• Last updated 3/3/11 by vfem

Chickens Go Green 2008 To read more about this green coop and join the discussion click here: http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=90535 In June of 2008 I made a joke that our new house was so far out in the country I needed to get chickens to fit in! My husband laughed, and I realized this was more of a challenge then a joke. I decided if I dragged out the joke, you know, bought some chicken pillows, showed him some research I did on chickens on the net, then perhaps I'd really freak him out! The best laugh EVER! Only...... I found a breed finder,... read more

• Last updated 3/1/11 by JimWWhite

Hi, my name is Jim and my wife Teresa and I live just to the east of Statesville, North Carolina.  We have a very secluded three acre piece of property that is surrounded by hundreds of other acres of pasture land that will probably not be developed in the foreseeable future.  We share out home with Charlie our three year old dachshund-terrier mix, Matilda our long tailed, longhaired cat, and twenty-nine Gold Comet pullets.  And on the weekends you’ll probably find one or both of our ten and five year old granddaughters staying over.   We’re a half mile down a one lane... read more

• Last updated 2/27/11 by cjstanman

The Epic Chicken Coop!   ** Updated 2/27/2011 - see updated pics at the bottom. **   I believe it's time. Time to capture the epic adventure that is .... the Chicken Coop.Really, I don't know what the hell we were thinking.  It went something like this.  "Hey, let's expand our chicken operation."  "Yeah! We could build a 10x12 building from scratch!"Uh, yeah.  So we did.  It took forever.  It cost a decent amount of money. We did it during the hottest summer in a bajillion years, and it was hot as hell. It generated more than one argument. It required many, many... read more

• Last updated 2/25/11 by camillebug

Camille's Incubator by Camille's Dad      We wanted to get the full experience of raising chickens so hatching eggs to perpetuate the flock seemed like a fun project. I wanted to see if I could come up with a working 'bator without spending any money. I was victorious in my pursuit. The hardest thing to scrounge was the t-stat. I probably spent more time than it was worth getting it as they cost about $8.        I started by cutting a rectangular hole in the lid of the cooler for the window. Notice it is not centered in the lid but shoved over to the right... read more

• Last updated 2/25/11 by cairopd1069

These are my daughter's first chicks.  They are 4 weeks old and she is 6 years old. There are 10 BOs, 9 RIRs and 5 Silver Wyndottes.  The coop is not complete, I well be adding several windows and nest boxes.  The run is also not complete, but I hope to have it completed by next week so they can venture outside.  As I have stated in other posts, I am going to have to thin the flock as soon as I find out how many roos I have.                         01/14/11      01/14/11     New Chicks 02/25/11  Barred Rocks, Buff Rocks, Gold... read more

• Last updated 2/23/11 by paddock36

   Paddock's Lil'Coop  I decided to build a little coop for Serama's.  Most of my supplies except wire were left over materials that I already had including a small shed that I purchased for $20.00 a year ago.  After drawing up a plan I gathered the shed and supplies needed to start building.    *  This is the shed I purchased for $20.             I already had the lumber and tools.           I built a frame box to put under the little shed so it would not be on the ground and would take up less space then building a run in front of the coop. The shed is 48... read more

• Last updated 2/22/11 by RockinCircleC

Rockin Circle C's Page Wow, haven't updated this since I set it up! We have come a LONG way since this initial post:   Now: We are currently set up with 8 chickens, 6 Ameracaunas and 2 Rhode Island Red/Black Australorp crosses. Then: Here are pictures of the shed that we are planning on moving and converting to a coop with an attached run. It currently is poorly located (not near any water or electrical sources) and we frequently have families of skunks that like to take up residence underneath. Our goal is to have the shed relocated closer to our other... read more

• Last updated 2/22/11 by wsdareme

The Chicken Experience... It all began when my good friend, Rachel, started giving us fresh eggs.  When I saw how simple and effective her coop setup was, I started thinking that I'd like to have a few hens myself.  I love eggs! So, one day I mentioned to my DH that I really would like to have a few hens.  After grumbling and groaning about having %#&! chickens, he told me about the pet chicken he had when he was a child.  Needless to say, it didn't take much convincing to get him to buy into my idea. Being a fan of Internet research, I did a lot of searching on... read more

• Last updated 2/21/11 by elmo

This One is Just Right I think I know how Goldilocks felt. I tried several different housing arrangements (shown on my other page). One was too small, one was too hot, one was too cold.... So this time, armed with my wish list and the lessons learned from my previous attempts (and hours absorbing the accumulated wisdom of others on this forum), I hired a professional builder to build me the coop of my dreams . To save some money and also because I enjoy puttering around with these kinds of things, I arranged to do the finish out myself (the insulation, interior... read more

• Last updated 1/12/12 by Dark Dozens

  Dark Dozens - The Coop   Building the coop: The coop is 5 by 6 feet. The run is 5 by 16 feet. It was built to house 8 Buff Orpingtons. The design was inspired by a coop I saw outside the local farming supply store, pictures I found on backyardchickens.com, and a shed that I built in 2009. I used pressure treated lumber for framing the floor and for framing the run. Everything else is framed with standard 2 x 4's The siding is T1-11. The floor and roof are exterior grade plywood. Asphalt shingles and drip edge were used for the roof. It is... read more