Heeeyho Readers! The chicken coop is almost done!
My dear friend says we are mad. "You could live in that chicken coop!" She is absolutely right {laughs}. The Mother Bunker of a Chicken Coop is turning out into a palace for the gangster chicks; a boomb-proof shelter; the chickenian revolutionary forces headquarters. Whatever you call it, one thing is certain: It's going to last!
The construction is so fine that Dad and I are planning a bigger one, in a similar fashion, to serve as summer retreat/barbecue area. This new construction will also serve visitors when I finally start the bicycle park. However, future plans belong to the future, so let's get on working on the final details of the chicken coop.
Have you checked the last update? Off to the Ranch #5: Building the roof and walls | The Mother Bunker of a Chicken Coop
In this Off to the Ranch, we'll install posts to fence the front portion of the chicken coop and create a door so the dogs won't run away (again).
Front finished
Dad's dogs have always run free in the old ranch, which is a worrying issue in this new property. One of our dogs is a punk and loves to find trouble. So, to avoid problems with the neighbors, Dad kept them leashed. "Dogs are not made to be on leashes", claims Dad. He's not wrong. It's upsetting seeing how sad the dogs become as soon as we restrict their movement; they need some space to jump around.
To keep the hooligans in check, we've decided to prioritize the front portion of the chicken coop (or back, depending on how you see it). This area is solely dedicated to the dogs and should be enough for them to scamper around.
It all starts with posts, as seen below. Those posts are 10x10 cm by 2,40 m in lendth. Luckily all the wood comes from the ranch; otherwise, costs would be rampant.
Illustrative photo. This were the posts used for the chicken coop; same as the ones used in the fence.
Concrete base
Rotting base is the main issue with wooden posts, even when using hard red eucalyptus. To avoid direct contact wood-soil, we painted the base with oil and concreted it in place. Water can still penetrate the concrete base, but we hope those will last some fifty years {joke}. It's an overkill, but better investing now than rebuilding the structure in five years.
Posts installed
Starting to fence
That wire fence is not cheap. As we see around the world, prices are skyrocketing, especially construction material. It is by far the most expensive material in this build, at around 100 USD.
Installation is straightforward. All you need is two wires to keep the upper and bottom "hooked" in place. Check the pictures below to have an idea.
twist the wire and voila
here we installed on wood
Lastly, Dad built a gate to finish this portion of the chicken coop, which is not for the chicken. The punks don't enjoy staying there, but that's what they've got until we are able to fence the entire front plot of the ranch
chicken doing chicken stuff
Dog is thinking: "this shit serious, bro?"
Dogs enjoying their home on a cloudy day
We are glad about the results so far. The previous owner of Dad's property often comes for a visit and says: "There's always something new in here." And it's true. When I'm not around, Dad keeps on building and creating. The chicks are growing fast; it's noticeable when I go there every weekend. We are keeping our oath: Build properly once; bother never.
If you have any questions regarding our chicken coop project, drop me a message and I'll be more than glad to elucidate and provide details.
The next Off to the Ranch post will be a conclusion and overview os the changes to that area. We'll finish the front and the chicken coop itself (where the chicken will stay).
I hope you have enjoyed today's post.
Peace.
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Disclaimer: The author of this post is a convict broke backpacker, who has travelled more than 10.000 km hitchhiking and more than 5.000 km cycling. Following him may cause severe problems of wanderlust and inquietud. You've been warned.