Building a Secure Hen Yard and the ladies enjoying their new yard.

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The step by step process involved in build a secure hens yard and them some footage on my little flock enjoying the new yard. I mention a free newsletter about keeping chickens that has subscribers and contributors from all over the world, checkout the website and subscribe if you like:
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[@EverestLeadershipTV1]

Amazing. I could watch these ladies for hours.

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Thank you Margaret.

[@bran756]

Good job,realy enjoyed seeing them explore there new outside world,ha ha .

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Thank you Dom.

[@DCARA06]

Really good job. Neat to watch your progress. Of course you're going to grow something on the fencing! 8-) So cute to see the little chicks walking over to the open door for the first time! Go Matilda! They love that clover, great idea. A lot of construction has happened for their benefit. Those are some lucky chicks! Hello Princess Leah, you are such a pretty girl!!

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

@MrTerrym1964 Thank you Terry. I sure could have used your help. LOL The chicken were out in their yard most of the day today and they sure are enjoying it chasing each other, catching bugs and tasting all the different green things.

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Thank you glad you enjoyed it.

[@Watsamadoing]

It's funny how you say that I don't know a real winter, and you say it's hot there but I bet it's nothing like our summer heat :) Yay Matilda.... Tough little Aussie Chick, not running inside.. I got CORN ta eat :) LOL - funny how they abolished the corn for the REAL WORLD.. Great to see them in their new 'extension'.. Happy days ahead.. Interesting to see how long that grass lasts.. with mine it would be about a day and a half I reckon.. Man they eat!!

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Mary Clendenin Very reasonable questions. It depends on the width of your fencing I use 48 inch wide fencing and space the 2 X 4's 2 feet apart so the fencing is supported on both sides and in the middle.

[@tammysaltzman1358]

Thanks Great viedo

[@kathleenevans7990]

You’re really quite amazing actually! You astound moi.

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

LOL Thank you Kathleen.

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Thank you. I put a heavy gage wire poultry fencing and then the small one inch poultry netting on top of that for the bottom couple of feet and I used hardware cloth over to of the windows. It has been a year and a half and I haven't had a problem so far.

[@CarolinaRidgeRunner]

Great job.I am not sure what area you are in or if you have predators in the area. You may want to consider wrapping the enclosure with hardware cloth and not poultry wire. Weasels and fox can both pull chickens through poultry wire.You would think that the holes are too small, but they aren't.I can't explain my shock when I came home to find two chickens missing and another half eaten and stuck in a hole in the chicken wire. Hardware cloth has holes that approx 1/2 inch square and works great.

[@debsylvania]

I enjoyed watching this very much, especially the part where you got to see your chickens step out into their new little world. I am dreaming of a chicken yard of my own and am taking a step at a time toward realizing it. Thank you for this very instructive peek into your own process.

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

+Dahlia Bristow Thank you I'm glad you found it useful.

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

@lifeinthailand Thank you, yes I hope to start the greenhouse project next and have it finished by fall, so it will be ready to use next year. I think I'm a long way from being a Carpenter but some of the mysteries have been revealed. I've always been amazed watching people take a pile of boards and turn it into something useful, just never thought I could do it myself.

[@MrTerrym1964]

What a great little documentary you made Dale. The way you described everything step by step, I'm sure anyone wanting to build their own yard would be able to do it very easily. Also, I wish I was your neighbour, I would have been over in a heart beat to give you a hand with those heavy walls..Take care and looking forward to watching your little girls,(or boys) grow up. Terry

[@GardeningWithPuppies]

I will have to watch this again when I get ready to buy some chicks. I'm so looking forward to that.

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Gardening With Puppies There are a lot of critters around here that would like to have a chicken dinner. So far my fencing on both coops has kept them at bay.

[@Linda204]

I always love when u show your chickens I love chickens also

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Thank you Linda.

[@margaretl8851]

I love the names. You are a true animal lover like me. Thank you for a pleasant video.

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Thank you Margaret.

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

I have a native wild river grape and I propagated 8 cutting but I have already planted them out so I will root some more cuttings this winter.

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Thank you I'm glad you found it useful.

[@curiosidadesextrano]

Nice job! Great idea planting that clover and the peas to come :)

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Curiosidades Extrano Thank you it didn't take them long to clean up the clover.

