post your chicken coop pictures here!

[Deleon98]

Well you see im kind of on a budget (well my parents budget) and itll be costly too build a big run and a big coop.i would like to let my six roam all day and bring em in before night. I dont want to leave them in all day but i go to school 5 days of the week and would feel uncomfortable letting them roam all day. Then i figured since i have a rooster amongst them that theyd be able to manage all day with nobody home. Im just really figuring out what i should do. What do you guys think?

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

I wouldn't let them roam free while your gone a hawk could get them stray dogs could show up and kill every single one even though you have a rooster or not

 

[bigmrg74]

Well you see im kind of on a budget (well my parents budget) and itll be costly too build a big run and a big coop.i would like to let my six roam all day and bring em in before night. I dont want to leave them in all day but i go to school 5 days of the week and would feel uncomfortable letting them roam all day. Then i figured since i have a rooster amongst them that theyd be able to manage all day with nobody home. Im just really figuring out what i should do. What do you guys think?

How big of a yard do you have to work with? If you have a yard that's mostly fenced off, that would go a long way towards figuring out how you could set things up for your birds. Do you have any pictures of the yard that you would be using?? That would be helpful for the rest of us to spitball ideas to you.

 

[Deleon98]

I can try and get pics tomorrow. Right now we dont have a fence tho lol which is why i cant spend too much on too big of a coop or run yet. Next week we are planning on bringing out a surveyer to tell us our property line so that we can put up a fence. Anyways Weve got about an acre. The guy across from us has a large farm and theres a sand road that leads to the main road so cars arent really an issue. But There is a mini little forest that when you cut through you hit the main street. (ik im like so unprepared for chickens lol but im doing my best. This is a new experiance for me and im learning a lot.)

 

[TJordan]

Well. Tomorrow is sink or swim... My 23 fine feathered friends will be relocated to their new home. Not ideal yet. Have to wait on taxes before privacy fence but the barn is ready. Going to add the hardware cloth around top where I've got it slanted for rain runoff and perfect ventilation and skirt the bottom half foot deep solid foot out all around and set up 10'x10' run and butts will come to new home. YEAH!!! Gets gas consuming going between 2 locations 3 times a day just to feed, collect and close up.

I feel excited.

 

[Sylvester017]

I can try and get pics tomorrow. Right now we dont have a fence tho lol which is why i cant spend too much on too big of a coop or run yet. Next week we are planning on bringing out a surveyer to tell us our property line so that we can put up a fence. Anyways Weve got about an acre. The guy across from us has a large farm and theres a sand road that leads to the main road so cars arent really an issue. But There is a mini little forest that when you cut through you hit the main street. (ik im like so unprepared for chickens lol but im doing my best. This is a new experiance for me and im learning a lot.)

Glad to hear you want to do your best for your chickens! Sounds like you're in a fairly rural forested setting where both land and aerial predators can be potential problems. My DD has property butting up against a nature preserve and on night vision camera she caught deer, skunk, possum, raccoon, coyote, stray dog, bobcat, rabbits, crows, hawks, and found rattlesnakes in her yard. One year a black bear had to be relocated and there were sightings of a mountain lion (cougar/puma) at the end of her cul-de-sac. She nixed the idea of keeping chickens once she saw what animals unbeknownst to her have circled her property.

The expense of fortifying a coop and run from such predators was enough to nix chicken-keeping for her. Not only would she have to fortify the coop/run floor from digging predators but she would've had to build a huge enough run to accommodate foraging chickens and a good strong roof that raccoons would not be able to tear open. Plus no one is home daytime to watch foraging chickens. A lot to think about in a rural area. Chicken poultry hex wire is enough to keep chickens inside but not strong enough to keep predators outside. Raccoons, possums, foxes, stray dogs, bobcats or larger critters can easily demolish chicken wire. Nearly lost my backyard chickens in the coop to a couple stray mutts that broke into our yard. They mangled the chicken wire and I would've lost my birds if a neighbor hadn't heard the commotion and chased off the stray mutts.

We have since built a block wall with additional tall privacy fencing but it won't protect against aerial predators. Some owners have problems with ground predators while others have more problems with aerial predators and some have problems with both. Don't worry about how pretty it looks -- If your budget is limited concentrate on safety for the chickens first. My first safety measures were recycled plywood pieces to make lean-to's for chickens to hide/snooze under, a cheap pop-up canopy from Walmart, and several recycled doghouses from thrift stores, yard sales, or donations from friends. Here's some example photos of safety first for our chickens (hiding from aerial predators) with makeshift lean-to's and old doghouses rather than something fancy. I think housing for chickens is like our human houses -- continually need improving!

 

[Latestarter]

OK @Deleon98 , not sure where you are in FL, but the coop will need to be very well ventilated as it is more often hot than cold, and it never really gets seriously cold there. It doesn't need to be anything really fancy, you could actually build a three sided structure (with a roof sloping toward the back of it) and leave the inside; ground (no floor) so you can use a deep litter method. You could build a roost along the back wall (about a foot away from it and a couple feet off the ground) making sure they also have head room while on the roost so they don't bang their heads. You can take some 5 gallon buckets (you'll only need a couple for 6 birds) to make nest "boxes" out of and place them 6" up off the floor over on one side or the other.

I'd do it in lumber increments to keep it easy. The shelter can be 4 foot deep, 4 foot high, and 8 foot across so basically, 3 sheets of plywood (1 full sheet for back, 1 sheet cut in 1/2 for either side, & 1 for the roof @ 4' X 8' or roof could be made of the corrugated fiberglass sheeting) so a rectangular box shape. I would move the sides in just a bit to give about a 3-6" overhang of the roof. You'd also need 2 - 4x4 posts for the corners and some 2x4s for roof support/framing. You'll also need some T posts & the fencing as well for the run area. Then you can extend the run directly from the open end out, however far you wish, I'd say 10', which would give you an overall "floor space" of "coop" and run of ~112 square feet... more than adequate. Your overall footprint for the coop and run would be 8' x 14' I'd advise making a gate at the end of the run so you have access for cleaning and egg collection as well as to let the birds in and out. You can always let them out to free range when you're there to keep an eye on them.

Another option would be to get a couple of cattle panels and build a hoop coop. There are examples throughout the site here.

 

[Deleon98]

Ok wow thanks! I wondering for the roof, is it ok if it slanted in a triangle leaving ventilation gaps on the left and right side? Do you think stuffike snakes could get in like that?

 

[TalkALittle]

Ok wow thanks! I wondering for the roof, is it ok if it slanted in a triangle leaving ventilation gaps on the left and right side? Do you think stuffike snakes could get in like that?

You'll still want to cover any opening with 1/2" hardware cloth. Snakes can push themselves vertically up a surface almost as high as they are long, so depending on how tall your coop is, yes, even holes at the top can be accessed by snakes.

You can opt for a peaked roof, but a single slope roof is generally easier and quicker and often less expensive to build. You can still leave ventilation open at the eaves.

Regardless of roof design, I'd recommend an good overhang to keep wind and rain from entering the coop.

 

[TJordan]

Ok wow thanks! I wondering for the roof, is it ok if it slanted in a triangle leaving ventilation gaps on the left and right side? Do you think stuffike snakes could get in like that?

I'm doing the single slope. We, like you, are using the gap as the vent but we took some 1/8" plywood and made overhangs a foot out and I'm adding the hardware cloth today before moving the birds tonight. A good idea if the coop is on the ground is adding a skirting of hardware cloth around bottom as well. 6" deep 1' out all around is a good idea. If you have flat stones or concrete you can use that as extra protection from digging predators. Rats and snakes dig. Be carful.