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Post by bluemoose on Jan 9, 2011 20:45:16 GMT -5
The bf was finally awarded his Social Security disability benefits (yay!) so I have some extra cash and wanted to get the ferrets something. I was poking around on ebay to see if there was anything of interest and came across these chicken coops. I believe they're the same one just from different angles. cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110547254797#ht_5336wt_782cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110631680924#ht_5213wt_782I have a small outdoor pen for the fuzz that they play in most every day the weather is cool enough but I certainly wouldn't mind upgrading to something more spacious with more room for toys. Not to mention this one seems much more secure than the one I built. Both for keeping them in and keeping predators (coyotes and hawks) out. It says, "The house is raised off the ground to protect from the elements and predators." It doesn't look raised to me in the pictures but if it is I don't think digging would be an issue but I'm guessing the floor would be wire which I would need to cover. Opinions? I think it looks really cool but there might be something horribly wrong with it that I'm not seeing Also, I wasn't sure if the wire would be enough to keep coyotes out.
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taratee
Cageless and Roamin' Free
Posts: 255
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Post by taratee on Jan 9, 2011 20:53:10 GMT -5
the only thing id be worried about is how high the ramp goes up, my fuzzbutts would fall off that in a heartbeat but it looks really stinking nice if i had the money id put it in my house for my fuzzies
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Post by bluemoose on Jan 9, 2011 21:06:09 GMT -5
Mine climb on a 6 foot cat tree so they're fairly nimble. I think the ramp is pretty wide (chickens can climb it apparently) but it might not be a bad idea to put something soft under it just in case they do take a tumble. I never thought about putting the coop in the house. I don't think there's space for it in my parent's house. It's full of clutter as it is which is why the fuzz don't really get to play in it as much as I'd like.
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Post by maddiesmom on Jan 9, 2011 21:18:48 GMT -5
Oh, man... I wish I could afford something like that!
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Post by bluemoose on Jan 9, 2011 21:33:40 GMT -5
Oooo when it says the house is raised it means the actual house part not the whole thing. I'm stupid lol. Ok so the rest of it is on the ground so I might need to put something under to keep them from digging out.
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taratee
Cageless and Roamin' Free
Posts: 255
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Post by taratee on Jan 9, 2011 21:57:22 GMT -5
that cat tree is boss sista, my ferrets arent nimble enough to use a tree lmao. you could bury chicken wire so if/when they dig they still cant get out. and if i had that i would modify the ramp myself maybe add another mid level but im a paranoid mess about ferrets falling XD
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Post by sherrylynne on Jan 9, 2011 23:29:26 GMT -5
That looks way too cool for an outdoor enclosure! Looks like the only adaptations you might need to make are to cover the wire floor(looks like a large tray pulls out for cleaning), and I really think I'd cover the whole of the chicken wire with hardware cloth. Both for the fact of coyotes(they'll get through chicken wire if very determined), and the fact that smaller ferrets can slip through normal sized chicken wire. The holes are over 1" in diameter. Personally, I think they'd have a blast in there. And you could always add on to it to give a larger run space.
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Post by Heather on Jan 9, 2011 23:32:52 GMT -5
I love your cat /ferret tree, it's awesome...my guys would love that. My guys love using the towers and have some interesting methods to travers them That poultry coup is awesome but you will never keep the little sods from digging out the way it is. You will have to find some way of sinking a wall, could even be screening into the ground (about 2 or 3 ft) and then setting that on top of it. I would be tempted to put an enclosed ramp so that there is no danger of falling off the ramp, it is steep and they're so adventurous. Better safe than sorry. ciao
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Post by bluemoose on Jan 9, 2011 23:40:04 GMT -5
I was thinking about putting wire across the bottom to keep them in. and burying it a couple feet down is a good idea. Enclosing the ramp is also a neat idea. The enclosed ramp you have is crazy And yeah I wasn't sure about the chicken wire. The enclosure I built has the hardwire cloth and that seems to work well. Since the coop looks good overall I might go ahead and order it. I'm sure I can modify the minor issues.
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Post by bluemoose on Jan 10, 2011 0:15:59 GMT -5
I think I'll email the seller and see if I can have one custom made with different wire. I'm incredibly lazy when it comes to do it yourself projects and I'd rather just pay extra to have it done by someone else. Anything I try to do ends up looking terrible
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Post by katt on Jan 10, 2011 0:27:24 GMT -5
Careful about putting the wire on the bottom - what if they dig all the way to the wire and snag a toe?
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Post by bluemoose on Jan 10, 2011 0:34:36 GMT -5
Well I could put wire around the edge buried into the ground and stapled on the outside like their current outdoor enclosure has. I have to keep them in somehow and other than wire I'm not sure what the best way is.
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Post by Jackie on Jan 10, 2011 9:00:55 GMT -5
Wow, nice coop! And the price doesn't seem to be bad either.
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Post by bluemoose on Jan 11, 2011 5:05:40 GMT -5
Now I'm having second thoughts when I look closer at the dimensions. It looks huge in the picture but apparently it's actually pretty small.
I may just have to work on building something. I have a couple issues with making my own outdoor enclosure though. Firstly, I really don't have the skill to do so. Secondly, I'm not planning to live with my parents forever so it would be somewhat silly to make something expensive that was too permanent so I couldn't move it with me.
I'd really like to just buy something that ships disassembled so I wouldn't have to build it myself and I could take it apart and move it when need be. I'm having trouble finding anything though. Maybe it's just a pipe dream and I should wait until I get my own place.
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Post by mjohn143 on Jan 22, 2011 9:02:42 GMT -5
Heather, what is that?? Is that like a double deck that they run around under?
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