post your chicken coop pictures here!

[jtbass2756]

This is our first one. 7'w x 12'l x 6'h. Repurposed dog house. I am already planning a rebuild of the coop, but just had to start somewhere.

LOL, I have posted this pict many times but only as a visual for what can happen to chicken wire.... they lost 6-8 young pullets with this ...kids had a hard time dealing with it because they had gone out to feed/water and found the little bodies.

Therefore, I want to impress on people as much as it was "impressed" on my brain!

That coop is outstanding except for the wire...I absolutely love it...Can't wait to see picts later..

 

[TJordan]

Chickens are prone to respiratory issues so I don't use extra additives to dirt in powder form - DE, mite/lice powders, bakings soda, etc.  DE has so many warnings on its label that if it's that dangerous that humans have to wear masks or goggles to be around it what is it doing to chickens/pets?  Sounds a bit too snake-oil to cure everything from fleas and ticks to aiding in digestion? - I don't think so. 

As far as the lime it is basically a calcium like oyster shells, egg shells, etc. and is not a threat.

The pros/cons of DE one of the more intelligent articles researched: http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/05/diatomaceous-earth-de-benefitrisk.html

Thanks... I've been reading and researching the whole DE issue this week... Food grade DE is safe to use around pets and livestock....

 

[MobyMack]

Oh, you are fantastic! That is so absolutely wonderful and that you have the coop raised higher than most. Almost like roosting in the trees because of it's altitude. Be so very proud of your construction!

The next suggestion is a matter of convenience. An awning over the nestbox will keep the nesting material dry in the rain when you lift the lid to collect eggs. We found this out the hard way and now have a canopy over the coop.

Since I wouldn't have been tall enough to lift up the roof on the nesting box, I had it built so the back side flips down (pics below).

Thanks for all your kind comments Sylvester017! Apparently, all my time my BYC researching coops was well worth it!

 

[TJordan]

e :yiipchick

Tonight was the first night I didn't have to chase down, pick up and put my birds in the coop for the night!!!! We were late getting home from the store today and it was dark... Went to get the birds and... They were all hunkered down in the coop... Can't wait to build that bigger coop.. It will be short so I can clean it safely but still have a solid 4x8 floor plan... Going to have a place for the feed and water set up where they can get it but can't poop in it... Also added another covered area for protection by converting the old plastic truck bed liner... I'll post a picture tomorrow...

 

[DoubleMM]

Move last week went well



First day free range....

 

[iwiw60]

Tonight was the first night I didn't have to chase down, pick up and put my birds in the coop for the night!!!! We were late getting home from the store today and it was dark... Went to get the birds and... They were all hunkered down in the coop... Can't wait to build that bigger coop.. It will be short so I can clean it safely but still have a solid 4x8 floor plan... Going to have a place for the feed and water set up where they can get it but can't poop in it... Also added another covered area for protection by converting the old plastic truck bed liner... I'll post a picture tomorrow...

I read your post and the first thing I said to myself was "SHOOT!!!" Why? Cause I'm still "putting my girls to bed" at night. Oh, they go in the coop just fine at dusk. I have a webcam and I've been watching them when they do go in. They stand around, looking up at the roost bar tray, looking at the nice ladder that leads up to it for them, shuffling around, looking around..drive me nuts! Then one or two of them will hop onto the ladder, looking up but never quite "getting there"....again, drives me NUTS!!

So after about 20-30 minutes of listening to them bwaaking for "mom" I give in, go out to the coop and put them all (4 of them) onto the roosting bar. They all look at me as if they're saying "what took you so long??" Chickens!!! Silly little things!

 

[TJordan]

I read your post and the first thing I said to myself was "SHOOT!!!" Why? Cause I'm still "putting my girls to bed" at night. Oh, they go in the coop just fine at dusk. I have a webcam and I've been watching them when they do go in. They stand around, looking up at the roost bar tray, looking at the nice ladder that leads up to it for them, shuffling around, looking around..drive me nuts! Then one or two of them will hop onto the ladder, looking up but never quite "getting there"....again, drives me NUTS!!   So after about 20-30 minutes of listening to them bwaaking for "mom" I give in, go out to the coop and put them all (4 of them) onto the roosting bar. They all look at me as if they're saying "what took you so long??" Chickens!!! Silly little things!

Lol... I think mine got tired of having two little kids chasing them every night. Lol... My 4 yr old son is very active and tries to help.. My 7 yr old girl does perfect... They herd them to me and I scoop them up and in... I pray tonight wasn't a fluke due to the weather so if it happens tomorrow I will really dance e

 

[iwiw60]

Lol... I think mine got tired of having two little kids chasing them every night. Lol... My 4 yr old son is very active and tries to help.. My 7 yr old girl does perfect... They herd them to me and I scoop them up and in... I pray tonight wasn't a fluke due to the weather so if it happens tomorrow I will really dance

So yours don't need a 'lift' up onto the roosting bar? Mine sure do....aaaaack!!

 

[Latestarter]

I made this little one out of pallets!

Hello and

and the thread. There's also a CO thread with great folks on, many from the CS area. You might swing by there and say HI as well

Couple of things, and I'm (trying to) not be overly critical, but trying to help you. There are number of serious concerns with your set up:

1, Chicken wire is useless... (plastic "chicken wire" is even worse!) read back on this thread... you'll hear the same thing over and over again.
a. It's only good for keeping chickens in or out & what you have there wouldn't even succeed at that. The birds (most) could easily jump (no need to fly) over it... in either direction. And they WILL to get their beaks into that nice green lawn!
b. If there are stray dogs, cats, or foxes, raccoons, possums, aerial predators in your general area, they will enjoy having lunch/dinner at your place... chicken will be the main course. You REALLY need to make a serious enclosure using 1/2 inch hardware cloth for the lower 2-3 feet, with an additional 12-18 inches (of hardware cloth or some heavy gauge wire fencing) aproned out or buried to prevent diggers from getting in. There are plenty of pictures here, just go back a few posts.
2. Not sure how many birds you have, but when you say little, you're SO right on target

That coop would be marginally OK for 1 full sized bird at most, and then only if it was just going to be inside to sleep/lay an egg. Each mature LF (large fowl) chicken needs 2-4 square feet of floor space inside the coop. The smaller the coop, the more space required. Imagine if you had to sleep in your closet with additional people... In cramped conditions, they will pick at each other and their health will decline fairly fast. In addition, when winter comes and there's bad weather when the birds will need to stay inside the coop for a day (or more!) there's no room in there for them, food, and water!
a. The height inside is completely insufficient as there's no place for the bird(s) to roost... a full grown bird with it's head up would already be brushing against the ceiling. I guess it/they will have to sleep on the floor or in the nest box(es)?
b. The ramp to the pop door is way too narrow and way too steep. It should be about as wide as the board right under the pop door, and about 1/2 again as long... no more than about a 45 degree angle. Adult birds would have no problem jumping down and back up if you built a small shelf (porch) right outside the pop door, and wouldn't even need the ramp.
c. I don't see any real ventilation and that's going to cause serious problems in direct sun as the inside will be like an oven. If there is ventilation I don't see, it's going to be very drafty directly on the birds in the winter, and that could kill them. There's no room inside for them to escape the drafts... A chicken can live in temps down to -20 or lower as long as they have no drafts directly on them.

Your bird(s) will be very appreciative of you for fixing these items

 

[mj79]

that is one beautiful coop!

Thank you littlebirdgirl!

We worked really hard on it, hopefully the chickens are happy in there!