Big problem since joining BYC...

[SunnyDayz]

Is the term 'coop envy' a new idea?! lol.

I have so little construction/carpentry experience. Our coop seemed to take forever to build and was made with mostly recycled/repurposed stuff, but I am looking at everyones pictures and I'm so jealous! I feel like we did it all wrong, and could've done a better job.

I guess I should just go by how my babies are behaving in their new home... they love it, so it should be good enough, right?! lol...

 

[PoultryPeeps]

Yeah, you should see my coop! (Not)

I want a pretty coop too, but with no budget.....maybe someday.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

We had a couple of threads going last year on what was the Ugliest Coop. Think there were 3 threads going at one time, lol

 

[Silkiefan]

my coop is an old shed with a chicken door cut in... they roost in cardboard boxes... If it wasn't for the fact that there was a shed that came with the rental, I'd have bought a dog house or rabbit hutch and called it good. I'm sure your birds are thankful for what you've done for them! Besides, hasn't it been fun to work on that project? You should post pictures! Someone recently posted RE simple coop designs...I'd love to see your project!

 

[Dogfish]

An easy way to fix inexperience is to build something. Just do it and don't think that because you haven't done something before, or you have limited experience, that you can't succeed. Do not give up before you start.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Here's a couple of the Ugly coop threads.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=138461

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=138385

I couldn't find the 3rd one

FOUND IT!!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=136464

 

[MotherJean]

That is ALL that matters, Sunny. If your chickens are healthy, reasonably safe, and happy in their coop, then you guys did fine. I'm just getting back to having a backyard flock after a 25 year sabbatical. Way back then, I didn't know bupkis about raising chickens. I bought 6 old hens at a farm auction for a bid of $4.50. Tossed a bale of hay in an unused 8'x8' cedar garden shed in my fenced backyard, nailed up a 2x4 for a roost, and gave them food and water in a couple of giant dog bowls. No nest boxes, no hardware cloth to keep out predators, no windows for light, no special ventilation...just a basic wooden box with a people door and a bale of hay for bedding. Those old hens made themselves right at home. I'd open the door early in the a.m. before getting the kids off to school and close it every evening after the hens had gone to roost. The ladies made two nests in the hay in opposite corners of the shed, which they shared. They didn't lay everyday, because they were old (about 4 yrs. if I remember correctly), but I could count on and egg from each every other day - many were jumbos and double-yolkers. My backyard had a 6' cedar fence so I let the girls free-range. I did have to start clipping wings when I found a couple of hens perched on top of the fence looking at the neighbor's yard, however. The girls got all the table scraps and would come peck on the glass patio door when the family was at the dinner table, begging for a bedtime snack. Maybe I was just lucky, but in spite of the lack of a fancy chicken coop, secure run and my gross lack of knowledge about raising chickens, the girls were never sick, never attacked, and never lacked love and attention. What could be better than that?

One of these days, you'll decide to build the coop of your dreams and you'll be better prepared to accomplish it because of this early experience. Enjoy yourself, enjoy your chickens, and start making a wish list of things you might do differently when you build the new coop

 

[Chook-A-Holic]

If your birds are happy, safe, and out of the weather, then you've done nothing wrong. Some of the nicest birds I've seen in my whole life were kept in the simplest coops. Just enjoy them, they sure don't care what the coop looks like. Your dream coop will come some day. Just start gathering ideas as to what you want.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

I confess, I've had this disease for 5 years!

 

[buzymom13]

Don't worry about it. My family and I built our coop with recycled/reused materials...and it doesn't have a square corner or level board in it. LOL BUT , we built it as a family project w/love and laughter. SO IT"S GREAT!


It doesn't matter as long as the chickens love it too.