[@staciewhitehead5689]

Ok thanks that helps Me so much.

[@garrettduplantis2244]

Loved the video Dale! It's been awhile since I've enjoyed youtube this much.

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Garrett Duplantis Thank you very much.

[@joeokie9002]

Hey, Dale, you might want to think about a roll of chicken wire from the the ground up three feet. The hens will rub thier necks raw reaching through that fencing to eat grass on outside once it's all gone in the run. Just a suggestion. Great video.

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

joe okie Thank you. This video is four years old. I did add one inch chicken wire around the bottom not for the reason you mentioned, although that is a good idea. One of the hens went broody and hatched a clutch of chicks and they were getting away from her because they could run right through the larger fence holes.

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

@Watsamadoing You are so right a heat wave here is 30 degrees for a couple of days and the heat that I was complaining about in the video was in the low 20's LOL. What I should have said is the humidity gets to me after all of the wet weather when the sun does come out it is very humid. They have only been out in the yard for a couple of days and it looks like it has been mowed already. My electric poultry netting and solar charger arrived today so soon they will have a larger area to explore.

[@59chevt]

Great job

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Thank you.

[@lesboucher542]

Not so long back I was watching a program on the idiot box (TV) on keeping chickens, and they were saying that we should all be using bird wire instead of chicken wire as it keeps out snakes, lizards and whatever other predators that you may have in your area. It sounds like a smart ~ if not more expensive ~ idea to me. It might be worth thinking about with future projects.

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Snakes and lizards aren't an issue here fortunately. I'm not sure what bird wire is. I use a heavy gage steel wire fencing 2X3 inch opening I add a band of 1 inch chicken wire around the bottom just because young chicks can walk through the 2X3 inch opening. The only predator here that can get through this fencing would be a weasel and they are nocturnal and the coop is closed up at night. Thanks for the information.

[@lesboucher542]

Sorry Dale, I should have explained "Bird Wire". Put it down to an Aussie thing. It is the wire that it used in aviaries when you keep small birds ~ finches, budgerigars etc. Unfortunately, Here in, Australia, we do have a problem with snakes, lizards and fox's so, keeping them out can be a problem. Another animal that we have a problem with is ferrel cats. People seem to think that it is ok to just dump a cat (or kittens) on the road side as they will fend for themselves. Unfortunately they go wild and kill of the native wild life and will even kill chickens if allowed to get close enough.

[@roxanneburkhart6137]

Great video! I just finished building a small pen with a cedar frame and welded wire but mine is only 3 feet tall. Next time I will build one tall enough to walk into!

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Thank you. Being able to walk into the pen is a good feature and with me it was necessary or I couldn't get in the coop. I have built a smaller coop since I made this one, bachelor pad for several roosters, and it has a yard that I can't get into, wish I had done that differently too.

[@jodysappington7008]

another good one

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Thank yo Jody.

[@gateway8833]

On the issue of the the new walls attaching to the hen house. Theres many ways to frame up to and over the piers, you could have raised the bottom of the new wall to the height of the coop by placing the sill plate on top of a 4x4 that has the angle of the pier cut into the end, butt the 4x4 next the pier and secure wall to coop. Don't forget to protect against digging predators.

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

+Abby Babby Sorry I've been so long replying to your comment I've been traveling in Europe and not able to reply until now. Thank you. Yes I did protect against digging predators by burring some of the fencing .

[@gateway8833]

+Dale Calder Sir, I hope you had a great time

[@judyjudyjudy9593]

Oh my gosh, the chicks are so cute! I just love chickens!!!! Thanks for showing us how you are doing your pens. I like to get new ideas or safe ideas. Have you ever had a chicken tractor or made swings for your chickens? They seem to enjoy the swings a lot!

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Thank you . No I have never done either I did think about doing a tractor but never did get around to doing it.

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

@DCARA06 Thank you. I'm going to stick some beans in today but I suspect they will be chick feed as soon as they come up. Everybody is busy munching clover this morning. Princess Leah is very distinctive and your little princess Leah is ABOUT TO HAVE A VERY SPECIAL DAY !! HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEAH !!

[@PopleBackyardFarm]

you have some nice things built there :)

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Thank you not perfect but good enough I was surprised to discover that I could do it and I enjoy doing it.

