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I’ll be constructing a gate for this very soon. Notice the “skyway” system? That’s for the feral cats to gain access via the barnyard (free from dog harassment). Instead of being chased, they climb to the roof of the coop and then traverse down the ramps into their lair. They dine in the rabbit hutch and sleep inside the cubby, accessed via the little door underneath. Now, if they’d just kill some mice.
The north facing lean to with our camper safely backed under the roof. This provides overflow sleeping space since it is fully hooked up with water, heat and electricity. The benefit is that being 15 years old now, the roof needs resealing so am glad no more water can seep in.South side lean to (ad pic). This is the barnyard side and we’re now using that right side bay for storing hay.The back side from the barnyard. That small access door above the main doors is for loading hay but we have no means to getting it up there.We erected this original chicken run just outside their little access door (below the window). We covered with bird netting to keep them inside and the flying predators outside as well. After getting back aches crouching inside, we finally raised the roof with some old canopy tubing.This is the original chicken coop. We haven’t changed much other than screening/covering the windows to make them more predator-proof and replacing some rotted perches.We call this the Narthex. A small hallway outside the primary coop leading to the store room. The doorway on the left leads to the coop space.This is the storeroom. We are thinking of adding a 3rd coop/nursery for hatching chicks in a portion of this area with a small access door cut below the window. We want to leave enough room for milking goats in here eventually as well as continue to store feed and supplies.This is the store room today. The guillotine looking device in the corner is a newly constructed goat milking station just waiting for some goats.Entering the main barn area, taken from the entrance doorway. The stairway to the loft is immediately to the left.Below that stairway, this little cubby is where the feral cat family stays cozy, with 24 hour access from the outside. This inside panel is closed off to keep potential predators away from the chickens overnight.Here is the barn all cleaned up before we did anything to it. As you can see, it’s not that big and a good portion of what you see from the outside are the 2 lean tos on either side. We built the 2nd chicken coop in that narrow corridor down the right side.The completed 2nd coop.These nesting boxes were removed from the main coop. They refused to use them. We relocated to the new 2nd coop and so far has been hit and miss in there as well.When we got the recent 10 hens at the auction, we housed them here in the main section of the barn (to the left). As well as a temporary run for them out in front of the barn. We moved that gate over to completely seal off the other side since that is where the roosters resided until the hens got healthy enough to join them.Going up the stairs, we see the hayloft from the real estate ad.The entry to the loft is via a steep and narrow staircase emerging through that hole in the floor on the right at the back. I have since added railings to prevent from stepping over the edge. After we cleaned it out, we contemplated what to do with it since we lacked the equipment needed to get the hay up there.So, we told the animals they were on their own and turned it into a theater. The only problem up here is the weather. Much too hot in the summer and no heat in the winter. Spring and Fall provide ideal days/evenings for enjoying a good flick though.
All in all for our needs, this is perfect. We never planned on making money at this and this would be much too small to be able to do that but should be ideal for chickens and a few goats.
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Headlines below from Real Clear Politics, a news site with policy headlines from all perspectives presented side by side. An ideal site to illustrate the blatant malfeasance rampant in the MSM today. However, that depends on your ability to discern and seek more information and then recall what they've stated in the past to determine their credibility.
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