Building a Natural Chicken Coop Enclosure

The New Enclosure

I'm currently building a new enclosure for my chickens. They have a small one that is not large enough for them to stay active. I want to incorporate a water collection system and an area for food to grow. My concept is Natural. I'm using tree trunks for posts to give the illusion of trees. This project is an ongoing learning experience and I will update this to keep you current with my progress. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or suggestions. Thanks and enjoy!

Tools:

Post hole diggers or long narrow shovel
Shovel
Saw
Hammer
Brad Nailer or simple nails
Compressor if using a Brad Nailer
Pry Bar

Materials:

Tree Truck Post (3); Metal Fencing (HT.60"x 50" L,guage-?);Bird netting;Screws(?); Quick set cement;Door-TBD; Fence-post(2), panels(2); Water Collection-gutter(TBD ?), Water storage (100 gallons, TBD ?);Water trough (TBD ?); Bathing soil (TBD ?); Planting Area-Flexible Fencing (TBD ? HT.36"-48"x 16' L,guage-?),Plants that Chickens like to eat (TBD)

Existing Elements

The chickens current coop and enclosure.

The new location.

This location is under a tree. It helps to give the chickens some shade in the summer and when the leaves fall off for the winter it will help warm the flock in the cooler months. It is also next to the fence which will be part of my enclosure. When using an existing structure such as a fence as part of the enclosing system make sure that it is secure from any intruders. In my case my fence will need to be repaired.

The tree is in my neighbors yard and was damaged in the October storm of 2006. This storm happened before we owned our farm and no one pruned it. Since then the tree continued to grow and is very strong. We decided to keep it and use it for our chickens to roost on it. I recommend and caution when using something similar to this to make sure it is stable to prevent collapse.

The split in the tree.

Rae Lynn hanging on the tree limb demonstrating how the chickens will use it. It also give you the scale of the tree.

The roots of the tree are also sticking out of the ground. This will be the approximate location for the chicken dirt bath area. Hopefully the root will make a nice boundary for the soil.

Tree Trunk Posts

Since my enclosure is using my fence as part of the structure and is rectangular I aligned my tree trunk posts with the fence posts.I dug my holes for the posts below the frost line 36"-48" My holes are about double the diameter of my tree trunk. The extra spaced will be filled with concrete. I have a high water table in my yard and the ground has been saturated since it has been raining a lot. I'll use this to my advantage when I set the post with my concrete.

The hole is filled with water.

Place tree trunk post inside of hole. Center. I placed rocks around my post to ensure that my post stayed in the center. Mix concrete according to directions in a bucket and pour around post. Since my hole is already filled with water I just added my concrete dry (a quick set concrete for faster drying time) and mixed the concrete inside the hole around the post by stirring the concrete with shovel or long stick.

Depending on many factors the time it takes to cure the concrete can vary. Temperature, humidity, and your concrete mix will determine how fast the concrete will set. I let mine "set" for many days due to my busy schedule but a day or two will usually do the job.
click here to view a helpful guide "How to Dig a Post Hole"

The Fence Repair

Next is fixing the wooden fence. I will be taking down the panels that are no longer good, placing in new posts and panels. Updates coming soon. :)