post your chicken coop pictures here!

[searlus]

the only thing I know of is clean clean clean....  and Fly Predators....   Having had horses for a very long time  I am used to dealing with them.  

YOu also can raise Soldier flies and they work within the compost pile as larvae...  the larvae can be used as food for the chickens.  The Soldier flies compete by dealing with composting materials the flies may be attracted to. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermetia_illucens

neither larvae or adults are considered pests...  the adults dont bite or sting their only job is reproduction

The larvae are extremely good at digesting fatty wastes in the compost pile....

http://www.blacksoldierflyfarming.com/

deb

Thanks for the info. They flys aren't a big deal to me just amazed at the amount of them especially for how often we clean the coop.

 

[marcy0718]

Thank u! It has coorigated roof as well so it stays dry. I love it

 

[MeepBeep]

One question I have, we clean the coop daily but the flies are insane. Any tips on keeping the fly population down?

Are you against pesticides?

No Pest Strips work well (this is what I use in the coop) http://www.hotshot.com/products-and-solutions/all-products/no-pest-strip.aspx

Metered pyrethrin sprayers (I use one these in the house occasionally if the flies invade, 24 hours later all gone) http://www.country-vet.com/prod_details.aspx?prod_id=141&cat_id=8

FYI if you go with the sprayer don't get the kit, instead get an Airwick, Glade or store brand sprayer they are pretty much all universal... I know for a fact the Country Vet refill bottles fit perfect int he Walmart brand sprayers, many people claim they also fit the Airwick and Glade machines, but sometimes need a little modification...

Refill http://www.country-vet.com/prod_details.aspx?prod_id=97&cat_id=8

Twin pack of dispensers that the above fit in perfectly http://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Japanese-Cherry-Blossom-Air-Freshener-Kit-4-pc/42794674

About a $10 savings over the Country Vet kit...

 

[searlus]

Are you against pesticides?

No Pest Strips work well http://www.hotshot.com/products-and-solutions/all-products/no-pest-strip.aspx

Metered pyrethrin sprayers http://www.country-vet.com/prod_details.aspx?prod_id=141&cat_id=8

FYI if you go with the sprayer don't get the kit, instead get an Airwick, Glade or store brand sprayer they are pretty much all universal... I know for a fact the Country Vet refill bottles fit perfect int he Walmart brand sprayers, many people claim they also fit the Airwick and Glade machines, but sometimes need a little modification...

Refill http://www.country-vet.com/prod_details.aspx?prod_id=97&cat_id=8

Twin pack of dispensers that the above fit in perfectly http://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Japanese-Cherry-Blossom-Air-Freshener-Kit-4-pc/42794674

About a $10 savings over the Country Vet kit...

Thanks for the tip. Not against pesticides as long as they are safe for the hens and ducks. We put up the sticky fly traps but I'm liking that hot shot strip.

 

[ticketism]

Wow, some of these coops are amazing! I've lived in apartments smaller and less thought out than some of those mansion coops, haha.

Here's our big one. Building this one gave me Carpal Tunnel! But luckily it healed up in a couple of months (probably would have been sooner but I work in a hardware store ((Bunnings for any other Aussies in here - You'll get what I mean!)) and I'm sure that my job prevented it from healing as quickly as it otherwise would have), and the chickens love it, so - Worth it! Haha.

It's Firwood, and because Fir is quite soft I decided against pre-drilling holes for all the screws and bolts, and just put a bit adapter in my drill and drove them straight in. That probably contributed to more unnessecary force being used and vibration being created. I wouldn't suggest using this route, haha, my hands and wrists would like to advise against it too xD The coop itself is about 3.5x2x2m in size, and fully enclosed with 1mm x 5mm square rodent mesh. The floor is lined with 3mm x 17mm square fox proof mesh, which extends about a foot and a half out on all sides, buried under the soil and leaf litter. They come out to free range pretty much all day every day, but it gives them a good amount of safe space to play in if we're away for the day or it's raining heavily or something.

Here's the earlier, smaller one. Very standard, but did the job until we just kept getting more chickens (whoops! Haha) and had to upgrade.

I've just built a ground hutch style of one for broodies with babies or growing out chicks, but for have any photos yet. I was wanting to make it big enough, but simple and easy, so it's rough and ready. It's 195x105x70cm in total. A 90cm long enclosed section is the roost/sleep space. It opens from the top of the sleep space and has a small pop door at the other end of the 'run' bit. I just used 5x7.5cm treated pine dar for the frame, 3mm MDF for the enclosed area, and the whole thing is secured with 1mm 5mm square aviary mesh. I insulated the indoor section with corflute - Lightweight, cheap, easy to cut to size, easy to clean, and does the job just fine. I'll snap a photo of my rough and ready broody hutch when I get a chance.

 

[Sylvester017]

I live in Idaho our tap water is ok but I'm also hooked up to fresh irrigation that they absolutely love. The free irrigation water is great too because we have to clean the pool every other day so that saves money, then I get to water my lawn with fertilized water. Win/win.

One question I have, we clean the coop daily but the flies are insane. Any tips on keeping the fly population down?

