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Need your opinion: what should every coop have?

post #1 of 85
12/21/11 at 7:41pm
Thread Starter 

What do you all consider to be the most essential quality in a coop? Ample space? Easy to clean? Cheap to buy/build? Really appreciate any input. smile

One barred rock, buff orpington, and welsummer; one rhode island red bantam, a silkie bantam, three little bantam cochins, three little old english game bantams, a wyandotte bantam and a modern game bantam! Two ridiculous rescue dogs, one fun loving two year old and a superhero husband!
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One barred rock, buff orpington, and welsummer; one rhode island red bantam, a silkie bantam, three little bantam cochins, three little old english game bantams, a wyandotte bantam and a modern game bantam! Two ridiculous rescue dogs, one fun loving two year old and a superhero husband!
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post #2 of 85
12/21/11 at 7:43pm

nothing with legs running down to the floor!!!!  you should have everything bolted to the walls and roof and such.  nothing standing in there with legs that can hinder you swinging a net.. there's so much i'd change about my coop if i could redo it.

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post #3 of 85
12/21/11 at 7:47pm

A human door and a chicken door.
Space for everyone, human and avian, to move around inside.
I wish I had made mine a little bigger so I could have had a separate area for food and supplies that I didn't want poop on.
A real pen, not a little place under the house.
Paint and trim so it doesn't look like a shack, unless you actually live on a working farm.

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post #4 of 85
12/21/11 at 7:58pm
Thread Starter 

Great replies. Exactly what I am looking for. Keep them coming!

One barred rock, buff orpington, and welsummer; one rhode island red bantam, a silkie bantam, three little bantam cochins, three little old english game bantams, a wyandotte bantam and a modern game bantam! Two ridiculous rescue dogs, one fun loving two year old and a superhero husband!
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One barred rock, buff orpington, and welsummer; one rhode island red bantam, a silkie bantam, three little bantam cochins, three little old english game bantams, a wyandotte bantam and a modern game bantam! Two ridiculous rescue dogs, one fun loving two year old and a superhero husband!
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post #5 of 85
12/21/11 at 8:03pm

Double doors on the coop so you have access to everything inside.

Standing up room in the run so you can walk inside with ease. 

Also, a folding chair in the run so you can sit with your chickens without your legs going numb from squatting, or your rear end covered in poo from sitting on the ground.wink

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post #6 of 85
12/21/11 at 10:51pm

A poop board under your roost for easy and fast cleaning. I have one coop that is 8x8 and you can go inside to clean it. Just a bucket and a hoe or trowel to scrape it off into the bucket. My other coop is 6x8 and it is raised about 3 feet off the ground. I can still walk onto it, but I wanted to try something I saw on this site. I made the back wall of the coop where the bottom   
1/3 of the wall opens downward and I can put my bucket under the back edge of the poop board and clean it off without going into the coop. I love them both! Good ventilation is important, also if you can situate it so it is in shade in the summer is great!

Mom to 3 sons, 2 horses, 1 Chesapeake, 2 BO's, 1 SLW, and 7 refrigerator chicks (eggs hatched after being refrigerated), they are 5 SLW's and 2 BO/SLW crosses.
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Mom to 3 sons, 2 horses, 1 Chesapeake, 2 BO's, 1 SLW, and 7 refrigerator chicks (eggs hatched after being refrigerated), they are 5 SLW's and 2 BO/SLW crosses.
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post #7 of 85
12/22/11 at 12:41am
  • ll
  • I ♥ my Orps

Easy to clean!

Easy to feed & water!

Headroom for you ~ and a storage area for feed/supplies!

My BYC Page has photos ~ Does yours?
My introducing page & visit our Hen House!
I'm so egg-cited! Have an egg-cellent day!

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My BYC Page has photos ~ Does yours?
My introducing page & visit our Hen House!
I'm so egg-cited! Have an egg-cellent day!

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post #8 of 85
12/22/11 at 12:42am

What do you all consider to be the most essential quality in a coop?

Lot's of chickens. smile  big_smile  wink

 

"Never argue with a fool; onlookers may not be able to tell the difference." Mark Twain

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"Never argue with a fool; onlookers may not be able to tell the difference." Mark Twain

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post #9 of 85
12/22/11 at 1:05am

I don't know where you live, but we get a ton of rain here. I have two little coops that I wish I could trade for one bigger covered structure with a coop area inside and cement floor with sand over the top. I get so tired of everything being wet.

From the land of grey skies, lots of moss, vampires and big foot. The Pacific NW. Mother of two boys, one dog, one cat, and 8 lovely hens.
Beware, also a certified thread killer!
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From the land of grey skies, lots of moss, vampires and big foot. The Pacific NW. Mother of two boys, one dog, one cat, and 8 lovely hens.
Beware, also a certified thread killer!
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post #10 of 85
12/22/11 at 1:09am
  • Mahonri
  • Platinum Poultry
  • Urban Desert Chicken Enthusiast

Because I had to put in an AC unit, I wish I had insulated the walls... this spring's project....

Keeper of 26 hens,  4 PW Leghorns, 1 leghorn mix, 1 FBCMarans, 1 Australorp, 1 Buff Orpington, 2 Mama Olive Eggers w/ 15 chicks each, 1 EE, a Barred Rock, a RIR, a CQ, 1 Delaware, 1 Black Star, a Splash Ameraucana, 3 W/BW Ameraucana pullets, 5 polish, 2 Welsummers and 41 juvies of various breeds. YIKES!  Time to SELL some chickens!

 

 

"With God, ALL things are possible."

                 ...

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Keeper of 26 hens,  4 PW Leghorns, 1 leghorn mix, 1 FBCMarans, 1 Australorp, 1 Buff Orpington, 2 Mama Olive Eggers w/ 15 chicks each, 1 EE, a Barred Rock, a RIR, a CQ, 1 Delaware, 1 Black Star, a Splash Ameraucana, 3 W/BW Ameraucana pullets, 5 polish, 2 Welsummers and 41 juvies of various breeds. YIKES!  Time to SELL some chickens!

 

 

"With God, ALL things are possible."

                 ...

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BackYard Chickens › BYC Forum › Raising BackYard Chickens › Coop & Run - Design, Construction, & Maintenance › Need your opinion: what should every coop have?