post your chicken coop pictures here!

[ericagrigsby]

Finally got the coop finished enough to put my girls in it tonight. What a RELIEF to have them out of my basement!!
Now I have to figure out an easy & cheap siding to put on to make it look pretty. Any suggestions?
Also, I had to physically put them inside the coop at dark, it was looking like they were getting to ready to sleep in their run. Is this normal? How long will it take them to figure out how to use the roosts?

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

Nice coop if u have anyone who has any old siding or something u can put and ad on Craigslist for used siding and for the baby chicks roosting it shouldn't be long just let them get used to there surrounding and if u can put a light on inside and they should go in and then once they go in turn the light off

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

Here is my coop. My friend built it for me. It is 4 x 8, and I have nine chickens which I know is maximum for the coop. They will free range during the day and go in the coop at night. I still have a couple little things to do. And I have a couple questions.
Is there a enough ventilation?
Do the spaces at the roofline need hardware cloth? If so what would be the easiest way to attach it?

I think u have a very nice coop there and I think u have plea to of ventilation and I think if I were u I would put hardware cloth up top there by he rafters I would use a staple gun or u could use those poultry staples but those poultry staples might be a bit long for up by the roof

 

[Leigti]

I think u have a very nice coop there and I think u have plea to of ventilation and I think if I were u I would put hardware cloth up top there by he rafters I would use a staple gun or u could use those poultry staples but those poultry staples might be a bit long for up by the roof

OK thanks. I'll have to look up poultry Staples. I have a staple gun I'll see if it will work. I was afraid that the roofs were too close to the ventilation but I guess they can duck a little bit.

 

[Leigti]

Finally got the coop finished enough to put my girls in it tonight. What a RELIEF to have them out of my basement!!
Now I have to figure out an easy & cheap siding to put on to make it look pretty. Any suggestions?
Also, I had to physically put them inside the coop at dark, it was looking like they were getting to ready to sleep in their run. Is this normal? How long will it take them to figure out how to use the roosts?

I had to put mine in the coop the first couple nights also. But on the third night they did it themselves and even got up on the roost by themselves. I gave them a little stepping stone so they could jump that high. They are about 10 to 12 weeks old. I was very happy that they actually are standing on the roost and not sitting on the pooper board. That took a couple nights for them to figure out.

 

[gpeters3]

Chickens naturally want to roost at night. If the only perches are in the coop and there is no lighting outside to confuse them, they should move into the coop when it gets dark. If they have other options they may be confused for a while but they seem to be able to figure stuff out.

When i ranged mine one bantam flew up into the straw shelf in the work room when the door was left open and i had a dickens of a time getting her out. My chicks are still young but they fly really well and picked up the new roost very quickly. Took less than 2 weeks for them to get to the top rung but some were using the bottom rung the day i set it up.

 

[gpeters3]

OK thanks. I'll have to look up poultry Staples. I have a staple gun I'll see if it will work. I was afraid that the roofs were too close to the ventilation but I guess they can duck a little bit.

Not T50 staples, they need to be more robust and longer. If you can, use a line over thicker wood like a 2x4 structure. Even bosch staples rust quickly so if you can find some galvanized ones it would be best.

Another choice is to use firring strips which can be nailed with galvanized nails and you dont have to line them up to catch thd wire. The pressure of the wood will lock the wire securely. This method is my favorite and is the quickest. If you like you could use screws as well especially on thinner wood. Just be careful not to leave any pointed fasteners poking through the wood into the area where the chickens will be running around.

 

[jinkses]

 

[ShrekDawg]

We invested in a couple galvanized chicken treadle feeders -- not the kind that lift up to open but the kind that push inward into the feeder when they open -- I worry the lift-up lid models can come down on a chicken's neck but the inward opening model just pushes the chicken's head back out without falling on top of the head. Treadle feeders work by a chicken stepping on the bottom foot treadle and the feed door opens into the feed bin. A lightweight predator like pigeons, wild birds, rats, lizards, mice, are not heavy enough to activate the foot treadle. Treadle feeders from any manufacturer are not cheap but we had to choose what chicken expense was important to us. Some people make their own but what a pain to assemble - even the DIY models so we bought ours already assembled from ChickenCondos.com!

