post your chicken coop pictures here!

[noble]

first glad to see the younger generation getting in on the fun. There I have a 17 year old neighbor who's dad work's a lot and my husband and I help build all his coops. His dad dosnt let him use a saw. He has bantem chickens and duck's. I would check out how much space u have to work with and how much time u want to spend. I'm sure at school there's a

teacher or a neighbor that will help. You can find tons of coops here and free design s on Google to. I l

 

[noble]

teacher or a neighbor that will help. You can find tons of coops here and free design s on Google to. I l

sorry I'm having trouble with my phone. There are lots of thing u can do. Do u have local feed store I'm sure that you can also get train for your eggs and feed. I breed rabbits to and the feed store buys some of my rabbits and keeps a flyer up for eggs and Rabbits in the store with my # it helps with cost of feed to. Also easter is coming up I called a photographer that lives local and she will rent some of my rabbits for her easter pictures with kids. Get creative have fun with it. And ask for help. Good job .

 

[TJordan]

Here is the advice   Start them outside with a Mama Heating Pad brooder right off. You live in Alabama right? If Blooie can do it in Wyoming at seriously sub freezing temperatures, you sure can. They will acclimate to the "weather" starting the first day you get them. No way you need a heat lamp on 5 week old chicks in March in Alabama. Join the MHP Brigade, and post pictures (as required to pay your "membership dues") https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/956958/mama-heating-pad-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update

BTW, the older birds are not safety, so being able to get to them wouldn't be a benefit in that regard. At best the chicks would be ignored, at worst, seen as intruders. Mid range, seen as kids that need to be reminded of where they are in the pecking order. But you want the chicks growing up with as much visible exposure to the older chickens as possible. The BEST way is to have a separate brooder area within the other chickens' area including an adjustable size door that only the chicks can pass through. That way they will mingle with the older birds as they grow and most likely be considered "one of the flock" as very young chicks aren't likely seen as a "threat" right off. They will still be "midrange" at some point. One of my Cubalayas still think she should remind the "kids" that she has a higher flock status, even though every one of the "kids", now 7 months old are full size chickens and she is about 2/3 their size. And the "kids" haven't yet figured out they can kick her tail feathers any time they like.

Thanks. We are setting up a separate area just for the babies but it will be full view of the older birds. Hardware cloth will keep them from bouncing between the runs. Once they get bigger we will remove the divider and enlarge the area. Then when we set next set next year we will drop the divider again. As for starting them outside as soon as they dry out that's an interesting idea. Thanks

 

[perchie.girl]

not sure were to post these, i've not 'invented' anything so the inventions thread is out, but i am very proud of these. went for a walk yesterday, found an old crate so decided to make a new feeder as the old one is one of those plastic things and didn't dispense their pellets properly.










i've also made a new dust bath container, to replace the old propagating tray i had been using.

Nice job I post alot on the DIY Thread. Everything from Home made incubators to waterers and feeders and EVERYTHING In between. Even if its a new way to repurpose "stuff" for an old idea....

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/631861/diy-thread-lets-see-your-inventions

deb

 

[TJordan]

I can only speak for myself, most chickens are productive for producing eggs at their maximum till they are 3 years old, after that your spending more on feed than they are worth and it's time to transition them to the stew pot.

Glad I'm not the only one who is doing that. My first set will be 3 next year. That's 7 hens. Lost 2 hens to a fox and the Devils Rooster is hanging out in my freezer. Evil

attacked my 5 year old son and sliced his leg open
.

+

=

yum yum.

 

[bruceha2000]

I'm 16. I will have about 3 chickens by the time, ill start my coop. Do anyone have any instructions or links to how to build a coop. My chickens live in a coop at my school. But I wanna keep them when school is over. But I found a summer home for them. And when summer starts back, I could place them back in the coop at school. So I have a good year and a half to build one. I have no clue how to make one. Any help?

