post your chicken coop pictures here!

[Digitalmocking]

Close to done, just a little more work to do, based on the wichita design (didn't know that, I just picked one I liked from google images and kind of winged it)

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

Since i got the chicks i buy 3, 40 pound bags at a time. I keep it in a 40 gal trash can with a lid on it.

They must be ok, i took Daniel in to give them some corn and they mobed us The only ones that dont seem interested in the corn are the buffs and the turtles (turkeys). Ive lost track of the breeds already but one of the red ones with some black on her beak is really brave. She is always the first to greet us and comes up with an attitude. I think she is one of the rr's. That is how the isa red that was taken by a predator was. She used to be my favorite.

I have 2 red breeds but dont recall what the other one is. I have 10 breeds now.

My chicken don't eat corn in the summer and they don't eat worms in the winter I bought them a few worms and they wouldn't eat them, but now all of a sudden it's starting to get warm out and now they are wanting to eat them again

 

[twinsmom6]

chicken whisperer-

 

[gocway]

My 40 hens have a 20 x 30 coop with solid back wall, each side wall is 1/2 solid other 1/2 and front wall is chicken wire with door and door to feed room for collecting eggs from 2 rows of nest bottom nest floor above my waist being 6' 1" tall makes collecting eggs easy. Nest are 1 ft cube with door on egg collecting side, if needed when eggs do not round out on a carpet to catch tray. Hens not in feed room. Build auto feeder whole 100 # laying mesh eat anytime they please. and a walkway going over feed room at end to an old hog pen now a "bird cage". with chicken wire over and around whole pen. To be sure dogs do not dig in each pen, the chicken wire is down 8" and out 8" in ground. Build auto water using 4" PCV pipe but do not like it must be cleaned allot. Hens make it dirt walking in it, so will be making a new water device soon with nipples.
Pen is next to my 22 -- 100 ft row garden and when plants are up my hens do great job of catching bugs and some weeding

 

[twinsmom6]

Home made waterer with nipples from feed store or hardware store suspended so nobody spills or poops in it :0}
about 3 dollars for all the stuff from the dollar store.. but sure if you had a bucket with a secure lid you could suspend it and they could drink from it.. I prefer clear or light buckets so you can see dirt or need for refill without having to take it down. Easy to take down just unscrew the lid. Keeps the ground squirrels out of the water and food too.
.

 

[BruceAZ]

A flat roof only needs a few inches of slope if it is properly supported to avoid sag. An unsupported flat sheet of plywood would need more slope because it will sag and trap water. I had about 6 inches on my first coop over 8 feet and it wasnt enough. The plywood sagged a lot and i had some 2x4s supporting it. Im thinking 2-3 inches per foot might be enough if you support it with some kind of rafters.

A gable roof with a standard pitch of 4/12 is 4 inches per foot. At that pitch it would have to sag a LOT

You like variety too, i see. I have 2 of each for 5 breeds plus 4 turkeys and 4 other breeds for 9 breeds total. I like to look at them all running around in the run. They all seem to be getting along but i chamfered the corners in the coop and run to prevent trapping and pecking. The older hens sometimes are aggressive but no damage so far

I was not prepared to raise chickens. My family just brought them home one night so i had to put together a small cardboard box for them and used shredded papers for the first few days.

I don't know much about breeds of chickens either and now that they are 8-10 weeks old i can see 3 different types out of 5. I have no clue what breed they are though

For my lot size, i'm only allowed up to 5 chickens per city's code compliance.


True the main problems with plywood are sagging and warping due to rain and sun exposure
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_warping


but if you have support beams to screw them down.. even warped plywood is not a problem. To cut down on cost i used 2 sheets of warped plywood available at home depot. They have those lumber marked with purple paint, those are 70% off.

plus
http://www.homedepot.com/p/BEHR-1-g...ent-Waterproofing-Wood-Finish-40001/100211079

i have yet to see any problem but i'll keep an eye out for it. Summer is just around the corner so when the temperature hitting 110-120. when we will see

this is original structure (with 1 coat of waterproof finish)- i put in enough 2x4 on the roof to support any roofing materials i'll use plus hooks to hang the feeders as well. I'm out of money atm but i'll add a 4'x8' extension later so total dimension will be around 4'x16'x4'.

I live in the city + area with HOA.. so have to keep things within their rules/regulations.



still build you own coop is cheaper then those coops available in stores that is for sure

these are from a petsmart store near me.. $300 each for these tiny little coop

 

[junebuggena]

I was not prepared to raise chickens. My family just brought them home one night so i had to put together a small cardboard box for them and used shredded papers for the first few days.

I don't know much about breeds of chickens either and now that they are 8-10 weeks old i can see 3 different types out of 5. I have no clue what breed they are though

For my lot size, i'm only allowed up to 5 chickens per city's code compliance.


True the main problems with plywood are sagging and warping due to rain and sun exposure
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_warping


but if you have support beams to screw them down.. even warped plywood is not a problem. To cut down on cost i used 2 sheets of warped plywood available at home depot. They have those lumber marked with purple paint, those are 70% off.

plus
http://www.homedepot.com/p/BEHR-1-g...ent-Waterproofing-Wood-Finish-40001/100211079

i have yet to see any problem but i'll keep an eye out for it. Summer is just around the corner so when the temperature hitting 110-120. when we will see

this is original structure (with 1 coat of waterproof finish)- i put in enough 2x4 on the roof to support any roofing materials i'll use plus hooks to hang the feeders as well. I'm out of money atm but i'll add a 4'x8' extension later so total dimension will be around 4'x16'x4'.

I live in the city + area with HOA.. so have to keep things within their rules/regulations.



still build you own coop is cheaper then those coops available in stores that is for sure

these are from a petsmart store near me.. $300 each for these tiny little coop

The photos on the coop boxes have got to be photo shopped. The chickens in the pics are tiny!

 

[TerryH]

The photos on the coop boxes have got to be photo shopped. The chickens in the pics are tiny!

Lol... They're like 3" tall.

 

[twinsmom6]

funny story - my husband sent my son to the store for regular uncooked chicken... and um so yeah I understand unprepared
this website really helped me.. thanks all of you that contribute

 

[IvanTsary]

Quote:

I started off with a TSC 6-8 bird prefab coop for $150. It fit 4 10 week old birds barely. Build a 6x8x4 run from pressure treated 2x4 for about $120 including all my wire and hinges for 2 doors etc. Then I built a 6x4x4 coop out of pressure treated 2x4 and prepainted plywood siding and stuff... like fort knox. for about $180 with wood left over. So for $300 I can now have my 4 full size birds and have room for a little chicken math down the road if it comes up. Never going prefab again. At least I have a time-out coop or a place to raise some pullets until they acclimate with the rest of the flock as needed.