post your chicken coop pictures here!

[The Lazy L]

 

[Teila]

Gorgeous! I want it!! [You can keep the snow though

]

 

[gpeters3]

My favorite isa red was taken today. Im almost ready to give it up:-( She would peck at my feet trying to get a treat and ic i held my hand out of reach she would jump up to see what i had...now shes gone. noore free range, ever....

 

[Teila]

My favorite isa red was taken today. Im almost ready to give it up:-( She would peck at my feet trying to get a treat and ic i held my hand out of reach she would jump up to see what i had...now shes gone. noore free range, ever....

Aaaw, I am so very sorry to read of your loss

Maybe supervised free range is an option? My gals free range is supervised; a couple of hours every afternoon and most of the day on the weekends when we are not working and can be outside with them.

 

[Sylvester017]

Were these kits that you assembled or did you build from scratch. Either way it turned out really nice.

 

[OTTB228]

This is mine. The layers are on the right half. Brooders, Quail, doves, some pigeons on the left side. Behind here are individual pens for breeding tris and quads.

 

[Sylvester017]

Believe it or not this whole thing started because my wife asked me if she could have "a" bird. Now ive taken over the project and my wife is just al9ng for the 4ide (OK, I'm turning off the number row#€¥%:&-++)

Hey, i started out with 2 pet Silkies and cycled through 13 chickens to get down to the 4 we have now and DH got so attached to them he's taken them over from me LOL! He gets up with the chickens every morning to do their chores - rain or shine - and he's a city boy!

 

[perchie.girl]

This is mine. The layers are on the right half. Brooders, Quail, doves, some pigeons on the left side. Behind here are individual pens for breeding tris and quads.

Oooh Nice... I could live in that....

 

[lynnehd]

My favorite isa red was taken today. Im almost ready to give it up:-( She would peck at my feet trying to get a treat and ic i held my hand out of reach she would jump up to see what i had...now shes gone. noore free range, ever....

So sorry to hear this, so very discouraging. If it was a hawk, keep them all inside for 7-10 days or so no matter what.

Supervised free range might work if you can literally be right out there with them. Hawks are so quick and sneaky.

 

[Sylvester017]

So sorry to hear this, so very discouraging. If it was a hawk, keep them all inside for 7-10 days or so no matter what.

Supervised free range might work if you can literally be right out there with them. Hawks are so quick and sneaky.

Agreed that hawks are sneaky - if the crows aren't around we're doubly aware the hawk will swoop in while the crows are gone! It's one of many reasons we have so many hiding places set up around the whole yard -- pop-up canopy with legs buried in-ground to keep from para-sailing, 4 large recycled doghouses, a couple low plywood planks set on cinder blocks, lawn furniture like tables/benches/chairs, large potted plants or under plant stands, an old wheelbarrow, stickery rosebushes and evergreens, etc. A walking bridge will be set in the middle of the yard as another place to duck under cover. Those *$#! hawks like open lawns and fields so the more closely the hiding places are positioned the better to give a hen a chance to duck under something fast. Our blasted chicken hawk (Cooper's Hawk) will sit on our fence or on the patio furniture not more than 5 feet from a hiding hen but won't go after her. Hawks prefer an open space to get their prey. We've done this for 5 years with all our chicken breeds and haven't lost even one bantam Silkie with this foraging arrangement and in the Spring that hawk comes around every day if the crows aren't there to chase it off. I wouldn't open-range chicks or ducklings except in a tractor-set-up but the older hens are smart about knowing where the nearest shelter is. Some of our shelters were crappy-looking and the poor old canopy had to be recovered once every year but it was worth it to keep the girls safe and savvy. In the Fall when my raised garden bed vines were done producing I kept the old plants up and opened the garden so the girls would have fun digging in the soil and still have the cover of the old vines.