Hello! I am back and upgraded our coop!

[WIchickMama]

Looking good! I bet you have happy chickens.

I too would add hardware cloth along the bottom 3ft or so (up) of the run to help keep predators out. I would also add plastic around the run, leaving about 6-12 inches open at the top, to keep the wind out-not so much the snow but the wind.

My only other comment would be to move the food and water out of the coop into the run. Leaves less opportunity for mess, wet bedding and potential pests.

 

[Krugerrand]

Dowels are fine to use, my mother in law has had chickens for 17 years with no issues lol, and they’re the perfect height off the ground for them to jump onto.

Not to be rude, but most forums like these you can have the most perfect coop but someone will still try to say something is wrong.

I don’t mind feedback but I mean, dowels are never an issue, wild chickens nest on tree branches. Keeping them out of nests? Why would I keep them out the nests? My chickens have always slept in their nests, they haven’t been able to roost until now since the tiny coop I had before.

Ventilation? I have 2 large windows. Also we need a heat lamp here, it gets down to about 5F at night, can’t think everything is a fire risk. If it’s done right you won’t have any issues. My husband has had an emu for 10 years and has had two heat lamps in his shed with no issues.

We get snow but we also take care of our chickens, I wouldn’t mind getting up to shovel snow if it got into their run.

I think this new coop we’ve made is a castle compare to the store bought coop and I think our chickens are going to love it.

This just posted this evening ...

Never use Bird Wire, never settle for anything loose, just lost my fav hen because of that. Time to move on and learn. Need a more rigid wire.

Yes, many people do things in different ways. Still, the advice people give is based on their experiences. Of course you can make you own decisions.

It just may be worth evaluating the rationale behind the advice and factor that into your decision making.

 

[Hollysaurus]

When you post a set up on here, expect critiques. It's not to nitpick, but to try and minimize any issues you might end up facing. Most of us are constantly tweaking our set ups to make them slightly better, if possible.

Most of us don't want chickens sleeping in the nests due to the fact that it leads to soiled eggs and requires constant cleaning. If you don't mind that, do what works for you.

The windows aren't open in the photos. I have 5 windows that stay open 99% of the time and I feel those alone would not be sufficient ventilation in my moderate climate, but every flock and set up differs.

Heat lamps aren't an issue until they are. Unfortunately fires are reported every year on this forum - sometimes near misses, other times full losses. Again, do what you're comfortable with. However at 5F healthy chickens should not need any heat source as long as they can roost in a draft free, dry environment. They come with down coats that do an amazing job at keeping them warm.

I don't mind people critiquing, I did ask for feedback but it's the way some people come about it. Not everyone is used to having harsh comments on their post right off the bat without introducing yourself so it came across wrong in my eyes.

If I went to critique someone I would at least comment on something they have done rather then go straight into the negatives especially when the member is new otherwise you'll just end up scaring people off the site thinking it's full of these people.

Sleeping in nests seems fair, I might add another dowel high up but it's not the end of the world, as long as they feel safe then I'm happy. I haven't had any issues with eggs, was just a pain to get them to lay in the nesting boxes after transferring them, but I bought some fake eggs and it seemed to do the trick.

When it comes to ventilation we keep the door open majority of the time, the only time we plan to close it would be when winter sets in. 5F might be good in some places but it depends were you're from since dry cold and wet cold are very different, and here in Idaho we get dry cold, bad winters and in the summer it's practically a desert, blazing hot.

I understand heat lamps are a risk, but if they're done correctly you wouldn't have an issue.

I do appreciate the feedback, though just be mindful how you go about giving it out, coming across harsh will scare new people off and I don't want to be in one of those forum sites where you just get bullied by members who have been here longer and think they know more. Been on one of those before and I left since I couldn't comment on anything without having people jump at me.

 

[Hollysaurus]

Gorgeous coop!

Just popping in to say that you came here for help, these are some of the best and most knowledgeable members, they absolutely know what they are talking about and I agree with them about the corrections that need to be made 100%.
You asked for advice, we’re giving it to you, why the resistance?
You can and will have your own opinion, but these members have years upon years of personal experience. No need to argue with those trying to help you take better care of your chickens.
You can take some thought to their advice, or learn from your own experience which is most often the hard way.
Just saying.

Hoping this doesn’t come off as rude, just my two cents. Welcome to BYC.

I understand I asked for feedback, Like I responded to the person who commented, there are different ways to approach people when giving critiques/feedback and going into negatives right off the bat would rub anyone the wrong way.

I know members here have had years of experience, but my mother in law has also had 17+ years of experience with a much larger flock of about 10 to 15 hens and she hasn't had any issues. I only have the 4, for now... I understand you get sucked into buying more.

I appreciate the feedback, I have no resistance, I just have my opinion on how it was handed.

 

[Hollysaurus]

It is a castle, it’s beautiful and you obviously put hard work into it. Nice job!
It’s not perfect though. If you don’t want to take these members advice, that’s fine, but learning from personal experience can include losses. I learned that the hard way.

Thank you, I appreciate it.

No one will get it perfect on the first try and I don't expect it to be perfect, ever. I did take advice from this community when they told me the coop I bought from tractor supply was too small for 4 chickens, I care about my hens so I went and built this.

Doesn't mean I won't take anymore advice but when it comes to building I've done my part there, this wasn't a cheap project as you can imagine. I was hoping for advice for bedding, etc since I use pine shavings and heard so many people dislike it, I just wonder why. or things to help in winter months since we're from Idaho and the winter here is dry and very cold, I know water gets frozen over etc.

That's the kind of feedback I was looking for, I'm not going to be re'doing anything that I have built. Might add a dowel higher up to try get them off the nesting boxes at night but that will be it. I'm proud of my coop and the chickens love it.

