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You are welcome!!! Thanks! The coop really is working out well. I have to go back through some notifications...I think I may have missed seeing & responding to a few comments somewhere & will try to catch up...I am so happy to be getting this coop area in the grassy space set up for the egg layers. They do just look so content out around their coop, & they go in & out their chicken door very casually & confidently, so I think they're pretty comfortable with the coop itself, too. They wander around the fence line & go down to the natural water source & meander through the brush back into their yard around the coop. It's so fun to observe them. It is taking quite a bit of moving hens around & temporary measures & making progress in baby steps to get to my goal, but we're getting there. I think revisiting coop placement plans & fencing approach is next, then putting in the fencing, then finishing up the coop builds. So easy to plan, but so much planning & discipline to pay for & put up...I think I could buy a just-for-fun semi-old Camaro I have my eye on for what I am putting in chicken coops & fencing...but who needs an old collector car when you have happy chickens? 😊 On second thought, I do like Camaros quite alot...I gotta get better at RUclips & make it take off for us to maybe get to enjoy both chickens & Camaros. ❤️ Thanks again, Debbie! It's always great to hear from you! Hope y'all are doing well! For 2 days, I've just wanted to make French Toast & order garden seeds...it's been so busy, I didn't get to do either one in the last couple of days...'til now. I just finished making & enjoying some French Toast, & now I'm going to order garden seeds. Have a super weekend! God bless y'all!

Hi, Jeff! I agree. For the longest time I've kept thinking the same thing & even usually called them Easter Eggers instead because I just wasn't sure what to think...there's her, this white Ameracauna, & a wheaten feathered one like her, too, that I kept second guessing about, but they were both purchased to order as Ameracauna pullets. Both carry the dark blue-gray legs & lay bluish eggshells. I have read about white & wheaten feathered Ameracaunas, so I am more confident now calling them Ameracaunas. They are very pretty & calm, but a little standoffish with people & other hens. Thanks again for your time & effort supporting us! We appreciate it! Thinking of y'all! God bless you!

@@Backwoods-Boys911 Thanks, & I get it...same way my favorite kinds of cows are hamburger & steak. 😊 Thank you for watching & commenting! Appreciate it!

Yes! That is exactly the vibe I get from Leghorns! All the Leghorns we've ever had here have always started out flighty. They've calmed down alot over time, & the ones we have now are very friendly, but they can still get over the high fence at will...so they can pretty much do what they want to do. 😊 Our gray Ameracauna hens are the same way...excellent at getting over heights. They do give the side eye! I get alot of sass from the hens when I gather eggs...they let me know I am confiscating their goods. Have a super day, Cindy! Thanks very much for watching & commenting.

Thanks, Debbie! ❤️ I love seeing the hens out enjoying the day. The coop will work out pretty well I think. Thanks again!

@twinoaksfam 🧡🩷

One day I'm going to film a video of my flock and chicken yard and put it on my channel so all this gibberish I spew about it all the time makes some sense 😂 it's been added to over time, run within run, and the whole yard, and it's just very hard to describe to people.

That is love! ❤️ We've never had an automatic one, but I think I know what you mean...there's just something about opening & closing it ourselves that is sort of reassuring. Thanks very much for supporting our channel! We greatly appreciate it, Tina!

I can relate! It's kind of that way here. We've gradually & steadily built up & added on & changed various things. Also, when we set out to do something, alot of times we spread it out into steps so we can split the cost up over time, so it feels like we take forever to get projects done! I enjoy reading about your flock & chicken yard & ideas. It's awesome! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks, Cindy! I am so excited to get a permanent fence arrangement set up here around this coop area. I just love seeing them outside enjoying the outdoors. Thanks very much for watching & commenting!

