• Last updated 3/21/10 by LareePQG

Chicks Love Garden Benches3/20/10Here is a garden bench we made in about an hour, without having to purchase anything.   Actually, it took me about an hour to clean it off, and an hour to build it.  The DH built me the bench when we first moved into the house, and the hardware cloth was leftovers from we first built the coop.We needed a secondary brooder to "grow out' the larger chicks so the younger chicks can go into The Hot Chick Room.  We used a garden bench that had been doing duty holding "chicken stuff".  You can see it next to The Hot Chick Room in the picture... read more

• Last updated 3/20/10 by Tala

  The original design for my open air style chicken coop called for welded fence wire on 3 sides, and solid tin on the west facing side (towards the road). It is supposed to be VERY simple, but functional for our warm climate. I modified it slightly by adding one piece of tin sideways along the bottom (approx 2' high) instead of using hardware cloth for predator reach-through protection. I read that it would help keep more water out to use the tin instead of wire - and it seems to work!I started building my coop in, oh I dunno... late August? And it rained every single... read more

• Last updated 3/20/10 by Tala

I would like to explain my chicken tractor - in hopes of helping anyone else out.The doghouse part is approx 3'x3' and provides enough "sleep only" space for 4 hens. It was a large doghouse kit from Lowes. The cedar is britle and thin. I wouldn't buy it again, but it's cute and it does work.There is also a nest box under the roosts, it is approx 1'x1'. I also added lawnmower wheels. I'm not happy with them at all. Not sure how to improve on that part.I added sofit vents, and put hardware cloth over the gable vents: The run part was built separately. I bought 3 - 8ft... read more

• Last updated 3/17/10 by isabrowneyedsue

Hi! I'm Rebecca,my family and I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Last summer we got our first flock of chickens from an older farmer who had too many. WE LOVE THEM. We love eggs, and even though the chickens are older, they still layed enough eggs for our family of four. this winter quite a few of them died, so we are trying our hand at raising replacements. They are growing so fast, and they are so darn funny! I like to think we are doing a good job, we haven't lost any chicks, and they seem so happy and healthy! I now am tempted to try and incubate some eggs... read more

• Last updated 3/17/10 by Mikeeeeeeeeee

Stage II Brooder Here at Bethany Farms, we hatch a good many chicks. I know that most everyone has a "tote" with a lamp and newspaper in the bottom, and that is a good place to start chicks. That is what we do for two weeks and then we move them outside to the Stage II Brooder. This brooder is built from scraps of dimensional pine lumber and 1/8" Luann. A metal hinged top and a small run closed in with 1" chicken wire helps the little fuzzybutts to get their 1st taste of the real world.            read more

• Last updated 3/17/10 by tryals15

Well, I’ve been working hard on my new coop every chance I’ve had. And I’m loving every minute of it. It’s been abnormally cold around here and this coop project has corresponded wonderfully with slightly warmer weather.   I studied a lot of coops I found online, both here and elsewhere, and ended up going with something similar to this coop: http://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=11883.   It’s been lots of fun, and I’ve changed 1000 things as I built the coop, but I think it’s coming along nicely.   The supplies (and costs) were:   12 – 2”... read more

• Last updated 7/30/12 by BYC Project Manager

Our chicken coop construction soo far Hubby working on the coop  nesting boxes and how we built them inside view a view from the outside of the nesting boxes          and here is hubby putting on the siding   h Here is some of the painting ive done so far on the coop want to make it appear as a red barn here is the door from the pen to the coop will build a better ramp just testing it out side view of the painting with a faux window close up of the window Here are some pics of our new babies we have 2 Red Stars, 2 Buff Orpingtons, 2... read more

• Last updated 3/16/10 by Cetawin

The Blue BrooderThe brooder came about when my 8 new additions looked crowded in their plastic tote at a few days old.   I sat down with a plan in mind and sketched what I wanted then went searching for supplies around the house.  Having built a duck coop and chicken coop, I had left over materials to use.The plan:A place large enough for them for a couple of weeks, good ventilation, easy to clean and get into for feeding and watering.The materials:1 - Sheet OSB 1/2"  - 1/4" hardwire cloth2 - 1 1/2" hinges1 - 8' pine 1 x 21 - 8' pine 1 x 6     3/4" and 1" wood screws    ... read more

• Last updated 3/16/10 by OrpingtonManor

SC_Hugh, ibpboo, and I are in a race to update our terribly bare BYC pages.  Hugh needs a little more time, which I think means so the deadline has been moved to April 15th.  Check back to see who has met the challenge. Thanks!  Here are the Ladies of Orpington Manor. They live in a little town in the San Francisco Bay Area between the Carquinez Strait and Mt. Diablo.A walk up the hill lands you in a regional park and grazing land.   There are neighbors all around, whch can make it difficult to have chickens, but I suspected it was a chicken-friendly place.  Some people... read more

• Last updated 3/16/10 by LareePQG

Here is a picture of my "finished" brooder.  I will post pictures of the "building process" when I get home. I got the main structure of the brooder from Alohachickens.  Her DH hated it, as it is ugly, and so it became ours.  Cost $0The orginal structure was just a cage with no top, 4 legs, no doors, and a sketchy hinge that dropped the entire front down.  6 feet of possible escape for a chick.NEED PICTUREThe DH welded the front on permanently, cut two holes for doors, and added a hinged lid with a handle.  The brooder can be sectioned off into two (or more) spaces if... read more