Here's my coop and secure run. In the forefront is a large fenced free range area.
The building is fully insulated and natural ventilation keeps it nicely cool. One of these days
I'll get around to painting the door.
More of the secure run. The welded wire mesh is buried to keep out the coyotes.
I didn't cover the top because the rain/shade awning allows the chickens to hide from the hawks.
The other side. The rocky area is a french drain for runoff from an artesian well. It keeps a small pool full but the chickens would rather drink from the fount. This pop door is not currently used. I close the window shutter every night but usually leave the ones on the other side partially open.
Inside is a droppings pit below the perches. The top rail is not in place here. The trays (just above the shavings) pull out for cleaning every few months. Easy - just dump them and put in a thin layer of new shavings for next time. The poop you see here is about a six week accumulation from eight birds. The coop and run will hold about 25 birds max. and I'll probably dump the trays monthly then. I'm trying a composting deep litter method for the floor but it's not composting (too dry). I've decided to only heat the watering can this winter regardless. The pop door gets closed every night.
Turn around and see the nesting box. I'm only using the lower half for now. The collection hatches are inside the building in a clean area. I can step over the small separation fence but the chickens seem happy to stay on their side. The attract light is above the box so the nests and tunnels stay dark, but the roost is lit. Storage on top and underneath.
Here's Lucky and some of the girls.
A spare coop used to house excess cockerels.
The processing area. My first batch, 25 straight run, gave me 7 pullets and 18 cockerels. The hens are for laying and will live long, healthy lives. The roosters are a different story. Not my favorite job but a full freezer makes it worthwhile.
A closer view of the killing cone, scalding pot, cutting table, and sink. I do the picking elsewhere. The top surface and splashguard are painted with high quality melamine so it's easy to disinfect.
That's about it. We live in the North Okanagan area of British Columbia, Canada.
The building is fully insulated and natural ventilation keeps it nicely cool. One of these days
I'll get around to painting the door.
More of the secure run. The welded wire mesh is buried to keep out the coyotes.
I didn't cover the top because the rain/shade awning allows the chickens to hide from the hawks.
The other side. The rocky area is a french drain for runoff from an artesian well. It keeps a small pool full but the chickens would rather drink from the fount. This pop door is not currently used. I close the window shutter every night but usually leave the ones on the other side partially open.
Inside is a droppings pit below the perches. The top rail is not in place here. The trays (just above the shavings) pull out for cleaning every few months. Easy - just dump them and put in a thin layer of new shavings for next time. The poop you see here is about a six week accumulation from eight birds. The coop and run will hold about 25 birds max. and I'll probably dump the trays monthly then. I'm trying a composting deep litter method for the floor but it's not composting (too dry). I've decided to only heat the watering can this winter regardless. The pop door gets closed every night.
Turn around and see the nesting box. I'm only using the lower half for now. The collection hatches are inside the building in a clean area. I can step over the small separation fence but the chickens seem happy to stay on their side. The attract light is above the box so the nests and tunnels stay dark, but the roost is lit. Storage on top and underneath.
Here's Lucky and some of the girls.
A spare coop used to house excess cockerels.
The processing area. My first batch, 25 straight run, gave me 7 pullets and 18 cockerels. The hens are for laying and will live long, healthy lives. The roosters are a different story. Not my favorite job but a full freezer makes it worthwhile.
A closer view of the killing cone, scalding pot, cutting table, and sink. I do the picking elsewhere. The top surface and splashguard are painted with high quality melamine so it's easy to disinfect.
That's about it. We live in the North Okanagan area of British Columbia, Canada.