Besides fresh chicken poop, flies are attracted to fresh produce the chickens don't eat which can rot quickly plus flies want moisture. Can't do much about chicken poop but keep the uneaten fresh produce out of the yard and don't have open exposed water sources. Our maximum hen count is 4 chickens so when we feed them fresh produce it is only what they can eat in 10 minutes or less - so basically a very little each time. We got tired of open water bowls in the yard between the chickens messing up the water or wanting to stand in it, and the wild birds pooping in it, and various insects attracted to the open water, so we switched to nipple valve waterers. On the farm my folks used sticky fly traps around the poultry yard (ducks, geese, chickens) which was located far far from the farmhouse - the traps were pretty effective. Flies also seem seasonal. You don't get many to none during cooler winter months.

 

[Sylvester017]

Wow, some of these coops are amazing! I've lived in apartments smaller and less thought out than some of those mansion coops, haha.

Here's our big one. Building this one gave me Carpal Tunnel! But luckily it healed up in a couple of months (probably would have been sooner but I work in a hardware store ((Bunnings for any other Aussies in here - You'll get what I mean!)) and I'm sure that my job prevented it from healing as quickly as it otherwise would have), and the chickens love it, so - Worth it! Haha.







It's Firwood, and because Fir is quite soft I decided against pre-drilling holes for all the screws and bolts, and just put a bit adapter in my drill and drove them straight in. That probably contributed to more unnessecary force being used and vibration being created. I wouldn't suggest using this route, haha, my hands and wrists would like to advise against it too xD The coop itself is about 3.5x2x2m in size, and fully enclosed with 1mm x 5mm square rodent mesh. The floor is lined with 3mm x 17mm square fox proof mesh, which extends about a foot and a half out on all sides, buried under the soil and leaf litter. They come out to free range pretty much all day every day, but it gives them a good amount of safe space to play in if we're away for the day or it's raining heavily or something.

Here's the earlier, smaller one. Very standard, but did the job until we just kept getting more chickens (whoops! Haha) and had to upgrade.





I've just built a ground hutch style of one for broodies with babies or growing out chicks, but for have any photos yet. I was wanting to make it big enough, but simple and easy, so it's rough and ready. It's 195x105x70cm in total. A 90cm long enclosed section is the roost/sleep space. It opens from the top of the sleep space and has a small pop door at the other end of the 'run' bit. I just used 5x7.5cm treated pine dar for the frame, 3mm MDF for the enclosed area, and the whole thing is secured with 1mm 5mm square aviary mesh. I insulated the indoor section with corflute - Lightweight, cheap, easy to cut to size, easy to clean, and does the job just fine. I'll snap a photo of my rough and ready broody hutch when I get a chance.

Sorry about your Carpel Tunnel - it's painful. I currently have a thumb/wrist brace because of calcium forming in the wrist - not fun!

Looks like you have one cockerel and one pullet in your photo?

Chickens only use a coop to lay eggs and roost for the night so with a small flock you don't need a Taj Mahal coop. What chickens like is space to run and jump and flap and forage during the day and mid-day they like a cool lean-to or shady bush to hide/snooze under.

We used to lock up the hens when we left for the day because of occasional feral cats getting into our suburban yard, but once we saw all 4 hens running en masse together to attack a stray cat we stopped worrying about the ferals. We only lock up the coop at dusk because our city chicken predators happen to be night critters like raccoons, possums, occasionally a rat, and during early mornings the Cooper's Hawks (chicken hawk).

Our girls dive for the dog houses or under the lean-to's or stay in the coop if they sight a hawk during the day. We eliminated open spaces where a hawk likes to swoop on running hens by setting out pop-up canopies, plywood lean-to's, several doghouses, lawn furniture, potted plants, and stickery thorny plants or evergreens where the hens will hide. Those hawks can see the hens hiding but won't go after them while they're hiding. Guess the hawks prefer to swoop and use their talons to catch their prey rather than engage in ground combat.

 

[ticketism]

In the pics either chickens in them, they are all pullets. One was just very developed for her age - Had huge red wattles and a really high comb at 4 weeks old! But she's definitely a girl, and our best layer at that. We actually had a flock of 6 when I made the large coop - 4 Orpingtons and 2 Sussex. But it has since expanded and we wanted to know we could add a couple more if we wanted, so a little bigger was just the best seeming idea. The vast majority of the space in the big coop, as pictured, is the 'run' area so that they can still have enough space to stretch, scratch, and flap around even if we can't let them out for the day. There's one of those clamshell kiddie pools in there full of soil for them to dustbathe, and milk crates with thick dowel and various other things in there too for them to keep themselves busy.

I've definitely seen our Orpie girls take on the neighbourhood cat, and the bush turkeys, the kookaburras, the local magpies - All of them, haha. They're big birds, I'm mainly just worried about snakes or foxes really. So the wire mesh is important around their run.

We currently have no roos, can't keep them where we live.

 

[cabinchicky]

There's very little dust with the powdered.  So you use the granules as litter and scoop it? 

I use it alone in quail pens. It clumps most of the pool then I scoop.Never seen powered form,would worry the dust would cause problems

 

[NanaNeen]

Could you post the gypsy wagon coop again? I'd like to show it to someone but I can't go back far enough to see it on the thread...