Time to Move Outside

With the girls growing so quickly, they soon outgrew their inside pen.  It was okay for sleeping, but the rest of the time they needed somewhere more permanent to stretch and move around.  Thankfully we had a bunch of dog kennel panels sitting unused in the upper barn. 

With the help of my daughter and 2 of her friends, we moved 6 of them to the shed by the house.  After we got them hooked together (thank goodness for the invention of zip ties, they're so much easier than the metal fasteners that are made for the panels!), I added some green-coated wire to the panels.  I would have liked to have added hardware cloth, but since this is a temporary enclosure I didn't use up my chicken coop/run money, so made do with what we had.  The run is 6'x12' currently, but I'll be adding more panels, bringing it to 12'x18' in the next day or so.  I also added some plastic fencing stuff to the top, to keep any hawks or other flying predators from trying to make a meal out of the girls.

I was loading them up in the mornings and fetching them in again at night.  That only lasted a few days until I knew they needed a small temporary coop, because they were out of room inside.  So I recycled a rabbit hutch I had down in the lower barn.  The frame where the wire floor was attached was removable, so it was just a simple matter of removing the wire and adding a plywood bottom.  We also added partial plywood sides all around, and covered the wire ramp with plywood and steps.  I put a tarp over it, just to keep any rain from blowing inside.

After putting the coop inside the run, I added some wood we had laying around, to make perches.  And a bigger waterer.  And a sandy area for them to dust bath in.  

Unfortunately, the trees to the side didn't keep it shaded enough and the weather was calling for some major wind and rain.  So I went and bought a tarp, big enough to cover the top and part of the sides of the run.  Presto!  Here's where they are, currently.