Hi! Thank you! The shelf is a good idea...& a few nesting boxes are a good idea, too! Thanks for all the helpful suggestions. We were discussing some similar ideas to the shelf & boxes last night when I got home from work. The guys got a chicken door cut in for the hens; I'm looking forward to showing it to the channel community in a video. It's very simple, but it is great, & all the hens did super using it in & out. We also discussed fencing yesterday at lunchtime. I think that's the very next project...before another coop build...we were talking about 5 ft high minimum. We have some light & agile hens I still believe could clear 5 ft, but the heavier bodied breeds won't be able to clear a 5 ft fence. I agree 7 or 8 ft is a great height. We did not discuss deer netting. We'll look it up & compare it to the other options we're considering. I let the hens out yesterday in their temporary fenced area. They loved that they could be in or out...& out as much as they wanted. It was so nice to see them just enjoying foraging. I was so excited to see it because that's ultimately the set up I want to accomplish for them since we have some outdoor space to let them use. On a whole different topic, I am trying to get some garden seeds ordered this weekend & looking for heirloom, organic, & USA produced seeds. I'm finiding alot more online resources than I expected & finding really reasonable prices on seeds. It's so much fun planning for Spring & Summer...kind of gives me some enthusiasm for biding time through Winter until we can enjoy the warmer weather again for a while. God bless y'all! Thanks again for the great ideas. We greatly appreciate it!

@@twinoaksfam Dollar General and Dollar Tree sell seeds for cheap and from the US.. We have never had any problem with them germinating and producing great veggies. MiGardener is our go to for seeds on line. He is in Michigan and his seeds only cost $2.00. He has tons of heirloom varieties and a great you tube channel as well as the website. Amazon is another place for heirloom seed vault packets. We have several stored away. The vault packets are kinda like a victory garden assortment of seeds yet heirloom. . Our pop door for the chickens to come out is just a small hole with a board on a hinge that we open and close everyday. We just use a simple hook and eye to latch it open and at night the bottom of the door flap has one of those latch things that we put a carabiner on.

@@karenfrankland7763 Awesome! Thanks for the tips on the seeds. I didn't think of looking at the Dollar General I go to here a couple of times a month. Will do. I'll look up MIGardener, too...I saw that one come up in an online search...also looking at Mary's Heirloom Seeds in Texas. Yes, our hen door is pretty much exactly as you described with yours. We did the same. The bottom latch system is a little different but pretty much we have the same set-up overall on our door for the hens. Thanks again! Have a super day!!!!

That sounds awesome! Your chicken coop will be great. Thanks for sharing your plans, & thank you for watching & commenting. We appreciate it! Many Blessings to you!

Yes! Same. We see the same. We always look for that response in pullets when we think they're close to point of lay maturity, because it very consistently indicates they are going to start laying eggs very soon at that point...we kind of use that as an indicator to switch their feed ration from the 19 or 20 percent protein grower ration to the 15 or 16 percent protein layer ration. Thanks for watching & commenting! We greatly appreciate your support!

Hi, Tina! I hope y'all feel better soon. It takes some time to get your strength back. We had something go through our household late December into early January. Get Well Wishes to all of you. ❤

@@Mothercluckerschickenfarm ❤️ Thanks! Well, it's an adventure being surrounded by atv-riding, truck driving, mechanic minded, free-spirited guys! They're all hard workers, so the schedules are just busy! Never a dull moment & always alot going on...so abundantly blessed & love the days we get to hang out together! Our first meat birds move in March 12. We're going to receive 12 hatchling egg chickies a week before that, but our first meat chickies are scheduled to hatch & ship March 12. I think that first group is 200 birds. Video is going up in the morning on the first look at the hens in the new coop. It's working out really well! Now working on plans for a fenced area there. Thanks again, Debbie. God bless y'all!