I have a different question than the others

Since you won't have these chickens for 1.5 years, you will be (minimally) 17.5 years old and maybe headed to college after your senior year summer. Do your PARENTS want chickens? Because they are the ones that will be dealing with them unless you live at home and go to college locally.

As to coops, the hoop coops are not very hard to build, the cattle panels are not real expensive and are easy to put up, minimal carpentry needed. Typically 50" by 16', Tractor Supply sells one for $13, another for $22 (stronger maybe?). I think the first one would suffice so for $100 you could have a coop and run area almost 17' in length. And they are easy to add on to when chicken math hits. Most are covered with tarps which are rolled up at the bottom in the summer for air flow but if you live somewhere warm, you might have it open at the bottom year round. There are still the expenses of 1/2" hardware cloth on the lower 2' and skirted out to keep digging predators out and the coop area has to be safe from predators like weasels that can easily wander through even a fairly small hole. Plus hardware for doors, windows etc.

If you can repurpose materials (ie free!) and can find help or learn some carpentry skills, you can make a nice coop from wood. But you still need a run and hardware cloth, etc. Having chickens can be more or less expensive but even "cheap" usually means a couple of hundred dollars to get it all up. The hardware cloth might be the most expensive part especially with "free off the curb" doors, windows, etc. You aren't likely going to find someone with a spare roll or three of 1/2" hardware cloth they are just itching to get rid of.

I'm relatively new to getting chickens. So what do you guys think I should do with my chickens once they get older? Or how do you main to paying for their feed and coop materials?

Pay by cash, check, debit or credit card!

If you are asking "do I feed them forever or do I make chicken stock when they don't lay often enough anymore?", YOU have to decide that. Here they will live a spoiled life until they die of natural causes (sadly including foxes in 2 cases) or have to be saved from a slow and uncomfortable death due to illness, age related or otherwise (none so far).

Can you afford to feed non producing chickens? Heck, can you afford to feed PRODUCING chickens. What does feed cost where you are? Here it typically runs ~$12-$13 for 50 pounds (local feed mill, same price at the mill or stores). In Alaska (according to 1 source), a 50 pound bag costs $30. BIG difference. Eggs from your chickens are better than egg factory eggs but the latter cost less, especially after you factor in the cost of building their housing (*). I am currently feeding 16 girls, they eat about one 54 oz jar of layer pellets per day BUT they also get some BOSS in the morning and whatever kitchen scraps I have (they LOVE fat from meat BTW) and they get scratch at night. Less feed in the summer (IF I can keep the !@#$%^ woodchucks out) because they range outside all day long finding "proper" chicken food in the form of vegetation and bugs.

* Not inclusive because I didn't start keeping track until Feb 2013 and I got my first 12 chicks in June 2012 so not included is the cost of the original 12 chicks, converting the horse stall to a coop, feed, bedding, etc for the first 7 months. That said, to date my chickens I have laid ~4,500 eggs

and my expenses since mid Feb 2013 run about $900 or $0.20/egg, $2.40/dozen. I have given away just over 2,000 to MIL or a couple of friends as a THANKS!! and sold (cheap at $2.50/dozen) to a couple of friends I used to work with, gross income about $400. That means we have used ~2,500 eggs in the last 4 years (an astounding number to me) but 5 at breakfast this morning, 3 in the quiche last night, 2 in the squash pasta casserole on Thursday, it adds up! BUT even if the price for all the eggs I sold was $5, it STILL wouldn't cover my expenses since mid Feb 2013. So I figure it like this: I like having them (chickens are interesting, fun and therapeutic), I am making SOME minimal agricultural use of this "used to be a farm" home, the VERY high quality eggs we have eaten have cost $2.40/dozen and they came from chickens that have a better life than some people and WAY better than the chickens laying the eggs sold at the store.

