Have a great day 😊.
@@colwynwickersham7775 can't for the life of me understand why anyone in their right mind would use 2x2's for floor joists. A fundamental, basic knowledge of construction practices might be helpful to a revaluation of your statement.A human being (hopefully larger than a toddler) will eventually have to walk into the coop & not want to fall through the floor. You have a great day 😊.
As a carpenter, I’d like to suggest using bolts into the trailer to help hold the coop down. Also I’d probably open that floor up somehow and let the poo hit the ground out in the fields. No scooping it out.And I’d use 2x4 hanger brackets on the roof joists . That wind can get strong out in those fields.
I bet you're lovin that saw mill. That is so cool when you have a little project and you just go make some lumber! Your chickens will be the envy of the neighborhood!
Glad that you changed your mind and went with a single door... A double was just not necessary! Plus, you saved a buck or two and time...Great job man! :)
Your dog at the beginning is a dead ringer for a dog I used to have when I was a kid. If you ever his off springs please put me at the front of the line. I swear that dog is just gorgeous, makes me feel like 9 years old every time I see him in your videos. Please please more videos of that dog.
Roost bars to rear by door.. make pockets so they can be removed. Otherwise they poop on nest boxes and you will have to go way up inside to clean.. as a thought. This is neat idea for pastured raptors
Great inspiration design! Only changes that I would make are to change the floor to be slatted to allow poop to drop through to the pasture, as well as installing the nest boxes at the entry door end of the wagon opposite of the roosting bars, just to further cut down on the amount of poop the girls will drop during the night on top of the nesting boxes. To further elaborate on that idea, I would even go as far as stacking the nesting boxes on one side of the entry end, and then have food and water on the other side of the entry end, and have the roosting bars over open floor.
This is my JAM! I love the builds on this channel. Can't wait to visit the place, and hopefully buy some North Carolina organic farm goodness.. I love this channel anytime I need some DIY therapy.
Hey Josh, love the new chicken coop. I would highly suggest using bolts or screws to mount it to the trailer. I think nails are going to be pulled out real easy when you get a good wind storm is going to hit the side of that. Just a thought.
Josh, i have a mini hay wagon, and am planning a couple more. I use aircraft tires on them as they are very durable, and very inexpensive, since they are take-offs. They measure 3'x5'.
Great ideas employed. Similar design on the Wild and Wonderful channel that also incorporated a water catch system and water nipples. Your mobile coop looks great!!!!!
Awesome stuff love what u are doing just found your channel a few months ago. Been a dairy farmer for over 25yr and ran 5000 head beef lot. Your are doing stuff right and the only way the cows should be raised
I've seen such coops- but never made from scratch! Yours looks nicer- AND it was waaayyyy less expensive! LOL! Good job! Has to be an satisfying sense of accomplishment.. 🙏🏻💪🙏🏻
a little weather won't hurt these chickens my friend....we have a very mild climate here where I live so it's not an issue...better immune function in the chicken means better immunity passed on through the eggs
Good job on the Coop. Add some blocking between rafters to keep pesky critters out of the hen house. Figure out a locking system for the egg doors for the same reason. Raccoons will find out pretty quick that there us a free lunch in there. Here where i live, i would also neeed a header in those openings where the nesting boxes are. Our sniw load can be pretty heavy. Other than these observations, i like what you have done. 😮 * edit for typos *
On the next 1 you need to mount the nest boxes higher , need to be about 3 feet above the floor . what's to stop raccoons from getting in the back of nest boxes
It's a cool build, but as an old poulterer, I have one single criticism. Though the coop looks secure, it has a fatal flaw in its design and I went back and looked at your recent fox attack video to see if the flaw is still there and it appears to be. The flaw is this: When you attached the wire for venilation purposes, you used a staple gun to attach it. When you sided the coop, you lapped over the bottom edge of your wire with your siding. Spot on! But, the top edge of your wire is not lapped and I believe the side edges were also not lapped. This is a big vulnerability and it's really just a matter of time before a raccoon comes along and peels the wire away to gain entry. Even heavy duty fence staples are inadequate. That could be next year or five years from now, but eventually it will happen. It's a great build, but anytime you attach wire, all edges should be lapped just as you did with the lower edge. For the best results, run a 2x2 or similar strip along all wire edges and screw it down securely. I usually drill a pilot hole to prevent splitting. This will prevent raccoons and others from climbing up and working the wire loose to gain entry. If they gain entry to a coop like this that shelters as many hens as you plan to run in it, it'll make the losses you had from the fox attack seem like kid stuff because they'll literally kill every bird inside, be it one or a hundred. You'd be surprised how many people who keep poultry will eventually fall prey to this one single coop vulnerability.
Great points, thanks for the tips! This summer I’m going to build a mobile coop out of an old cattle trailer my grandpa built. I’ve taken all the rotten wood off so I’m starting with a bare frame
I like to put a piece of linoleum (remnant) down on the floor then build on it. Makes clean up a breeze plus the chicken waste doesn’t help rot out the floor.
looks great. you’re eventually gonna get tired of cleaning it out though and switch out for a grated floor. need that fertilizer to go straight onto the ground.
