The first time we got a lot of snow, they stayed inside, but eventually came out and poked around in the areas that were shoveled. As the winter went on they were less afraid to go out in the snow, especially when it would melt a bit and wasn't so high. It was fun to see chicken footprints all...
drop *her* a line
I love my 6x10 woods coop! Since I finished it so late in the season (mid-Nov) I only got a temporary roost set up in there. I set up two 2x4s across the back of the coop, resting on two more diagonal 2x4s attached to the floor and almost to the top of the back wall (like a...
Out of my six pullets, two are molting. I know that three of them were laying before the cold got here, now down to just one laying. The other three have yet to lay an egg. I'm getting 2-3 eggs per week. No supplemental lighting here either.
I have six hens and they are dealing with a couple of stress factors right now - it's recently gotten pretty cold up here (well below zero, some days high around zero, although it's been warmer some days) and they all moved into their new coop just over a month ago. Each bird has 10 square feet...
Koitoy, you could try a rubberized coating on the floor and lower part of the walls to protect the wood. I used Blackjack #57 which was recommended by several people on this forum. It hardly had a smell at all during application, and once it is dry it makes a nice thick coating and a good seal...
Wow, thanks for taking the time to give us a tour. So cool to see what an established deep litter system looks like from all angles. Looks like a real nice setup. The birds seem so calm and happy!
You are correct aart, the bottom edge of the window is below top edge of the front roof. Not exactly how I intended it, but once I got the front roof on I realized I'd painted myself into a corner, so to speak. I could alter the setup by replacing them with smaller windows, but I also love the...
WthrLady, yes, I realize now yours was one of the coops I saw early on, and wow I can't imagine building that through the winter! The run looks great too.
I checked out the nesting box / roost situation you have, looks very nice and cozy. I love the speckled paint. This would be a good...
I have been saving my receipts in an envelope and just crunched the numbers this morning; my coop came out to about $1000*. Most expensive items were the things that I had to buy in large quantities and there was some waste: house wrap, shingles especially. But not bad! I was thinking it would...
My house is white with dark green shingles. I want to paint the coop Forest Service Green, a very specific creamy jade color. Here's an example:
I think it will look pretty with all the greenery in the yard during the warmer months. It's also the kind of color that you would find on the...
We got 6 chicks at the end of March, and after they grew out of the brooder this summer, we housed them in kind of a junky old coop that we got for free off craigslist. It was not very serviceable, especially for winter, and when I was researching coop designs I came across the open air poultry...
You bet I will, as soon as I have permission to do so! I have lots of pictures. It's as done as it's going to be until the temps come back up above freezing, which... who knows. I'm not optimistic.
This is so gorgeous! Good work. Especially giving consideration to the different needs of each group of birds. I love the look of the continuous translucent roof across the coop and the run.
That photo of the bear though!
You mentioned lowering the roosts for winter. I am learning about...
They should be ok as long as the temperature change is not a shock (for instance, going from heated to non-heated) and as long as they have ventilation and protection from drafts/moisture. What kind of birds do you have?
I hear that! I prioritized ventilation and tight construction around their roost for their new house. It feels very dry in there so far. I'm just amazed at how chipper they can be at 6 in the morning in the freezing cold!! Haha!
I'm in Minneapolis and new to BYC- my six hens are about 8 months old. Three of them were laying 1x per day, but I moved them to a new coop about a month ago and now it's dropped to 2x/week
Hoping they get back into the groove soon! And that the other three finally start laying? They seem to...
Greetings from me and my 6 pullets in South Minneapolis, MN on a standard city lot. Since buying our home six years ago we'd been wanting to get chickens going, and we got a free chicken coop a few years ago from a craigslist ad (it was more like a bunny hutch with a small hen house attached)...