Now you need to decide "do I eat the eggs or do I sell them to cover the expenses?" How patient are your customers? My two friends are VERY patient. They got eggs the first winter because pullets typically lay their first winter, but not so much in subsequent winters. And pullet eggs tend to be smaller. I started at $2.50 because the eggs were USDA medium (frequently on the small end of that) and a dozen Medium store eggs probably cost about $1.25 then. They give me some amount of money for their "account" so they don't have to deal with scrounging out $2.50 whenever I show up so I have their money early. I figured to up the price to $3 when the eggs got larger but decided to "grandfather" my first customers. Glad I did because they got SQUAT from mid October until March both 2014 and 2015 because the girls weren't laying. I had to buy eggs

for Christmas baking December 2014. So part of the cheap price is "hey thanks for understanding the chickens lay when they want to". They are getting eggs now because the June pullets are producing, 3 of the 7 are now laying large. The older girls will probably start back up in a few weeks. But, come about next October, most likely I will be feeding 16 hens, my MIL and 2 friends will be buying eggs at the store and IF I'm lucky, I might save up enough for Christmas baking and not have to buy any.

not sure were to post these, i've not 'invented' anything so the inventions thread is out, but i am very proud of these. went for a walk yesterday, found an old crate so decided to make a new feeder as the old one is one of those plastic things and didn't dispense their pellets properly.

Nice job of repurposing!! I'm curious, is it typical in England to have a wide board for roosting on?

first glad to see the younger generation getting in on the fun. There I have a 17 year old neighbor who's dad work's a lot and my husband and I help build all his coops. His dad dosnt let him use a saw. He has bantem chickens and duck's. I would check out how much space u have to work with and how much time u want to spend. I'm sure at school there's a

Better to teach the 17 Y/O to use the saw now than have him cut off a body part when he turns 18 and is "suddenly" a responsible adult.

 

[Klay]

I have a different question than the others   Since you won't have these chickens for 1.5 years, you will be (minimally) 17.5 years old and maybe headed to college after your senior year summer. Do your PARENTS want chickens? Because they are the ones that will be dealing with them unless you live at home and go to college locally. 

As to coops, the hoop coops are not very hard to build, the cattle panels are not real expensive and are easy to put up, minimal carpentry needed. Typically 50" by 16', Tractor Supply sells one for $13, another for $22 (stronger maybe?). I think the first one would suffice so for $100 you could have a coop and run area almost 17' in length. And they are easy to add on to when chicken math hits. Most are covered with tarps which are rolled up at the bottom in the summer for air flow but if you live somewhere warm, you might have it open at the bottom year round. There are still the expenses of 1/2" hardware cloth on the lower 2' and skirted out to keep digging predators out and the coop area has to be safe from predators like weasels that can easily wander through even a fairly small hole. Plus hardware for doors, windows etc.

If you can repurpose materials (ie free!) and can find help or learn some carpentry skills, you can make a nice coop from wood. But you still need a run and hardware cloth, etc. Having chickens can be more or less expensive but even "cheap" usually means a couple of hundred dollars to get it all up. The hardware cloth might be the most expensive part especially with "free off the curb" doors, windows, etc. You aren't likely going to find someone with a spare roll or three of 1/2" hardware cloth they are just itching to get rid of. 


Pay by cash, check, debit or credit card!   

If you are asking "do I feed them forever or do I make chicken stock when they don't lay often enough anymore?", YOU have to decide that. Here they will live a spoiled life until they die of natural causes (sadly including foxes in 2 cases) or have to be saved from a slow and uncomfortable death due to illness, age related or otherwise (none so far).

Can you afford to feed non producing chickens? Heck, can you afford to feed PRODUCING chickens. What does feed cost where you are? Here it typically runs ~$12-$13 for 50 pounds (local feed mill, same price at the mill or stores). In Alaska (according to 1 source), a 50 pound bag costs $30. BIG difference. Eggs from your chickens are better than egg factory eggs but the latter cost less, especially after you factor in the cost of building their housing (*). I am currently feeding 16 girls, they eat about one 54 oz jar of layer pellets per day BUT they also get some BOSS in the morning and whatever kitchen scraps I have (they LOVE fat from meat BTW) and they get scratch at night. Less feed in the summer (IF I can keep the !@#$%^ woodchucks out) because they range outside all day long finding "proper" chicken food in the form of vegetation and bugs.