I’ve made a few videos and know how much goes into making them. This was a huge undertaking and I want to thank you for doing it. Gives me some really great ideas on making a mobile coop for our chickens. Thanks Stoney Ridge!
So impressed with how you mill your own lumber! This is my dream to build one of these. Now I just need your skills!! Well done and thanks for the terrific video!
Very cool. Especially using wood from the farm. One thought was preventing tip-over from high winds, and Just A Few Acres' chicken tractor had simple outriggers they were able to quickly put up and down every move.
Find a little junk box to mount on the metal frame under it. That way, you can store a roll of plastic and a staple gun to close it up before the big storms come in.
Amazing work! The continuous surprises created interesting suspense through the video. Thank you for being vulnerable enough to show us all the challenges and how you overcame them.
Josh, love your re-purpose of the old hay wagon. I have two suggestions. 1. you have no idea how old those tires are(but there should be a date code on them) You might wanna replace them with some newer used tires so you aren't having issues with dry rotting and leaking any time soon. Also, might wanna add some slime to them to combat leak downs. 2. The floor, I most HIGHLY recommend putting down some lanolium or vinyl flooring down. it'll serve you well to keep moisture off your already rotting floor a,d clean out is a breeze. just sweep it and it's clean(of course you'll have to shovel it out once swept up, but it makes it really easy to clean it up. Also, forgot, some solar lights on the inside to keep the chickens up and laying during the shorter winter months. For 100 chickens, I am thinking you'll need more roosts to keep chickens from having to lay on the floor and getting pooped on. Are you gonna put you an auto opening/closing door on the coop for them to be able to get out and secured in without you having to do it all the time? They work great off solar and you could install it anywhere on the coop even at the bottom of your walk in door.
tires are probably 40 years old...as long as they hold air they'll be fine....lanolium holds water under it and is easilty damaged by a rake or shovel...ask me how I know. The tires will need air about every 6 months...no biggie..just a 5 min maintenance item not worth spending $300 on tires
@@StoneyRidgeFarmer I had lanolium on my chicken house and had zero issues with it after 10 years(when I sold it, ) we did inspect the whole underneath and no issues and it was just regular plywood. no leaks no stains. I onlyused a broom to sweep the shavings in a pile the a flat shovel to shovel the shavings out. Once all cleaned up, th floor was in perfect condition, like a new 70's kitchen floor. And I wasn't talking about getting new tires, just newer tires that were worn down, but with only a year or three on the date code. Around here, you can get them for like $20 mounted. Tread doesn't matter since it doesn't need traction. just needs t hold air. But that really is a kewl build.
Maybe consider a smaller space for the chicken wire on the next one. You get any of that "sideways rain" & you're gonna have some soggy birds 🤭 with this one.
Noice coop. Love senco nailers. Maybe use Thompson water seal on floor. I used to cut my metal with an older carbide crosscut blade put in saw to run backwards works great. Maybe get a Vaughan 16 oz smooth face framing hammer. Great build cheers buddy Ricky 👩🏻🦼🇺🇸💥🎸🙏
The coup looks wonderful! Might I suggest that you make doors that could drop down where you have the chicken wire? It would help if you have high winds or down pouring rain. I'm not sure what type of predators that you have in your area, but I would definitely secure my egg laying boxes so that predators can't gain access to your coup. Here we have raccoons and they'll get into get your eggs and kill every chicken. What's weird is often they are only after the eggs and won't eat your chickens. Also snake's are a huge problem here. Just a few things to consider. I have a friend that lost all her chicken's about 30-40 to a raccoon and a snake had taken a good amount of eggs before she realized what was happening to them. Great video! Looking forward to checking out the updated version of the next coup! Much Love from our family to your family 💞
rain, wind and weather isn't gonna hurt our chickens my friend...they are out there in the rain right now grazing on the lawn....predators are a factor for sure and we'll see how it goes...I may have to put wire all the way up to the top of the rafters at some point..we'll see
@@StoneyRidgeFarmer I wasn't sure if you had gotten the extreme weather we get? Our storms can be bad often we get hail the size of golf balls and some of the hail stones can get is large as baseballs and softballs. In the winter we can high winds and Sub-Zero temperatures. Often rain and snow can blow horizontal too. We have to be careful that our chicken's don't get hit by hail in the summer months or freezing to death in winter.. thank you for the quick response. Much Love from our family to your family 💞
Have you ever considered having a contest where you have a small group tour and live "the farm life" for a day? You could get some free help on the farm and whoever gets to go gets some really cool experience homesteading.. Just a thought 🙂 I know i'd love to come hang out for a day, learn me some stuff and help you with some projects while there.
if it's gonna snow.....park it on a hill and off she comes lol. We don't get much snow here...and..it's a chicken coop so we're not putting alot into it....probably have about $600 in the coop total
Great video, Josh! I'm looking forward to watching your progression with this and the implementation into the cows rotation. I miss the livestreams, but this was fun to watch! Great job. Plus, kudos to editor Josh or whoever did this one!