Those look sweet. I'm starting on a project to expand the run area so even more space for the moochers to get in. I'll be looking into these! Thanks for sharing Sylvester!

I agree, those look sweet!! But I wonder if they just added the treadle part? Because on the website it has a chicken decal on the front but yours says chowhound? And I remember hearing that brand a while ago so Googled it again and it seems the original does not have the treadle and the dog simply nudges it open? Cause the original was for dogs i think. So would a chicken be too light to push it? Because the original is like $30- $40 depending on store for the 25 pound one and 50 pound is like $50-$60? I think they're website it's $115? I'm not saying it's a bad investment, i might look into it too, but I wonder if you couldn't just buy the feeder and add the treadle yourself? Or make a wooden one? I know you had said you didn't want to assemble it though. We tried a bucket feeder and mine didn't like sticking their heads in but I also didn't take away the other feeders. But I don't blame them, it seems so unnatural especially for a prey animal to put your head inside a pipe and lose your view.

Mark at chickenwaterers.com said chickens will prefer open water to nipple valves. So he helped me transition our chickens from open water to nipple valves. It took a few days but the key is to remove all open water source while training them to use only the valves. It just takes your smartest chicken to catch on how to use the valves and the others follow eventually. One Silkie chicken learned in an hour as we tapped the valves for her. The last chicken to catch on, a suspicious Ameraucana, took 8 days to finally trust the "new" gadget. I resisted putting out open water and used watermelon and cantaloupe and cucumber to be sure they were getting hydrated while learning the new gadget. Even now if I have a dripping ice cube in my fingers the birds think the drips are a nipple valve and slurp up the drips from my fingertips like they're using a valve.

Thanks! I'm sorry, I should have clarified. We actuallymade it in I think the end of February and they picked it up that day, the Australorps were a little skeptical, so they have been using it for a while now and normally use it with no problems but today it was in the 70s and they didn't seem like they drank much. Of course, I could have just missed it but usually I see it. I did give them strawberries and kale this morning though. But they were panting around 4. I should have brought water out sooner. I don't know what their problem is. But I brought some bowls out and they drank fine. I then went to Tractor Supply and picked up a 1 gallon plastic waterer and evem though it was now like 6 and pretty cool, I still mixed up some Sav A Chick for them. They drank that willingly and I am glad the base is red cause otherwise they might not have drunken orange water lol Anyways, one day a month or so ago it was very bitterly cold and I brought them an open waterer then too filled with warm water. I normally never bring warm water, that was the first time, but I felt bad. They LOVED it. And one time one EE drank out of a gross mud and poo filled puddle in the run. And in fact, often the EEs fly up on top of the waterer and drink from the lid? I don't know, is this normal? I haven't spoiled them with open water much but when I do they go crazy. Maybe nipples just aren't natural to them? Or maybe I don't have it up enough? I am worried though as it is not even summer yet and if they aren't going to drink much water maybe I should switch to open waterers again. But they get dirty SO fast. Or maybe I am just over thinking it and spoiling them? Maybe I should try giving fruit. Or get a deep container so they can deep drink as I heard someone say once. I don't know.

 

[MeepBeep]

I haven't spoiled them with open water much but when I do they go crazy. Maybe nipples just aren't natural to them? Or maybe I don't have it up enough?

Nipples area a sanitary convenience for us not the chickens... If they have open water they will choose that almost all the time, the same way they will choose that one mud puddle after a rain over any watering device you have even an open bowl of clean water next to the mud puddle, to them the mud puddle water is simply more appealing... The same way that they will swarm to a handful of feed tossed on the ground when there is a full container of the same feed sitting next to them...

I am worried though as it is not even summer yet and if they aren't going to drink much water maybe I should switch to open waterers again. But they get dirty SO fast. Or maybe I am just over thinking it and spoiling them? Maybe I should try giving fruit. Or get a deep container so they can deep drink as I heard someone say once. I don't know.

When push comes to shove they will keep themselves hydrated just fine out of the nipples, and as long as you don't see them lined up fighting to drink at the nipples they are doing fine and getting enough water...

I have roughly 100 birds and even on a 100° day it's rare to see more than a handful using the nipples at a time meaning the rest are happily hydrated...