❤️ Thinking of y'all! Stay warm & safe in the upcoming Winter storm. The ice is the worst! We may not get much from this one; I heard chance of sleet & snow maybe here. The shredded cardboard sure is a super idea. Very smart...yes, having pathways to use is a huge help! You are right that processor expense is significant. It is a huge cost savings to DIY the poultry processing. It works for us in our poultry sales from the meat birds to hire a processor, but it is a significant cost...plus the fuel & equipment for transport is a consideration people need to take into account on it, too. Processing your own poultry is definitely a valuable skill to have, & you are right having several people helps it go more quickly. Thanks very much for watching, commenting, & sharing your experience! We greatly appreciate it! Many Blessings! 😊

Trucks, trucks, trucks...always a project! 😊 He'd definitely let us borrow it anytime. When he purchased it from his brother, though, he paid purchase price, & we actually worked out a cost-share with him then on it on some parts & maintenance in exchange for use of it for chicken hauling, & if he sells it there's already an agreed upon division of revenue. That's kind of a really cool aspect of a farm business...probably any family business...that you can really live & learn & teach through different real life situations. Thanks for watching & commenting! It's always great to hear from you, Steve! Say hi to Deb for me, please. God bless y'all!

@ Deb says hi hope your week is going ok

​@@NorthWhittingtonCircleFarms Thanks!!! ❤ One day at a time, one task at a time! Week's going good. Just so busy...so just trying to stay focused on God's priorities & not becoming distracted by the daily challenges. 😊 We are blessed! God bless y'all! Thinking of y'all!

Thanks, Jeff! We appreciate it! Hope you & your household & family are doing great! God bless you guys!

@@Mothercluckerschickenfarm We are always learning! 😊 Thanks, Debbie!

@twinoaksfam 🩷🩷

Good morning, Debbie! Thanks. Very sorry for the delay getting a reply to you. We got a teensy little bit of sap. It just looks like water. We got about 2 Tablespoons from each tap. We have another warm day coming up end of the week...I am curious if it will run a little more then. Our friends that are helping us learn about it told me last night they have collected 24 gallons of sap from 26 taps. They boiled it last night & I think they said they evaporated it down to about 3 quarts that can be finished into maple syrup. That's so cool.

@@twinoaksfam Good morning Melissa! No problem on responding, I know you are busy! That is so cool! Is it a lengthy process to finish the evaporated sap into maple syrup? I wish we had trees here, I love maple syrup! Something new you guys can explore together, so great!

Hi, Debbie! Yes! From what we've learned, processing the sap into syrup is a lengthy project. Our friends said it took them about 4.5 hours to boil down 24 gallons of sap into the stage ready for finishing into syrup. They said that 24 gallons yielded about 3 qts that they will further finish into syrup. We're learning alot. It's very interesting! God bless y'all! Have a super week!

@ That is so interesting! Good luck with it, great to learn something new!! Enjoy! Have a great week also.❤

Thanks! 😊❤️

@@CluckinAround Thanks, Cindy! We didn't see any sap run from our taps over the weekend...we think because our temperatures chilled & stayed cold. Today we got up to over 60, though, & the nights should get cold...so we read the temperatures changing is what triggers the sap to run in the tree, so we're hoping this week we see some success from our taps & get some maple sap...then to try the next steps of conditioning & finishing it into maple syrup. I don't feel overly confident we'll succeed at making syrup, but we're enjoying learning about the process of it! 😊

Thanks, Cindy! They love being out in the grass & just free ranging around our place. I must admit I like watching them enjoy it...I also admit, though, I don't like it if they choose to free range on the porch & put chicken manure there, & sometimes they do that...that's why I really hope to get them a contained chicken yard that we can hopefully successfully manage for keeping them in access to grassy areas & keeping them safe. Working toward it, but they just always look so happy to me out on the grass. I love it.

Thanks!!! I liked that song, too.

@twinoaksfam 🩷

Hi! 😊 Thank you for the encouragement & the tips! We didn't see really any sap run yet from the 2 taps we put in...but I am thinking maybe because the temperatures really hovered right around freezing & didn't warm or fluctuate much since we put them in...we had temperatures fluctuate the couple of days right before we did the taps so I think we missed that window & maybe just need to be patient now. I'm a little intimidated that through the work week we'll really struggle with having time to tend to anything we might collect because I am not home from 4 to 10 for 4 evenings a week when I am at work, & the guys are all working on trucks & farm maintenance alot of times in those evenings...still enjoying learning about it & giving it a try...baby steps! Thank you so much!