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

@garygardens Thanks Gary that sounds like a good solution. They fly out the door already, I need to get their chicken door installed, there always seems to be another part to this project.

[@mauldindoc123]

Thank you for the video series. You did a great job and have given me confidence to try it myself! I'm planning to build a very similar design, and wonder if you have any suggestions since you have had a few years of working with your chickens and coop?

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

mauldindoc123 Thank you. Not really, this has been a very satisfactory coop. My flock has reached it's full capacity for this size coop and I plan to hatch Chantecler eggs this spring so I will be building a slightly smaller coop for the new flock, not identical to this coop but along the same lines. Good luck with your construction project.

[@urflofit2010]

For a efficient greenhouse you should look into what is called a walipini- can be used all winter and all summer long

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Thank you I don't know a great deal about them but one of my subscribers was going to build one but unfortunately changed his mind and went with a more conventional model.

[@tiggasmum]

Loved your video thanks some good ideas :0)

[@billywray4524]

you should have used hardwear cloth as it is stronger and has smaller opening's. my chickens all got killed when i used wire like u used as a weasel was able to get thru the opening's in that fencing. live and lear i guess

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Six years later no issues yet any way. Weasels are nocturnal and the coop is always closed at night.

[@geraldc3654]

My 25 Black Sex-Link hens love their 20' by 40' house with 30 nest off ground so no need to bent down to collect eggs when eggs roll out nest to my egg catcher behind nest, hens enter front I pick up egg in back off nest. Eggs rolling in carpet padding, eggs layed on back side of carpet in floor of nest. Hen house has 2 walls covered with tin and 2 walls covered with 6' chicken wire. Hens can go to outside 10' x 40' pen by crossing an overhead tunnel walkway. Pen is totally covered with 6' chicken wire and rabbits have company then.

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Gerald C That sounds like a chicken palace.

[@geraldc3654]

***** yea they love it , when turn them out at times, they will be back in before I get there for collecting eggs,, all auto feeder and waters

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

That's a good idea maybe even grape vines.

[@pressuredprepper4232]

Definitely add the tarp they will appreciate it.

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Pressured Prepper Thank you yes the really appreciate the extra shade in the summer.

[@drtamiherman8324]

Thanks for putting this video together. Can you please tell me what type and size fasteners/"staples" you used to secure the welded wire onto the wood? Is there a special "stapler" you used or did you hammer them in by hand? Thanks very much!

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Thank you. They are called Fence Staples www.homehardware.ca/en/rec/index.htm/Hardware/Fasteners/Staples/Fence/400g-1-1-2-Galvanized-Fence-Staples/_/N-ntjv9/R-I5243006 and come in several sizes you should be able to get them at any hardware or building supply store. You just need a hammer to use them.

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

No I never did do that, I have things in window boxes below the windows and they never bother them.

[@KameMegumi]

How did you close the hole left between your new enclosure ans the old coup, you had pointed out the cinder block floaters and how you used the 10" wood sections to secure it but not how you prevented animals from entering that way

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

I think I understand your question. I ran the wire fencing past the enclosure and attached it directly to the sides of the coop. Hope that is what you were looking for.

[@TheBullsGarden]

Great job on your chicken run Dale, come check I'm out when you have a chance, new friend here

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Thank you .

[@BasBleu02]

Hello Dale. Curious whether you eventually planted any vining things against the walls and what the chickens did? Thank you.

[@sandymerritt5592]

Dale, thank you for this video. I am new to both chicken keeping AND building, and want to make a secure chicken yard about 8 feet by 8 feet. Here in the city I can only keep 6 chickens. One thing you didn't really say in the video that I was curious about...your 2X4's...are they screwed together or nailed together when you framed the walls? I'm picturing doing something similar although I think I want to make one wall taller and have a slanted roof for shade (I live in the southern US!). Like I said, I'm new to building so I need it to be as simple as possible. I'll be using 1/2 inch hardware cloth here because of snakes and other predators. Just wondering if you nailed or screwed the pieces together. Thanks for any info you can provide! There are tons of videos of people building coops but not so many about pens, so thank you!

