8x8' Coop almost Done!

Thanks for the suggestion. Is a roll out nest box something that you would make or buy? I like the idea of getting clean eggs but I don't know much about adding a roll out.

I made mine from some scrap lumber. There are commercial roll out nest boxes that seem popular like the Henway and Best Nest Box. I preferred the warmth of a wood box vs a metal one. The nest box is rather simple just a box with a false floor that slops to the rear or front. With a rear collection you put a divider in so the eggs roll into the back where you lift the lid to collect the eggs. A front roll out is similar but with an egg collection box. I just watched one of my pullets stick her head under the divider and pull the egg back then it rolled back.

I put black curtains on the inside and painted the inside black.
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The collection end.
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The egg camera. You can see the dividing wall on the left with some of the black curtain material and I know the carpet is going the wrong way.
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JT
 
Great job Nicole. About security have you considered electric fencing. I use one wire about 5-6 inches off the ground and one wire at top of side walls to stop possible climbers , has worked with out fail for me. Also I would recommend deep litter method for bedding in coop and run has made life so much better for me and my flock. Good luck with your flock.
 
that looks amazing, great job! my only suggestion is about security. those bars are far enough apart for rats to get in and coons to reach through. have you considered something like hardware cloth. you have a nice clean look there and I hate to suggest adding to it, but I can't think of another way to keep the rats out. you need to have no more than a 1/2" gap anywhere around the perimeter. I'd figure it out before covering it, as the cover needs to be sealed up too, as rats climb and fast.
 
I am a little worried that some of the chicks will be available at different times and I will have problems raising different age chicks at the same time.
Think now about how to separate parts of the coop for your different aged chicks....under the nest bench and under the poop board both come to mind as decent brooder spaces, but make sure you build in easy access for you as the keeper.
 
Think now about how to separate parts of the coop for your different aged chicks....under the nest bench and under the poop board both come to mind as decent brooder spaces, but make sure you build in easy access for you as the keeper.

Thanks, I'll have to consider that. Not really sure how to make it user friendly if I use hardware cloth to section the space off though.
 
that looks amazing, great job! my only suggestion is about security. those bars are far enough apart for rats to get in and coons to reach through. have you considered something like hardware cloth. you have a nice clean look there and I hate to suggest adding to it, but I can't think of another way to keep the rats out. you need to have no more than a 1/2" gap anywhere around the perimeter. I'd figure it out before covering it, as the cover needs to be sealed up too, as rats climb and fast.

Thanks for the suggestion. I was going to put hardware cloth along the bottom and a roof for shade that is made of some heavy duty cloth. They will be in the coop at night so would that be safe enough? I put 1/2" hardware cloth over all the vents and the windows have a layer of 1/4" and 1/2" hardware cloth. The chicken door will be locked at night. Would rats attack the chickens during the day?
 
Do you think a raccoon would attack during the day? Just trying to figure out how important putting wire on the top is if they are only out during the day.
 
the threat of predators can seem obscure, and for a year or two or three you can feel like you have managed to succeed without the expense and trouble of wire mesh/hardware cloth, only to eventually wake up to devestation. once the issues start, it's not all that unusual to see bold, in broad daylight, attacks. I have friends who have such a rat problem that the rats are seen mid day, waddling around feeding from the chicken feeder without a care of whose around, and other critters can get lazy and overly comfortable as well. if you can keep the rats out, you can keep most anything out, it takes leaving nor more than a 1/2" gap anywhere in the envelope, it's a pain in the butt, but it's so much easier than trying to fight the problem after it's taken root.
 
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