@@twinoaksfam When we cooked ours I worked M-F from 4am til noon. My son and daughter worked nights so we constantly did a rotation to keep the fire going and add sap as needed. It's a definite commitment. We collected so much sap that I stored several containers in the freezer and thankfully our neighbor had room to store a few jugs of sap for us so not to let the sap go bad.

@@karenfrankland7763 That's awesome! Great job working together on it! ❤️ I love learning about your experience! That's something I wondered...if we get some sap through the week, could we freeze it until the weekend to work on it then I wondered! Definitely learning as we go on it! It's great to have feedback here on the channel to share tips with us & our local friends here in our area to give us direction, too. We're enjoying learning about it. God bless y'all! Have a great week!

Thank you for the tip! We appreciate it! We'll check into it, too! Thanks very much for watching & commenting. We're grateful!

Thank you!!!! 😊 Thanks for commenting, too! We greatly appreciate it!

That's awesome! The chickens do a great job at turning it over. Definitely a win-win! They get a benefit, & so do you. Thanks a bunch, Jeff!

Thanks so much! I like the variety of eggshell colors. Always makes me smile!

Me, too! I like the really dark brown ones, too, & the speckly ones. Thanks again, Cindy. God bless y'all. Have a super weekend!

Yes! I know your chickens love it, too, I bet! Our hens enjoyed the free ranging so much today! Thank you, Cindy!

Thanks so much, Debbie! Appreciate it! Most of the snow is gone...some ice sheets still in shaded areas but minimal. Just finished up dinner. Fixing to go out & finish the little coop build. Little bit of ice around it...going to tread carefully! Have a great afternoon, Debbie! God bless y'all!

Hi, J. This is Melissa. Thanks so much for watching & commenting. Honestly, I don't have the knowledge personally to answer your question accurately. The diesel mechanic guys here explained to me there's not a manual choker on a diesel like the one in this video...so I'm not sure if the question refers to a gasoline engine instead of a diesel engine like this one. So I'm thinking to answer your question as directly as possible, we probably can't make that video concept with this kind of truck. Thanks so much for sharing your idea, though. It's greatly appreciated! I'm sorry I don't have the background knowledge to give you a good answer, but we are grateful for your time & effort to watch & comment. Thank you! Many Blessings to you. Have a super day!

@@Mothercluckerschickenfarm Thanks, Debbie! I love the colorful eggshells, too! I always think I should probably just stick with the brown egg layers, but I really enjoy the variety of eggshell colors. Alot of our clients enjoy the variety, too. The blue tint is really neat to see! I love it! I also really like the Black Copper Maran eggs...really dark brown & very striking. Yes, I hope the nesting corners work out well. It really does in that barn where the new hens are staying. We delayed moving hens into the new coop. It rained all day, & we think it will be better to move them when it's at least not raining. We'll wait until nightfall to move them, but we'll still prefer moving them when it isn't raining. Can't hardly wait to move them! Thanks so much for watching & commenting!

@twinoaksfam great on moving them! Can't wait to see them in their new coop!🥰

​@@Mothercluckerschickenfarm Me, too!

Thanks, Debbie! Guess what...we got up to about 58°F today. It felt nice! Amazing it can still be frozen in patches. It'll take a few more days to melt off. That patchy ice in front of the henhouse is risky business! Gotta watch our step there. 😊 God bless y'all. Have a super weekend!

@twinoaksfam awesome! You guys deserve some nice weather!! Enjoy your weekend too!🧡🧡

Thanks very much!!! Me, too! Love watching the chickens! They loved basking & sunning & bathing!

Odd story on that song. One of the foster kids that we had...we thought he'd get to stay here, & he didn't, & this was one of the songs that got me through missing him when we had to say goodbye. One of the hardest things ever, & the moment in my life I decided I'd never again go along with something I disagreed with...of course, in that case, it was cooperation or jail, so not much choice...he had to go, & we had to let go, & all there was to do was give it back to God. Anyway, that song...take this heartbreak & tuck it away & save it for a rainy day...pretty much summed it up.

