Bay Area BYCers!

[khoe]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but would anyone care to share their coop photos? Do you guys have insulation? I'd just like to see what people in my climate have. Thanks!

 

[wolftracks]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but would anyone care to share their coop photos? Do you guys have insulation? I'd just like to see what people in my climate have. Thanks!

Hoop coops. If you've seen one, you've seen them all. Which means mine aren't as nice as those of others.

 

[Hangtown Farms]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but would anyone care to share their coop photos? Do you guys have insulation? I'd just like to see what people in my climate have. Thanks!

I live up east of Placerville in the upper end of the Sierra Foothills. I like open coops facing in a North to North East direction.
They end up staying drier. I have a regular coop as well but plan on switching it over next month and am going to build a semi open coop for the layer flock. Chickens around here do not need insulation just good ventilation and to be out of the rain and wind.
I use sand in my open coop

 

[Hangtown Farms]

I also made a pallet coop for the youngsters. 5 weeks of age till they can go in the larger coop




it is not as secure but is in a covered dog run. I did not get a picture of the north side but it is mostly open and covered with stucco wire. with the pallet and roofing I ended up with about 85.00 into this one which it ended up being a nice 6x2 coop.
I work at a nursery and used a bareroot tree pallet.

 

[lawatt]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but would anyone care to share their coop photos? Do you guys have insulation? I'd just like to see what people in my climate have. Thanks!

this one's in Sonoma County -- no insulation, everyone does just fine.


free-ranging outside


my friend henry built the whole thing as a gift for me (i paid for the materials) -- and we may add another 8' section this summer


inside the henhouse -- there are hinged doors that ordinary cover this side, but can be opened to allow easy cleaning


it's a fine coop! and super-secure so far, despite lots of would-be predators in the area (i live near the top of sonoma mtn).

 

[Hangtown Farms]

this one's in Sonoma County -- no insulation, everyone does just fine.


free-ranging outside


my friend henry built the whole thing as a gift for me (i paid for the materials) -- and we may add another 8' section this summer


inside the henhouse -- there are hinged doors that ordinary cover this side, but can be opened to allow easy cleaning


it's a fine coop!

it is a very fine coop. Laura do you keep it open during the day at all? I can not remember how wide your run is but it is very nice. I am thinking of trying to make something like theis with one side open. ( side on the inside ) possibly for my black penedesenca

 

[lawatt]

it is a very fine coop. Laura do you keep it open during the day at all? I can not remember how wide your run is but it is very nice. I am thinking of trying to make something like theis with one side open. ( side on the inside ) possibly for my black penedesenca

if i'm home, i let them out to free-range, so yes leave it open -- i don't know why i don't just let them out all the time, they seem to look out for themselves fine free-ranging when i'm not here (the few times i haven't been able to round them up or etc), but somehow i just feel better knowing they're inside safely if i'm not around.

the henhouse is 4'x8' -- i like the size, but 4' is a little too deep for me to clean easily, so i think i'd make it a little smaller next time. LOVE the swing-up doors, and the 2x4s you can see keeping all the pine shavings in are not nailed down, so i can just take them out & sweep all the shavings down onto the floor of the run, which is managed via deep litter method. the run itself is 8'x12' (four feet of which is under the henhouse), and the whole thing is covered by hardware cloth, with a 2' skirt extended out along the ground to dissuade digging predators. roof is corrugated poly-something panels, which so far have withstood some pretty windy storms, and provide great shade in the summer but let the light in nicely. i'm really pleased with the design (i downloaded it for $20 from gardencoops.com) -- and we are thinking of adding an extension onto the side with the henhouse, i'm thinking maybe 4x8' this time? not sure yet...

 

[Hangtown Farms]

maybe p/u a small child size rake from the garden center that may help cleaning. I use one for hard to reach areas. it was like 9.99

 

[lawatt]

maybe p/u a small child size rake from the garden center that may help cleaning. I use one for hard to reach areas. it was like 9.99

that's exactly what i do, use a rake for cleaning (see the first photo, it's leaning against the henhouse) -- but still, if i wanted to actually reach a chicken that was in the back, i can't do it without getting IN to the henhouse, which is awkward -- but, overall, i love the design. right now i've also got an exclusion pen in the side of the run underneath the henhouse, first to hold the two amelias i got from Ron while they were getting used to the flock, now holding one of the broodies who kept barging into the other broodies' nests.

 

[PetRock]

maybe p/u a small child size rake from the garden center that may help cleaning. I use one for hard to reach areas. it was like 9.99

I use one of those child rakes, also. One of the best tool purchases that I have made!