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

+Sandy Merritt Thank you Sandy. Back when I built this I likely used nails but I have a DeWalt Impact Wrench now so if I were doing it again I would use screws, my favourite are the Outdoor Wood Screws with the six pointed star drive they come in various sizes in pound boxes and each box has a free bit, but either would work just fine. Fortunately we don't have a snake problem my biggest problem is hawks.

[@theodorereimer7993]

Where do you buy the building supplies for your projects? In Maine or do you bother making the trek back around to Canada?

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

It depends there a building supply stores in both Canada and the US that deliver here.

[@geolev1097]

Hopefully you don't have weasels. I used the same wire on my run to protect the hens from fisher cat, fox and coyote and it was fine for 3 years. Then a weasel moved into the area and killed all 10 hens. Fisher cat will chew through chicken wire so that is why I used the welded wire. Unfortunately, the weasel was able to climb right through the 3" wire. I wrapped the entire run in chicken wire over the welded wire so hopefully that will keep all predators out. 8 new hens are depending on it.

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

We do have weasels but fortunately no problems yet and the coop is 5 years old now. Weasels are nocturnal and never seem to attack in the day time. I made the coop very strong and I always close it up tight before dark. Years ago with a coop that wasn't as tight as this one I had issues with weasels and raccoons. So far no problems this time. Hope you have good luck this time.

[@geolev1097]

Good point about locking them up at night. That certainly would have saved my hens.

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Yes that and a good solid coop seems to do the trick. I even put hardware cloth over the screens in the windows. So far I have only forgotten to close the small chicken door once and I was lucky that night.

[@thedfoxy]

I enjoyed your very pleasant video on building your hen yard. I liked watching the hens come out for the first time to explore. You also have such a pleasant voice and way of describing your project. I too have built a chicken coop and huge yard for my 100 Cornish game hens that I received in April 1015, Bishop, Ca. TheFoxyDinc.com

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

thedfoxy Thank you. I hope that was April 2015 or those are very old birds.....LOL.

[@shaneohiggins9155]

Hi I really like your coop design! Can I just ask how many 8ft 2 x 4s you needed? the coop I'm trying to build is roughly 6ft x 18ft x 5.8ft height so a similar size to yours.

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

I count 37 but you should order a few more I think your building will be a bit larger than mine.

[@shaneohiggins9155]

***** Not too far off! I drew out a quick sketch and worked it out as needing 45 runs at 6'6 including enough to make three doors, 1 for me and 2 for the chickens. I'm only making mine 6ft hi too as I'm 5'6 and my girlfriend's 5' so there's little chance of us bumping our heads! Can't wait to get started, picking up the wood on Monday. I'd love to do a video reply to show you what I've come up with.

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Shane O'Higgins That would be great I would love to see you new coop.

[@staciewhitehead5689]

Can you tell me if your 2x4' s were three foot apart and if not how far apart did you set each of them. I want to use the small wire that is three foot wide as well.

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

No mine are closer together than that 15 or 16 inches so the wire could be attached in the centre too which made it stronger.

[@jerryt2863]

I,m building a coop about the same size as the one that you built. Can you tell me about how many gallons of red paint did you use?

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Jerry T It was four years ago but I think just one. I used a solid colour stain.

[@cre8tivefun]

What kind of chicken has the black back and white front? Is it a mottled cochin??

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

cre8tivefun Yes that is the mottled cochin bantam, I'd forgotten that they looked that way when the were young they are now a mottled black and white all over.

[@kelcritcarroll]

When u are showing your fencing on your secure chicken run, there is a mournful sound i heard in the background...is that a whale ? :)))

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

I just watched the video again and I'm not sure what that was but it isn't a whale. Sometimes I can hear a fog horn so it might have been that.

[@chihuahuas11]

Keeps the chickens in, but will it keep varmints that eat chickens out?

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

+chihuahuas11 Four years now and nothing has been able to get in so far.

[@chihuahuas11]

Wonderful! Looks like a great pen.

[@shaneohiggins9155]

Hi Dale, I made a replica (or as best I could) of your run a couple of months ago. This video was an invaluable resource! When I get a chance 'll shot a quick video to show you what it looks like

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Shane O'Higgins Thank you I'm glad to hear that you found it useful.

[@dianeveilleux6452]

What kind of chicken is Matilda?

[@DaleCalderCampobello]

Diane Veilleux she was a white Plymouth Rock.