@twinoaksfam wow, that had to be so heartbreaking, amazing song and story.🩷🩷

​@@Mothercluckerschickenfarm Thanks! It was. It was quite a story & quite a heartbreak. That song goes on later, "If they ask about you, I got nothing to say. I'll save it for a rainy day." He loved Olaf from Frozen & the Big Hero 6 movie. People here asked us about him for what felt like forever. Honestly, it'll probably never be that rainy a day, to talk about it very much, because it will always be a heartache. We kind of took that tact, though, to choose to have nothing to say, because all there was to do was to go on. It's very hard to see a little child leave the safest place he ever lived, then by order of local government be returned to a place where he was nearly killed, & to not be able to do anything at all about it. Never again. I won't be in that situation again. Now we just continue to pray for him.

Thank you so much, Cindy!

@@karenfrankland7763 That sounds like a beautiful color pallette of eggs! Thank you so much for watching & commenting & sharing your experience! We greatly appreciate it! God bless y'all! Have a great weekend! Are the duck eggs larger than the chicken eggs?

@@jeffboothe2102 It was! I never know how things like that are going to show through on the camera when it records & then on different devices when it plays...yes, it was a very large egg! It is the biggest egg we've collected from the new hens. We're holding off doing the coop move until the weekend, because it started raining here last night & will probably rain through overnight tonight. We'll move the gals at night so it's less stressful for them when we catch & release them. For our own comfort, too, we prefer to wait until it isn't raining. 😊 A couple of funny things on that little coop, Jeff...well, 1, the ridgecap was left over from the meat bird barn, so we thought it'd be galvalume & just the silver, then on camera I thought it was tan & Jared said it was actually a cover piece for the other ridgecap so it's really white & just dusty, so when the rain washes it off we'll have a white ridgecap; 2, then Jared told me he ordered the corner trim today & I thought we were getting black & Jared thought we said galvalume, so it'll be silver; 3, I'm nervous about not having a red light in it to deter predators overnight since that's worked so well for us in the other coop, so trying to figure out an alternative; & 4, that little coop looks teeny when we come in the driveway b/c the current henhouse looks giant comparatively. I don't know how it'll all turn out with these coops. One day at a time. One task at a time. Thanks very much for watching & commenting! God bless you guys! I hope you have a super weekend. Friend!

Yikes! 🥶 Be safe up there.

@@FarmerAlways You're welcome, Tanya! Thanks for the reminder to not slip, too...it is a serious hazard. It really caught me off guard yesterday, too, because it looks melty & slushy & muddy on top, but we definitely still have sheets of ice in patches under the melt...especially on north faces, & where buildings & trees throw shadows...you can start to hear it now cracking under your feet when you step even where you don't see the ice, so hopefully it melts off in a few days. The frigid temps & frozen ground & ice is hard to deal with, & then so is the pervasive mud that follows it! Y'all will power through the upcoming cold. You all are strong & dedicated to doing a great job, but I am thinking of you & your family. It just makes everything tougher...& it ain't easy to start with to run a farm or ranch. I do think it's cool you mention in your comment the snow being great for the ground & crops; I think about that a lot. I marvel at how snow helps the soil with some nitrogen it picks up in the atmosphere & carries it down into the soil & helps fix some nitrogen in the soil. It just amazes me how awesome it is to think about nature & how it all works. Is that something you'd ever do a video on, Tanya...how snow helps the soil? I appreciate you watching & commenting. Thank you! God bless y'all!

That is wonderful! It can be hard...really hard...to get in the rotation. I'm glad you connected with a source & got on the list. Demand is definitely an economic force that creates a Catch-22 for producers & consumers. We see the same dilemma from the other angle...as a producer...trying to fulfill orders & serve as many clients as possible...we're out to May 1 on most availability for poultry requests & demand for eggs is very high...just about too high to keep up with for us. Probably every producer feels like if only I could scale up & meet demand, but you bring up a great point about what alot of consumers experience, too...it's hard to get on the list & get the goods because of demand. It can be challenging for consumers to source directly from farmers because of demand. Thank you for taking the extra time & effort to try to source from the local producers in your area! That is awesome!

