ALABAMA!!

[Jeanna Marie]

Nice coop!  I'm going to put external nest boxes on mine, too, but I have a few months before they start laying.  This will be my first summer with the new coop and I'm anxious to see how it goes.  I wish I had some shade to take advantage of like you have done but my property is open pasture.

My next boxes have a hinged lid that opens up for easy clean out and egg gathering.. very convenient. I can gather eggs without going into the run..

 

[ohb]

My next boxes have a hinged lid that opens up for easy clean out and egg gathering.. very convenient. I can gather eggs without going into the run..

My wife isn't crazy about entering the coop so external nest boxes are a must.

 

[Wisher1000]

My nest boxes are entered from the pen, but are actually sitting inside the storage area. I can clean them out and gather eggs from inside and use the top of them for a shelf to put stuff on. I keep cardboard boxes inside the slots to make removing the bedding simple and just replace the boxes if/when needed. I made the slots to fit the boxes that copy paper comes in, I have a constant source of those at work.

 

[upthecreek]

Hi ChirpingCricket ,

I really love your chicken pen and yard set up !!! It's fantastic !! And you have got the most important part "Shade Trees" !!!! yey yey ....... so many bulldozier all their beautiful life giving shade trees before building a home .... these are life savers for chickens in the deep south . Thanks for showing your pics - i love them !!

We live between Andalusia and Opp Alabama out in the country about 30 miles from Florida panhandle . I have Marans and few Game chickens .... with the shade trees i/my chickens never have any problems with the heat , we live near a wooded branch bottom which we own (cooler in summer than hilltops) chickens , pigeons , goats and dogs love it .

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[chickadoodles]

My chickens have an open air coop. It was supposed to be their run with a little rolling coop attached, but they prefer roosting in the run. I have a little rolling coop attached which they use for laying eggs. Please excuse this junky photo of taken it before it was completely finished.

Lovin these open air coops!!!!

And I used to live in Molino north of Pensacola! lol Small world...

 

[chickadoodles]

Okay, here's mine. The footprint is 12 x 16 with an additional 8' of enclosed area (feed,bedding storage and brooder room) on the back end. The 12x16 area is where the adult chickens roost at night, way up high in the rafters. I used 2x4 welded wire (dog wire) and put up OSB on one end so they will have solid corners to run to incase the coons try to reach through.

I am crazy about these open air coops! I wish I had seen these before we built our coop! But I told my DH if we ever had to add an addition we needed to build an open air coop! Thanks for sharing your pic!

 

[Stumpy]

Lovin these open air coops!!!!

And I used to live in Molino north of Pensacola! lol Small world...

I spent a lot of time in Molino at my sister's house before we all moved "up north."

 

[chickadoodles]

I spent a lot of time in Molino at my sister's house before we all moved "up north."

My DD and her family live in Molino and so does her in-laws.

 

[chirpingcricket]

Hey Up The Creek. Love the name! Yep, looks like we're neighbors, too.

Thanks for your posts. The shade is sooo important here in the south. I don't know how I would manage without it. Here's a funny. In the full of summer. I make it a point to walk underneath the shade of the trees. Where there is an open patch of sun, I run (wait, OK, I just walk real fast) through that spot, to get to the next area of shade along the path! heehee

We have the same kind of situation, a branch at the bottom with cold, clear fresh water, white sand and about 1 foot deep. We take our chairs and sit in the water to cool off. Nieces. nephews and kids of friends love to come over and play/roam the branch. It feeds into a river about 1 mile below us. Unfortunately, the coons etc. like it too. Always something.

Chickadoodle, I'm rooting you own for the "next" pen! Do I hear a little more "chicken math" in your future?

 

[chirpingcricket]

My nest boxes are entered from the pen, but are actually sitting inside the storage area. I can clean them out and gather eggs from inside and use the top of them for a shelf to put stuff on. I keep cardboard boxes inside the slots to make removing the bedding simple and just replace the boxes if/when needed. I made the slots to fit the boxes that copy paper comes in, I have a constant source of those at work.

Sooo smart!