to setting up your coopMust-Read guide Backyard Chicken Coops

It’s time to think about:

Preparing your coop

Location3

Where to put my coop?Concrete or grass? Sunlight or shade? They’ll need shade as well as sunlight so someplace in between is great!

A place where there is dirt for your feathered friends to dust bath in is essential.

1

You must paint before assembly

Painting the coop beforehand is essential as you can cover all the sides of the panel, especially the base pieces. Also, it tends to be easier as you can paint all the pieces of our Penthouse and Mansion without using a ladder!

Preservation

What colour to paint?Painting is great fun. The hard part will be deciding on the colour! In order to preserve your coop’s longevity and for warranty purposes, it needs to be painted prior to assembly.

This protects the timber and helps it weather the harsh Aussie climate. Make sure you let the coop dry completely before your flock enjoys their fabulous new home!

1 Foundation2

What foundation to choose?To easily open the doors and slide out the coop cleaning trays, a firm solid, level foundation is key.

Naturally with time and weather the ground moves — so to prevent future issues with the coop, there are a number of foundation options you can choose from.

*Your warranty will be void if your coop is not painted on assembly.

Dirt keeps me

clean!

Preservation

Painting requires less maintenance and is more durable!

We love painting our coops because not only does it look

fantastic, it means you don’t have to touch it up for at least

3 years! We recommend giving it two coats of a good

quality exterior house paint — we use Dulux.

If you’re painting the Taj Mahal, 2-3L of paint will suffice,

4-6L for the Penthouse. And around 6-8L for the Mansion and Run to cover the Mansion roof panels too! If you

choose a two-tone colour scheme, you need to add that to

your calculations.

1

Paint inside and out!

Paint every edge of every pan

el twice.

Essential TipWhen painting the doors of the coop, take care not to paint the

inside railing where the door slides. If you’ve bought one of our fabulous Auto Door Openers, painting railings can cause the door to stick, and interfere with it automatically opening and closing. You must also paint the inside of the roof panels before assembly.

Taj Mahal2L - 3L

Penthouse4L - 6L

Mansion + Run6L - 8L

Painting

2

4

Painting

Shopping list

2cm angled detail brush

7cm wide paint brush

Dulux exterior house paint

How often do I paint?Every 3 years

What do I use?Dulux Exterior House Paint

How much do I NEED?2 coats every side, every panel, inside & out! You’ll need 2-8L depending on coop size.

Lexicon Half Dulux 4W

Double Bass Dulux GR1

Teak Wood Dulux A106.1

Paint it brown to suit your taste. We reccommend this Dulux

Exterior swatch:

Prefer the natural timber look?

Get this look

Get this look

3

FoundationConcrete BaseA concrete perimeter, or full slab, is a great foundation upon which to construct your coop. It provides sturdiness, as well as being a great way to keep burrowing predators out. We especially encourage a concrete slab foundation if you’ve purchased the Mansion, as it weighs almost 200kgs and needs a very firm foundation to sit on!

Timber SleepersLay your sleepers down underneath the coop — your local nursery/garden supplier will be able to supply you with good timber sleeper options. This is a more cost-effective and less permanent option than a concrete slab.

PaversPavers are easy to lay down and are sturdy — predators will be deterred from burrowing underneath. You can pave the entire base of the coop, or just put pavers around the perimeter.

Wire MeshGalvanised wire mesh keeps your flock safe whilst giving them the benefits of foraging — just lay wire mesh under the coop. This makes it difficult for pests and predators to burrow, but also lets the chickens access the ground. You can cut out the middle of the mesh so your flock has an area to dust bathe, without compromising their safety.

Firm flat groundThis is only for the Cluck House or Taj, if you are moving it around frequently. If your chickens live in the run full time, then put the coop on grass & dirt —they need to have access to fresh ground to forage for insects and grit to stay healthy!

Location

Access to sunlightChickens need somewhere that is partially shaded, and partially in the sun.

Dust BathingChickens need a patch of dirt in which to dust bathe, clean themselves and keep their feathers free from parasites. If you don’t have space, put a bucket of dirt or sand in the coop — they’ll be soooo

Choosing the prime backyard spot for the coop There are a number of things that you need to consider when choosing the spot for your coop, especially if you’re thinking of putting a concrete slab down — you won’t want to be moving that anytime soon!

32

4

Foundation options

pavers

Firm flat groundBrick

Raised sleepers

Concrete base

5 Need some help? Email us at sales@backyardchickencoops.com.au or phone 1300 763 133

Bruce & Bindydiy foundation & paved finish

david’sdiy concrete base

This concrete slab is a very effective, sturdy base for the Mansion. David poured a slab slightly larger, which allows room to walk around and is also beneficial for predator prevention.

The best part about a concrete base is that it makes cleaning the coop incredibly easy, as you can simply hose or sweep it out!

To allow the chickens to be safe from predators, and still have access to fresh grass and dirt, David poured concrete just around the perimeter of the Mansion Run. Not only is this more cost effective, it keeps the height of the foundations in line with the hutch, and most importantly, the chickens can still scratch around naturally!

Bruce and Bindy Marshall gave their chickens the ultimate life of luxury when they bought the Mansion and four Mansion Runs. Not only does it look incredible in their gorgeous garden, it’s functional for all their needs.

They designed a practical and stylish foundation that not only keeps the flock safe, it matches their beautiful garden! Bruce started off by making sure the girls had plenty of room to scratch around and dust bathe, so he added around 50cm worth of dirt to the floor. He then made a raised level timber base using corrugated colorbond - giving his coop a steadfast foundation.

Finally, Bruce finished off half of the run area with grass and trees, so he can move the girls around and let the grass replenish - ready for the chickens to enjoy it in a few weeks’ time! An incredibly clever idea and perfect for their backyard.

Our Pick!

6Need some help? Email us at sales@backyardchickencoops.com.au or phone 1300 763 133

online Customer

Visit your

pOrtAl

Located here:

Enter happyhens as the password to access your customer portal.

...to see your assembly video plus everything you need to know to make your chicken keeping journey a breeze!

VideOs online

backyardchickencoops.com.au/customer-portal