Chuck Coop to Hen Haven

Thought I’d do a little blog about where my current Hen Haven started and transitioned through the years! It went from Chuck Coop to Hen Haven!

In the beginning!

Preparing for the addition of the nesting box!

Created these roosting bars and my chickens loved them so much they wanted to sleep on them every night!

Closing in the chicken coop to create more indoor space for the winter!

Chickens enjoying their roosting bars!

New ducklings!

Preparing the dog house for the new ducks! Converting to a duck house and converting the solid roof to a roof that opens with hinges for easy cleaning!

Also added a new front window!

New dust bath rack!

Used shower curtains to block the wind in winter time and also warms up the area with a greenhouse-like effect!

Love these rat-proof treadle feeders! Trained the chucks (ducks and chickens) to eat from them by applying bricks to the pads to hold the feeders open until they new where to eat! Gradually reduced brick time until they were trained to step on the pads to open the doors to access the feed!

New duck pool! Extra large cement-mixing bin, PVC drain pipe and hose for refilling!

Ducks kept laying under the chicken coop instead of in the duck house so I bought a couple of large litter boxes and added hay for comfy, clean egg laying, which also prevented eggs getting broken!

After the ducks laid in the morning, the chickens wanted to lay around here and it would get dirty! So I created this door so I could close it after the ducks laid each morning, then I would reopen it at night after the chickens were asleep!

Dust bath rack!

Feeding station!

Added doors in the fence to access the treadle feeders for filling! So much easier! No need to enter the run to refill. Had to bring in one scoop at a time, bend down to access the feeders under the roof! So more bending and could now scoop from the barrel, placed right next to the filling station! Also added a door to access the water bucket with chicken nipples! Made a groove to slide a board through so I could slide the water bucket out to me so I wouldn’t have to reach in to retrieve it!

Drain pipe for duck pool!

Was at the dump and this pond liner was there for the taking! Had a couple of small holes that easily parched with marine rubber patches and glue! Worked great! The beginning of what later became duck paradise!

2” PVC drain pipe! I only had 1” PVC drain pipe on the duck pool previously. Worked ok but more prone to clogging with duck feathers. 2” is far better! Never had any clogs with this! And it drained much faster too!

Moved the dust bath rack outside the run to maximize space in the run! Added hardware mesh over the entire external portion to predator-proof it! And made sure it was secure with the fence!

Just a good view of the roof I created over the entire run area to keep it drier in there! The front half could be opened by folding the front back half over the back half!

A little art work with decals!

Added a rear window that opened on a hinge and a door in the fence to make it essay to retrieve duck eggs as eventually the ducks ended up preferring to lay in the duck house instead of under the coop!

Then added another door in the fence and reversed the way the roof opened so I could clean the duck house from outside the run! Much easier to access this way! No need to drag the barrel of shavings inside, or the barrel used for dirty shavings!

My rooster was nasty and every time I went to clean, he’d try to attack me! A couple of times he nearly kicked me in the face or head! So I added this door for safety reasons! I was able to close and lock I him out! He wasn’t happy about it and kept karate chopping at this door, or the front window, as I cleaned! Eventually I had to re-home him. He was just gunning for me every time I went into the run. In inhibited me from playing with my ducks and the hens as well! And the last straw was when he kicked me in the back of my head/neck as I was leaving the run one day! He jumped at me from up on the roosting bars! Don’t ever turn your back on a nasty, and huge, hormonal rooster! I used to go into the run with a broom to protect myself! And then he figured out how to get me even with the broom! A very bright and determined rooster for sure! So I was using a baby gate in front of me to keep him from kicking me! His spurs were getting huge and the karate chops were leaving bruises! I tried showing him whose boss too, and initially it worked and he would back down, but over time, he decided to show me he was the boss and it was time to re-home him! I eventually feared going into the run! Once he was gone, it was such a relief and it was a pleasure to no longer have that fear and to be able to enjoy my hens and ducks again! He was a terror! LOL!!

Catch basin to catch spilled food so rats wouldn’t be attracted. I had a mild issue with rats for a bit, hence the rat proof feeders, as noted above, plus this catch basin!

Adding fresh sand to the run! When I hit my first mud season in the spring, the run was just all mud with the chucks thigh deep in mud. I added gravel topped by sand. LOTS of each too! Raised the entire inside of the run about 6! But never had a problem with mud again after this! Occasionally I buy another 10, 50 pound bags of sand and spread it out nicely. Looks so nice right after but doesn’t last long like this, LOL!

My son helped me install an underground water access near my chuck coop! Much easier than I thought it would be! 1” line is awesome too! Excellent water flow at the chuck coop! My duck pool filled in half the time as it filled with a regular hose running about 125’ from the house!