You are right! Totally agree! Thank you for your input, & thanks very much for watching! We greatly appreciate your view & your comment. Thank you so much! Have a super day!

Just today I was approached by someone who wants to start having a small flock! I love talking about how people can have a small flock!

@@CluckinAround That's awesome! Keep up the great work, Cindy!

I have seen pictures of the purple looking eggs! Very pretty! I think you are correct about it being the effect of a very heavy bloom on the eggshells by the hens. It is very unique & impressive! Thanks, Tina!

❤️ That's awesome! The colorful eggs are so pretty!!! Thanks for watching & commenting! We greatly appreciate it! Have a super day!

@@twinoaksfam I love chickens. I had a Road Island 😁😆 hen that used to Buffalo large dogs. She took over the 🐕 dog's house and the dog would not challenge.so funny

​@@Sammytwo4 That is funny. Thank you for sharing! ❤ Rhode Island Reds are great birds. We have some young Rhode Island Reds that are approaching 4 months old. They're awesome! Hey, thanks for joining us here! 😊 Really appreciate your input!

@@twinoaksfam The next time I see a twinoaks post, I will tell you about Jerry the Rooster. Keep them coming. I will subscribe, if I haven't already.

​@@Sammytwo4 Thank you so much! Looking forward to a Jerry The Rooster story! Have a super weekend! Many Blessings to you!

Thank you, Cindy! We appreciate it! God bless y'all!

Thank you, Buck! We appreciate it!!! Hope you're doing great! God bless you. Thanks for watching & commenting!

@@Mothercluckerschickenfarm Thanks, Debbie! It wasn't too long on getting it built. The frozen ground slowed down getting the shed leveled for the site, & the overhang was tedious, but I'm amazed at how quickly it went up! I hope about 20 hens in here does work. We're going to attempt it

@twinoaksfam that is awesome!

@@Mothercluckerschickenfarm Thanks so much!!! Yes, basically done...a few important odds & ends, though...filler boards at the bottom to fill the gaps where the ground isn't level, get a handle & latch on for the door, & install nesting & roosting plans, then chickens can move in...then we also need to trim the ridgecap & add the corner trim, & want to paint the t-111 material, but all those things can be done after chickens move in. Yes, everything here. The house, the current henhouse, & the meat bird barn. We had family helping especially with the house, & in the house we contracted out the basement's concrete walls & the plumbing & the electric, but Jared did the building on everything here. He is more talented than he'd ever admit! Thank you for watching & commenting! Appreciate your feedback. God bless y'all!

@twinoaksfam love it! Beautiful work he does. A bit to do for the chickens, but it's good it all can be done after you move them. You all did great work!🥰🩷

@@Mothercluckerschickenfarm Thank you! ❤️

@@karenfrankland7763 Hi! Thank you for the great feedback & points to consider! It's greatly appreciated!!! I wondered about the durability of the clear panels! I am interested to see how they hold up over time. Based on your feedback, we'll be formulating a backup plan for replacement panels for when those start to deteriorate...we wondered if theyll possibly deteriorate noticeably in a relatively short amount of time. Thanks for the tip on your experience with it! Shelf perches...we'll probably opt for something more along the lines of roosting bars instead. Still deciding exactly. The sides are not able to be opened. The coop isn't airtight, though, & the ridgecap & vented soffit will help some with disseminating heat that rises. Also, the plan is for the hens to be able to get outside, & we'll plan some cover for them. Plus we could probably switch out panels for hardware panel as needed seasonally to let more airflow through the coop if we found that might be helpful. Great questions! We will be learning by observation regarding if there will be enough darkness for the girls to lay eggs. We have pondered the same question. We think having the solid material on part of the siding will help us with that concern. We will have to see how that goes. I like the idea of nest boxes attached to the outside of the shed. That's a great thought. We actually think we may initially try building in nesting corners based on observing the new hens in the meat bird barn; their impromptu use of the blocked out corners has really worked out so well, & we're going to see if we can duplicate that effect in this new coop. It's actually worked out much better for us than nest boxes, so we want to try it! Thank again! We are grateful for your input! Many Blessings to y'all! Have a super day!

