This is my Coop Page. Be sure to check out my chicken page is at www.thecochincoop.com there is a lot of information on Bantam Cochins and Seramas there. I also have a lot of info on show prep and chickens in general too.
Here are some pics of my coops, not that pretty but they do the job and should keep my chickens safe. I figure that if they are supposed to keep dogs in then they should also keep them out. Although it's not 100% guaranteed to keep them out, it is the best I can come up with short of a concrete block building. I have chicken wire around the bottoms of the kennel for the babies otherwise they would just walk through. I also have the old pen's fence laying under the bottom of the kennel so that critters can't dig and gravel on top of that. There is about two feet of fence laying on the ground on either side of the kennel so that critters can't dig. I did have a problem with coons getting in once so I now have wire along with a small metal roof on the pens. I also have a gravel floor in the pens to keep mud down. It seems to work well. The only problem that I am having is where they come out of the coop and poop in the morning it seems to build up there. I just rake it up and throw it out, but I may add some concrete or rocks there so I can hose it off. The houses are made out of scrap wood. The little one is about a 3'x3' cube with a slant plywood and tin roof. The larger one in the back is a 3'x4.5' box made from an old shipping crate with a liftable plywood and tin roof. I like the lifing lid better for cleaning, but there is no angle on it and it leaks so I have to keep the tarp over that corner. If I were to do it again it would definately have a slanted roof. They each have a small door that has a bolt latch that I close at night in case something does manage to get in.
Here are some pics of my coops, not that pretty but they do the job and should keep my chickens safe. I figure that if they are supposed to keep dogs in then they should also keep them out. Although it's not 100% guaranteed to keep them out, it is the best I can come up with short of a concrete block building. I have chicken wire around the bottoms of the kennel for the babies otherwise they would just walk through. I also have the old pen's fence laying under the bottom of the kennel so that critters can't dig and gravel on top of that. There is about two feet of fence laying on the ground on either side of the kennel so that critters can't dig. I did have a problem with coons getting in once so I now have wire along with a small metal roof on the pens. I also have a gravel floor in the pens to keep mud down. It seems to work well. The only problem that I am having is where they come out of the coop and poop in the morning it seems to build up there. I just rake it up and throw it out, but I may add some concrete or rocks there so I can hose it off. The houses are made out of scrap wood. The little one is about a 3'x3' cube with a slant plywood and tin roof. The larger one in the back is a 3'x4.5' box made from an old shipping crate with a liftable plywood and tin roof. I like the lifing lid better for cleaning, but there is no angle on it and it leaks so I have to keep the tarp over that corner. If I were to do it again it would definately have a slanted roof. They each have a small door that has a bolt latch that I close at night in case something does manage to get in.
