post your chicken coop pictures here!

[jtbass2756]

I had no idea Rocky Mount will not allow chickens!?! That does seem kinda backward.

LOLOL..........ya think! I do live in the country and within a township so Rocky Mount can't reach out and get us with its taxes and quirky laws.! Their utility rates are sky high. Those who live within their reach are the ones who are caught between the rock and the hardplace and can't do anything about it!

 

[jtbass2756]

Custom-made is always better quality. Wish we had your talent. Like I said it is not a design I prefer but certainly appreciate the quality of it!

If I had the $$ and you were near...I would think a custom built quality would be hands down better and worth the $$

 

[Sylvester017]

Can't wait to get a new bigger property. Want to move back to the country then get a big coop with many many chickens

You need more room than the yard in the photo? That's more space than I have in my little cottage back yard LOL!

 

[Suzyr]

A lot of companies/builders call their models "Mini-Coopers" - ezcleancoops.com has a Model they call the Mini-Coop-R. Seems to be a catchy name.

We bought our current little coop in a feed store custom-built so we had no say in its design. We set it on 2x4 skids on top of paver stones and started with a 3-foot wide paver sidewalk all around to deter digging predators. Saved our girls from 2 stray dogs that broke our yard gate to attack the coop. They mangled the flimsy poultry wire with their teeth and claws but couldn't dig underneath. Thank goodness a good neighbor chased them off.

As for Raccoons - they're everywhere. No one in our city neighborhood thought we had critters until we came home at 2 a.m. and saw a goat-sized Raccoon coming out of the street stormdrain.

Testimonial here - DO NOT use poultry wire on your coops or pens. It's wasted money and won't keep out critters. It only keeps the chickens inside but not the predators outside! And don't forget to buy or make an awning or extend the roof line over the nestbox to keep out rain when you lift the lid to collect eggs.

@Sylvester017 Thanks for you reply! The coop has hardware cloth instead of chicken wire, I totally agree that its flimsy, so I specifically asked for the sturdier stuff. Its not on pavers, but I am seeing that is a popular thing to do too. And the nest box actually opens on the side panel with a special lock in place, so its not the typical lift lid type. Overall I really like our little coop, its been great so far, but I am considering building a run on the right side. Right now I let them free range the backyard for a good chunk of the day. My kids are typically outside playing in the backyard so they are supervised. With all the rain we have been getting though the floor of the coop is just gross…Any suggestions on what I can put down for it to soak up the water and keep it dry?

 

[LindaB220]

Here is my set up
And this is the one I'm building to sell

Actually yours is better for my needs. Deep south La. The open air coop. Delightful.

 

[Suzyr]

Suzyr:::; you know its a shame that a place as big as Raleigh will allow chickens when a place like Rocky Mount won't! And they wonder why so many people are moving either to the country or to a place like Raleigh!!!!

@jtbass2756 I didn't know that! We actually live a couple hours east of Raleigh by the coast. I love my little flock, I wish had a bit of a bigger yard now though.

 

[Sylvester017]

Yep me too. Would really like to employ some permaculture farm principles and make a fully sustainable place to live.

My folks experimented with self-sufficient farming on 25 acres for 15 years after WWII.

For a family of 4 the cow gave way too much milk and had to be milked twice a day - Mom was forever making cheese that was coming out of our ears and when it was more dairy than could be sold or given away the cow was sold. Same with sheep and goats who were honery critters and ate shirt sleeves off the clothesline. Fences wouldn't keep them in and very secure fencing is cost-prohibitive.

The horse ate like - well - a horse! Pop sold him and got a WWII surplus Caterpiller to plow with.

The citrus, avocado, and fruit orchards cost more money to irrigate than any profit of selling crops to Sunkist. Because fruit always ripens in summer we spent long hot days canning bushels of fruit over a hot stove for what condensed to a very small harvest after all was canned or pickled.

The beehives were good for pollinating crops but I'll never forget the nasty critters flying loose stinging everyone in a 10 acre radius.

The organic garden brought no money as it was a losing battle against bugs and diseases and critters like farm animals, rabbits, and gophers breaking in to eat it.

The poultry had to be fenced expensively to keep out wandering neighbor dogs and aerial predators. There were ducks, geese, and chickens. The ducks gave bigger eggs than the chickens so the chickens went to the freezer. The ducks were smelly and made a mess of water so they were the next to go into the freezer. Kept the geese for food and big eggs as their meat was less greasy than duck and the live geese were good mean watchdogs. But as all the experiments wound down so did the geese til there were none left. After 15 years of self-sufficient farming the land lay fallow for another 2 years and ultimately rented out.

There was no self-sufficiency on our folks' 25 acres as Pop had to have a civilian job to pour money into the farm. The farm was paid for but constantly increasing taxes and farm needs kept costing more every year. There was more pouring into self-sufficiency then coming out of it and Pop worked hard at his day job that there was no energy for chores and Mom carried the brunt of farm work.

I wouldn't trade my first 15 years of life on a farm and still consider myself farm folk but it's not a practical reality in this economy (or even WWII economy either).

About the best way to farm nowadays is after working for a nice nest-egg retiriement and retire on a little acreage. And if you're lucky enough as a senior to upkeep the chores.

I've retired in a small city cottage with a small yard and bring as much gardening and chickens as space allows to bring back a few memories. I would never recommend self-sufficiency full time however. Yes - it's organic and yes, it's healthier, but there is a high price for it. That's why we like to support the local farmers' markets for those people who work so hard to grow the good stuff - but even those folks have to have paying civilian work to support self-sufficiency (ironic term for something that really isn't self-sustaining LOL).

 

[sammirae09]

You need more room than the yard in the photo?  That's more space than I have in my little cottage back yard LOL!

Yes lol we only have an acre I'm used to 80 acres back home. My husband wants enough to deer hunt on and where we can have a 4 wheeler, plus I hate the city

 

[Sylvester017]

Does anyone find that if the roost is too high that Large fowl wont roost there. My Delawares have always just piled into the nestbox from the very beginning. Of course their brooder and the first coop never had proper roosts.

That's something I wonder about with my flock too. We had no say in the design of our feed store custom pre-built coop and the roost bar was at the same level as the nestboxes. Plus the nestboxes were very secluded and chickens love seclusion. Every chicken that's added to our flock sleeps in the nestboxes with the older hens. We have only 3 nestboxes and at one time had up to 5 hens and they will double up to sleep in a box. Once found 4 in one box on a cold night!

We are looking to replace our coop year after next and wonder if the hens will continue using the nestboxes or if the new higher perches would be utilized. We're calling Amish coop builders to get a customized coop quote because all standard coops we researched have the roosting bars narrow side up instead of flat side up. And what's up with windows in a coop where you have to go in every morning to open a window and every night to close it? ezcleancoops.com are the only coops I've seen that open from the outside but their perches are not flat. These companies make pretty coops but know nothing about chickens!

I've been getting quotes and so far the only modification to an Amish style coop that would cost more are the windows that tilt open from outside instead of opening from inside. They'll even make the coop taller, wider, narrower, or longer or modify the nesting boxes and roosting bars at no extra cost. Shipping varies from company to company but basically in the end all cost within a couple hundred dollars of each other total. Finding a company willing to do on-site positioning of the coop varies from company to company too.

 

[Sylvester017]

Here is my set up
And this is the one I'm building to sell

That is perfect putting a top lid opening nestbox coop inside a covered run - A+

Of course I'm not a fan of poultry wire to keep out critters as I had that awful experience with dogs breaking into the yard to attack our poultry wire coop.

LOVE the boulder stones at the base of your coop - A+