@@twinoaksfam The problem I see is if you allow them to lay on the ground behind a corner board is that the ground outside is gonna get wet and cold with rain seeping in. That creates dirty eggs, mud ect.. on all the inside edges of the coop. Having an attached covered run will allow you to feed the hens outside of the coop. Dump water buckets at night and refill in the mornings. Feed can be done in a five gallon hanging feed bucket that keeps the food dry and predator proof from Rat's coming in. Lots of info on hanging 5 gallon bucket feeders. I do worry that the bottom of your coop is just sitting on the ground. Over time the rodents will make there way in. Perhaps attach hardware cloth at the bottom on the outside and have it go out a good foot or so on the ground and then cover that over with rocks and dirt to prevent rodents from digging under. We have to redo our chicken run wire this summer. It's been a good 20 years of being rodent free and just this winter they have tunneled in. Our hardware cloth is a foot under ground and woven onto the side hardware cloth as is the top with a tarp over that. We have security camera's in all our runs at night to see what if anything is getting in. The birds are all safe and locked in there coops at night.

Thanks! Great suggestions! We'll definitely discuss the considerations you shared. We will have some fill at the ground level similar to our henhouse coops & meat bird barn...amazingly, with the fill & bedding, the interior floors of the chicken houses stays quite dry, so we think that approach will help us with floor quality in this coop, too. The eggs we collect from the floors, versus the nestboxes, currently are consistently clean & unblemished, often more satisfactory than what we collect from the boxes. It's interesting watching the hens nesting in those corners...it seems to mimic what we've observed the hens do when they've had free range access...reminds us of when a hen just finds a hidey-hole & makes her own nest. We're still deciding for sure what we'll do about it. We have discussed the predator control at the bottom of the walls, too, but realized it's really pretty similar to our other henhouses & to the meat bird barn...with those buildings being built right on the ground level, too...so we expect floor management in here to be similar to the other chicken houses. A covered chicken run is awesome, but I know we won't be able to do that at this site. It does make it nice to feed in a covered run & have protected areas for feeding. It also makes a nice protected area that is a great extension of a coop & offers flock safety, too. Thanks for sharing all your great insights & observations! We greatly appreciate it! Have a great day!

When I built the first coup, I put a hard cover over their run and I considered making part of it out of that clear corrugated material. I still kind of regret not doing that because of the lack of light here, and will likely do that on the new coop for just one end of it. I do want them to be able to get shade if they need it.

Having previous experience & having help will definitely make your second coop build go faster than the first. That's so exciting you're planning a second coop!!! Thank you for the compliments! That's really interesting you ask about a building plan, because I told Jared when we started this that we need to convert the material list & process to a set of building plans & offer that plan for sale...we definitely want to trial & error this coop with chickens actually using it & see what we need to improve, but yes, I also feel like it is helpful to get to see plans that give a reference point & a starting point on material list & assembly process. We just kept looking at example after example to see if we could find what we had visualized, & we used some visual reference from looking at those finished sheds to settle on what we wanted to build. I can see why the finished sheds are priced at the price points they are after getting materials for this one & seeing the man hours on it. By the time shed building companies cover expenses for material & labor, & add on a profit margin, it all adds up a lot. DIY can be a huge cost savings!

​@tinab7791Yes, I think that corrugated clear panel could work really well for a hard cover over a run...or possibly on part of a roof, too, like a skylight...we talked about putting it on top of this coop, but thought the roof metal will just hold up better over time & help protect the birds from some of the strongest solar heat in the Summer. Thank you for watching & commenting! We greatly appreciate it!

@twinoaksfam Melissa I have screenshot your response so I have the email, go ahead and remove it when you get a chance. Thank you!

Thanks for the update, Tina! Got it! I appreciate it, & I will edit that now. 😊