I had some new true blue hens in a medium wired dog kennel. Decided to build a brooder that would fit on top of the feeding station!

This PVC sheet makes a great floor! So easy to clean! Waste and water dint soak into it as it does with wood! Won’t rot! No odor after cleaned! GREAT STUFF!

I built this removable wall to close in the upstairs area in the chicken coop so that when I have new pullets, I can close them inside the bottom area of the chicken coop plus give them this place to sleep! I do this to gradually introduce them to the existing flock! They can see the existing flock and the existing flock can see them. Great area for my pullets! Their hanging wall comes out for easy cleaning!

This door is always open unless I have new pullets in the coop. I can close it to maintain a barrier between the existing flock and pullets. I have another separate entrance that the existing flock can use, so they can still access the nesting boxes.

This sand filter was awesome! It truly kept the duck pool clean! Without t, I had to change the water and wash the pool every other day. With the sand filter, about every 5-7 days, sometimes 8 days! Saved a lot on water and work/time! Had to back wash a little each day but well worth it! Far easier than draining, washing, and refilling! And barley straw worked great naturally and safely for reducing algae growth too!

I added another door in the fence for dealing with the water basin! Much easier to pull it out and out it back through this door! Dump, rinse, put it back in place, and refill right there by turning on the water to let it flow and fill!

Nesting box modification! The roof used to be the door but when it was raining, it was inevitable that water would drip inside. So I made the roof solid and secured it closed. Created a front door instead. Added new roofing cover and a little gutter, and added a thin board to retain the shavings when the door is open. And, as it turns out, it’s easier to clean and pull the dirty shavings out now! And I can use the roof as a shelf as needed for my egg basket! A win win for sure!

Treadle feeders nice and full!

All set for vacation! Only went away for 5 days but left enough water to last at least 2 weeks! P,us, the treadle feeders hold plenty of food! About 2.5 weeks worth of food!

Lots of good eggs!

So, I re-homed my ducks. Very difficult decision. My neighbors who used to watch my chucks for me moved. We used to reciprocate for one another. They had chucks too. I had nobody to care for them all while gone. I had plenty of food and water for the hens. And plenty of food for the ducks too. But water is a challenge. They must always have access to lots of water! Vacations were going to be a huge challenge moving forward. I miss my ducks terribly and hope someday I’ll be able to have ducks again if I have someone reliable to care for them when I go away. My hens are fine. I can leave them for about a week. And, I must say, even though I miss my ducks, I don’t miss the added work. Ducks are messy, dirty, and the water demands are a lot more work! Especially in the winter months! Hens alone are sooooo easy!

So, I decided to eliminate duck paradise. No sense leaving it there unused. And the sight of it being unused was sad for me. I didn’t want the constant reminder of my ducks. And I didn’t want to leave it there as it would make it too tempting and too easy to eventually get more ducks.

I broke up the concrete and used it as stone. Used the rocks to make a nice Little Rock wall. Added the chair and hammock chair. A little back yard for myself behind the chuck coop!

And I had to rename it since I no longer have ducks to call it the chuck coop. I renamed it Hen Haven and changed the sign out front. I eliminated any duck decals that I had that would be a constant reminder of my ducks.

And previously I had changed out my tarp, and when I did, bought a larger one that would overhang the run so water would not run directly into the run when it rained. The overhang allows water to drip a couple of feet beyond the run on all sides. It makes a huge difference keeping the sand dry! But added supports/framing with plywood so water doesn’t pool up on the tarp all around the run. It has worked great! And my entire roof supports snow as well! At least a foot of snow (less if it’s that heavy super wet snow). I always clear the snow off to reduce the weight ASAP. One time a huge limb fell on my roof and it supported it! No damage! That roof is far stronger than it looks! The secret it the chicken wire across the entire top of the run AND weaving of cable throughout the chicken wire to make it taught and strong, about Avery 2-3 feet going in each direction! It is STRONG!

Some more decal art! FUN!

Conversion of duck house to hen house!

And, recently added the new hen condo! Check out my blog that shows the building of this hen house for more details!

And I decided to add a new door to the brooder too! Has made it much easier to access for cleaning! Makes a HUGE difference! My projects have largely been to make MY job easier and more efficient so I can spend more time with my flock! But, of course, I love to make my flock happy too! LOL!

And then I cleaned the brooder well!

Before (yuck!):

And after! Yay! This PVC flooring is awesome stuff! I love it so much, I used it for the floor in my new hen condo, too! I highly recommend it! Great stuff! If you have a chicken coop, you can just put this stuff down and you’ll love it too! It comes in different thicknesses and either 4’x8’ or 4’x4’. Just like plywood. It’s about twice the cost of plywood but sooooo worth every penny! Because it will never rot or s smell like wood! Wood soaks in the poop stains, etc. This stuff does not. It’ll last!