Looks nice. Cool egg catcher system. Since you are prototyping .... I'd extend the roof longer over the person door so you're out of the rain fiddling with the latch, move the person door so the hinge is on the left post giving more siding on the right, build in a chicken door on the right side of the person door. They sell auto-dusk/dawn chicken door actuators that you could add then. ... what about some sort of mechanism that could wind up your electric fencing like a tape measure or winch? Solar power for the winder motor and the electric fence zapper. Rack for step-on posts. Goal is make set up and tear down for moves as efficient as possible.
A farmer must know how to do everything themselves to save money & are the best teachers in the world. One just has to listen then apply what we are given freely. The farmers paid a hefty price for what they know.
Pretty great chicken coup Josh maybe make ceiling height 6'7" headbanger type thing. If you have a rooster will you name him Foghorn Legghorn? I hope so. Looking forward to the actual rolling pecking field operations. Nicely done Josh
it's smart to have a mobile coop for free ranging. You can put a big ready unroller on corner for large Kencove PA electric fencing, rack for batter under someplace, with solar panel on coop roof. just ideas.. :)
Not sure if you mis-spoke or didn’t realize but those nest boxes don’t CLOSE themselves with solar, BUT they are capable of OPENING themselves. Just thought people should know.
I was going to ask if Hengear came out with a motor because I couldn’t find it on their website. It would be a good idea if you can be sure there are no chickens still in the nesting box. I have the magnet one to open. It’s good but I wished it closed also.
Yes I have seen a chicken coop like this before 😊. You obviously haven't seen the big red chicken tractor that "VW Family Farm" built several years back on an old hay wagon that's quite a bit larger. I believe they were housing a couple hundred chickens in it to begin with.
In the future I would use hardware cloth rather than chicken wire. I've seen predators get through chicken wire, plus I think it looks better. Since it's high up though it's going to take a pretty smart predator to figure it out.
good job Josh .. now for a auto door for the chickens to go out and in.. on the roof next time you could use 2x6 and cut arches in . say 6 down to 2 inches.. just to give the roof some slope.. you gave me a col idea. we have two trailers.. need to find a few rims and tires first..
yep....upgrades coming soon....roof is never gonna be flat so it doesn't need to be sloped...it's always gonna be on a unlevel surface....but...this is just my first rendition...the next 2 will be a little different for sure
@Stoney Ridge Farmer i heard you say it will be on a slope. Still won't hurt to have the roof slopped some. Maybe next time. Just wanted to share an idea. Best of luck.. happy happy chickens, they will be for sure.
Looks like you need io add a automatic door to keep the night time critters from having access to a free meal. Door can be operated with a battery and solar panel to keep battery charged.
Love the idea. I assume you’re rotating behind the cows to break up the patties and control flies? Maybe build a shelf off the front to add a gravity fed watering system?
I’ve seen that kind of set up before - Gabe Brown I believe. You could do a simple rainwater capture system. But then I tend to over-engineer and try to automate too much at times so…
nice looking coop but i would suggest taking wood floor up and using coated 1/2 inch hardware cloth for the floor to let the poop yhru the floor to help keep coop clean
problem with that is rust and entrapment issues...chickens get their feet/toes stuck, baby chicks get caught and predators tear through it....a simple rake out once a month on a bare spot and we're good to go my friend
Great thinking went into this plan. Is there any chance that if you put the nest boxes in the front, rather than the back half, that you will get less manure load from roosting above each night?
I put them in the back so they wouldn't hinder cleaning it out...if ya put them in the front you'd have a place that catches manure/shavings. I wanted to ensure it was easy to clean out
Did you fill those gaps between the roof rafters and the wall frame? You have airflow through the chicken wire, but I'm curious about predator access above that wire. Great build! Inspiring. Thanks for sharing and motivating folks like me to get out on the land and prioritize self-sustainment.
I've seen similar builds. Obviously, everyone does things a little differently. That being said, the issue with these is , they can and have been tipped by strong winds. So, take that into consideration. I'd hate for it to get destroyed like others have. So, maybe eye bolting some tie downs with some anchoring stakes on each corner would help give it a bit more security.
Like you said it's only a coup and I like it, my suggestion would be to orientate the sheet metal to the slope. I love new tools but I wouldn't find that milwaukee tool helpful if i had to flip my steel to finish the cut. Just my 2 cents Cheers :)
Hello my frien, how are you my friend? I follow you and your channel from the holiday city of Antalya, which has the most beautiful beaches in Turkey and, in my opinion, in the world. I like your work very much. You did a very nice, very clean, very careful job in building this chicken coop. You were very careful with every detail when cutting down the trees. You are not only a good farmer but also a good carpenter. Healt your hands and efforts (This is a Turkish proverb meant to congratulate those who do a good job). I request you to allow me to share this and your other videos under your name. If you allow it, maybe it will help increase your number of followers. This will be happy both you and me. I wish you with very profit success in your work. I send my love, respect and greetings to you and your family from Turkey.