* Not inclusive because I didn't start keeping track until Feb 2013 and I got my first 12 chicks in June 2012 so not included is the cost of the original 12 chicks, converting the horse stall to a coop, feed, bedding, etc for the first 7 months. That said, to date my chickens I have laid ~4,500 eggs   and my expenses since mid Feb 2013 run about $900 or $0.20/egg, $2.40/dozen. I have given away just over 2,000 to MIL or a couple of friends as a THANKS!! and sold (cheap at $2.50/dozen) to a couple of friends I used to work with, gross income about $400. That means we have used ~2,500 eggs in the last 4 years (an astounding number to me) but 5 at breakfast this morning, 3 in the quiche last night, 2 in the squash pasta casserole on Thursday, it adds up! BUT even if the price for all the eggs I sold was $5, it STILL wouldn't cover my expenses since mid Feb 2013. So I figure it like this: I like having them (chickens are interesting, fun and therapeutic), I am making SOME minimal agricultural use of this "used to be a farm" home, the VERY high quality eggs we have eaten have cost $2.40/dozen and they came from chickens that have a better life than some people and WAY better than the chickens laying the eggs sold at the store.

Now you need to decide "do I eat the eggs or do I sell them to cover the expenses?" How patient are your customers? My two friends are VERY patient. They got eggs the first winter because pullets typically lay their first winter, but not so much in subsequent winters. And pullet eggs tend to be smaller. I started at $2.50 because the eggs were USDA medium (frequently on the small end of that) and a dozen Medium store eggs probably cost about $1.25 then. They give me some amount of money for their "account" so they don't have to deal with scrounging out $2.50 whenever I show up so I have their money early. I figured to up the price to $3 when the eggs got larger but decided to "grandfather" my first customers. Glad I did because they got SQUAT from mid October until March both 2014 and 2015 because the girls weren't laying. I had to buy eggs   for Christmas baking December 2014. So part of the cheap price is "hey thanks for understanding the chickens lay when they want to". They are getting eggs now because the June pullets are producing, 3 of the 7 are now laying large. The older girls will probably start back up in a few weeks. But, come about next October, most likely I will be feeding 16 hens, my MIL and 2 friends will be buying eggs at the store and IF I'm lucky, I might save up enough for Christmas baking and not have to buy any. 


Nice job of repurposing!! I'm curious, is it typical in England to have a wide board for roosting on? 


Better to teach the 17 Y/O to use the saw now than have him cut off a body part when he turns 18 and is "suddenly" a responsible adult.

Thank you for telling me this. Feed is not a problem for me to buy. I just figured that most people that raise chickens are able to get some money for their eggs just to cover the feed expenses nothing more. The reason I was asking about the money is that I just turned 16 and I'm applying for jobs right now and I don't have a constant source of income for the time being. I don't want to ask my parents for money because it is my responsibility to take care of the chickens.

 

[CuteChickens]

The college I suppose to attend is In the state. And i have to come home each week anyways for other problems. So i won't be far and my parents are ok with that. They just have to give them fresh water, veggies and collect eggs. By the time I'm finished with school, my chickens would probably be dead. So then I could care for more

 

[philyc]

Nice job of repurposing!! I'm curious, is it typical in England to have a wide board for roosting on?

not that i'm aware of, that platform above the feeder is just the leftovers of the hutch they were in temporarily, its the bit in the centre of this photo with the ex-christmas tree leaned against it.

in their coop they have a 2x4 and a large branch.

 

[Farm 24 6]

I would just buy a little coop from farm and fleet or tractor supply.