 

[Hollysaurus]

Chickens poop while they sleep. If they’re sleeping in a nesting box they will end up sitting in their poop all night. This leads to messy feathers, which can then lead to a possibly fatal condition, fly strike.

Fun fact, chickens can withstand up to -25 degrees F in a well ventilated weather proof coop.
Heat lamps are not only a fire hazard, they prevent the chickens from preparing for the temps they will experience.
What happens when that storm comes, coldest night yet, snow snd wind is blowing and your power goes out? Sudden instant temperature drop in super cold temps. That can be fatal for chickens who had no time to adjust because they were getting supplemental heat.
That’s why I never use heat lamps.
Plus, chickens are perfectly fine with very low temps. Are you cold in your down winter jacket? Likely not. It’s a winter jacket made with birds warm down. If you’re not cold in that, your birds aren’t either.

Also, adding this. I see your run is made of chicken wire. Not sure what your predator load is, but a friend of mine recently had a neighbors dog tear right through her chicken wire run killing all of her pullets in that pen. I’m broad daylight. Like a knife through butter.
Chicken wire is far from predator proof. Any predator could easily get in at your birds.

Again, not trying to be knit picky or rude, just advice from a fellow chicken lover. I’ve learned the hard way do many times, if like to spare you from that as much as possible.

We're thinking of adding a dowel above the nesting boxes and covering the top of the nesting boxes so they don't roost and poop in the boxes. Hard to explain but I have the imagine in my head, haha.

When it comes to heat lamps, everyone we know in Idaho has them for their chickens because Idaho has extremely cold and dry winters and not everyone has the money to spend so much to create the perfect weather proof coop. Though the coop we built is pretty good in my opinion, compared to some coops we have seen, but then again our chickens are pampered. We've not heard anyone we know that has lost chickens due to heat lamps, power outages/supplemental heat or fires.

We don't have predators around us, not that we can see anyway. We have a 10year old emu that attacks anything that comes into the garden.

It is hard to judge coops in general tbh, all depends where the person is from and all sorts, I don't think a perfect coop exists, I can imagine people get close but they'll always be someone telling you that you can do better, or change/add something.

 

[Hollysaurus]

Looks great!

Thank you so much!

 

[Hollysaurus]

FYI “just in case” will definitely turn into “when”. It’s called chicken math. Most of us suffer from it. I have 10, plans to add 5 next year, but I don’t think I’d feel like I had my fill unless I had 2-3shed coops full of 15-20 each.

I think what you build looks like enough size! I for one thought chickens needed a warm house with no room for air to get in, but after reading BYC we installed 2 large windows & ventilation at the soffits. Temps in NY can get into the negatives. I’m going to line the bottom of my run with clear tarp to block wind and keep snow out in the winter, but no longer worried about low temps.

haha! My mother in law said the same, she's had a flock of about 10 to 15 hens for years now, she blames herself that we're buying chickens!

Funny story behind it;

Me and my Husband went with his mother to choose new chicks for herself, In the hatchery there ended up being a pullet all by itself in this cage with no one so of course she was saying we need to take it because it was lonely.

This is where it started...
We bought her and named her Willow, she's a Bresse! After a few days we went back to get two more since she screamed the place down, after having some friends she calmed down haha! This is where maple and aspen came in.

Long story short though; Willow turned out to be a rooster and went to live with my mother in law anyway! haha!

After a few we decided to get 2 more, and then that's Magnolia and Hazel.
I love getting different breeds, it's so fascinating seeing their little personalities pop out,

Maple absolutely loves my husband, she will perch on my husbands shoulder as he walks around the garden, such a funny sight,

 

[Hollysaurus]

Looking good! I bet you have happy chickens.

I too would add hardware cloth along the bottom 3ft or so (up) of the run to help keep predators out. I would also add plastic around the run, leaving about 6-12 inches open at the top, to keep the wind out-not so much the snow but the wind.

My only other comment would be to move the food and water out of the coop into the run. Leaves less opportunity for mess, wet bedding and potential pests.

Thank you!

I think we're pretty good with predators here, my husband has been here for 16+ years and raised an emu + ducks and geese in his garden and they've always had an open doored shed, wide open for anything to get in but nothing ever did.

Jerry our emu pretty much attacks anything that comes into the garden, he's really good with the ducks, chickens, etc. If a dog got in i'd feel sorry for the dog since emu's kicks hurt. They can also be fatal.

I did have the food/water outside, but I worried with our strong winds here and rain approaching that it would blow the rain sideways and get the food wet. Might test it out, we have no floor in the coop, it's just dirt and then pine shavings. I guess I could always put it out in the summer but winter times bring it inside.

 

[Hollysaurus]

This just posted this evening ...


Yes, many people do things in different ways. Still, the advice people give is based on their experiences. Of course you can make you own decisions.

It just may be worth evaluating the rationale behind the advice and factor that into your decision making.

I think people focus too much on the "what if's" and don't really focus on where people are from or what sort of area they live in. So instead of shutting people down for not doing something to their coop which could in fact be more expensive and not necessary at all, people should start asking questions such as those before going into the things you think they should add, because the things you're advising them to add might not even be necessary and you could be causing people to spend more for no reason.

I know when to listen to much needed advise, hence me building a coop. People told me on here that the coop I bought was not for 4 chickens so I went a head and built one.

If we haven't had predators for 16+ years, raised an emu, ducks and geese and they've stayed completely fine in a shed with the shed door open 24/7 I don't see it's necessary to add all the extra onto our coop.

I know new members listen to community members here, but sometimes the community members need to also listen to the new members.