Animal shelters

[LUNCHBOX]

To start this thread off, wife and I wanted a few acres to have some livestock and room to move around so we moved out of town. We wanted a few meals walking around with easy access so we looked into a couple cows. It turned out to be a bit more as you will see. This is a few little out buildings that me and the misses put up for our animals. You know it just feed, feed, feed and water, water, and water. It is not that hard to manage a small amount of land and animals, just time consuming at times. You have to want it.

Chicken coop with 12 chickens (inside at the moment) has a adult door in front with a chicken door on the bottom right and a air escape on the top right. (8wx6dx7h)


Pig pen with 8 pigs, this thing is put together with anything.


Cow run-in (10wx10dx8h)with a tarp to keep out more of the wind, the feeder box is in the forefront of the pic.

Mr. and Ms. Meat (as the kids call them)

[The Stig]

Are there specific considerations for the chickens and cows when it comes to the design of those structures? For example, does the size of the opening need to be X large for the chickens or the cow feeder has to be at a certain height (just random examples).

Looks like pigs will live just about anywhere.

[LUNCHBOX]

Stig, depending how many chickens you want you can make a coop as big or little as you want. You want to make sure you have enough laying boxes for them to share. The cows can have a numerous types of openings, the shelter I put up is just a standard run-in. You can have a opening as small as 4 feet wide. If you want to put a cow up to add weight the last few months a door way is best to contain them. This one is also to short to be safe for horses though. I did a horse stall also...it is 14w x 12d x 10h (front 10h, back 8 1/2h) I have not added the kick boards yet as you can see. I will be adding 2 more stalls next to this one. We have 2 horses. The third stall will be an extra for now.


I will be adding a few more buildings this summer. (pics will follow)

[LUNCHBOX]

I picked up 18 more chickens last Saturday. That gives me 30 layers....It works out since I have people at work who want to buy my eggs already. The cows and pigs have went to slaughter so there isn't much to do but eat....YUMMY.

[RedJohn]

You lucky dog. I envy so many of you right now.

[LUNCHBOX]

I had more chicks come of age so I threw up a new (well, new to them) chicken coop. I have not put the door on yet but I will before it gets to cold. Now I will be running two coops in the same fenced run. What is cool is that they are laying in both coops. Nice that it worked out.


Every time you go out they act like they haven't ate in days. I just got threw giving them some fresh grass clippings.

[bacpacker]

Very nice LB. Your chickens look like they are doing great, like the new coop to.

Got mine into the chicken tractor 2-3 weeks back. They doing well with 12 in there, have to move it about every 5 days. They really wear the grass down quick, but it comes back after about a week or 2. They'll eat about anything besides corn cob's, water melon rinds, and lemon's. I'll be glad when some of the garden starts giving up some greenery and whatever spoiled veggies we have.

I've got started planning my coop and trying to come up with a material list. Hope to get to gathering material from craigslist soon.

[LUNCHBOX]

BP, I hear you. I found a guy that had to move and told me I could come to his place and take anything I wanted but had to be done in one day. I took a christmas list of farm odds and ends (fence, posts, 2x6s, 2x8s) it was a major score for us.

[bacpacker]

Thats about what I'm lookin for myself.

[LUNCHBOX]

Bp, I will tell you this, find you a sawmill and ask to buy there cut-offs (those are the rounded outsides that make the square logs they cut the boards from) I have a guy that sells me them for $30.00 a bundle. (I got lucky with that one) I plan on doing my tack room with them soon. I will post pics of course.