California - Northern

[Wishing4Wings]

NICE coop! Wow! Mine looks like I got it from Sanford and Sons junkyard. hehe Hopefully it will be secure and that is what is important for us right now. Nice lookin chickens!

I ran across this thread and thought of your coop project. Poop board convert *warning-graphic/gross poop pictures* Some interesting ideas about the roosting set ups. The rest is a bit fru-fru for me! Some of those chickens are going to have nicer digs than my kids! I thought the "stall refresher" they are talking about might be used, in part, on your coop floor. Have not done the research on it yet, but sounds promising. (It's a long thread- I'm about half way- but you can learn the important part in the first several pages.) I'm plotting to try to incorporate poop boards into my coop.

Our coop is on the same spot as the previous one. We were going to refurbish, but the wood was too far gone, so tore it down and reused as much as possible. My hubby is Fred Sanford reincarnated, constantly collecting "useful" stuff. (I always hum the theme song when he comes home with a great find.

) I tease him, but we actually don't spend much money on these types of projects. Wire was the most expensive thing, and we used a lot of leftovers from previous projects here, at my dad's, the neighbor's, and hubby's work too. So much "junk" lying around that folks offered and were happy to see put to good use!

The coop and secure run is similar to the original setup and similar also to the coop/run my dad built when I was a kid. Kind of a classic small scale style for this mild weather area. Basically just a roosting house with some nest boxes. The coop is open to the run where we put food/water so I never have to worry about forgetting to let the girls out.

Mid-morning, I usually let them out into their chicken yard for the day, but it's a nice option to leave them locked up if no one is going to be home.

Safety is the most important thing! Functionality comes second. Appearance... well, if you don't like how it looks, you can always plant a climbing rose for disguise!

Keep us posted. Really enjoyed your pics a few pages back. I have duck envy!

 

[Wishing4Wings]

We use mainly chopped straw with some pine chips (a very small amount in the coop only)! We like the straw because it's easy to rake out and we have a small "bowl" area behind our Rhododendron's at the very back of our yard where we dump it for compost!

We thought at first that it would build up faster than we could use it and we'd have to haul some of it away! Much to our surprise we've found that our 4 Chooks

have dug thru it so many times that they keep it not only compacted but they have also shredded it while scratching for worms and bugs making it into manageable rich looking compost!

So far so good for us!

~David

That sounds great. I'm also trying to figure out what, if anything, to use in the run. Has anyone tried alfalfa? I know the chickens love the leafy part, then the stems can act like straw? Certainly more expensive than straw, but maybe it would lower the feed bill a bit. Opinions anyone?

 

[Hangtown Farms]

pine shavings with a little cedar to keep the bugs lower

 

[debs_flock]

I use pine shavings, deep litter method in the coop. I keep sand in the run.

Deb

 

[chickee]

What do you mean? That looks great!

The 2 girls are going to love it once they are old enough to be in with the big girls

I love seeing all the pics! It helps me learn what all the chicken acronyms mean! Finally got WC chocolate and BLRW, thanks to Chickee.

Zooweemama, I loved your photo of ducks on the pond. Will be thinking how lucky they are to be cool during the sweltering days this week. I am also interested in what to cover the coop/run floor with, so would love to hear more about what folks use and pros/cons.

I finally got a few pics to post, so Chickee can see where her girls are going to live. We're not very fancy here, so hope you don't change your mind!

The coop under the apricot and cherry trees.



All 9 of the mob in their chicken yard. (no dogs allowed!) About 4 months old, under the apple tree.

left to right: EE, SLW, BA, NH, BO, Welsummer, BR, WL, gold-SL (How 'bout them acronyms!)

Favorite hangout, under the grapefruit tree.

Monkey, the EE says "Hi! Got anything to eat?"


Spot, Monkey, Miss Peach's backside, Penny, and Matilda. (Biscuit and Freckle back by the water.)
The kids helped name them!

 

[zooweemama]

I ran across this thread and thought of your coop project. Poop board convert *warning-graphic/gross poop pictures* Some interesting ideas about the roosting set ups. The rest is a bit fru-fru for me! Some of those chickens are going to have nicer digs than my kids! I thought the "stall refresher" they are talking about might be used, in part, on your coop floor. Have not done the research on it yet, but sounds promising. (It's a long thread- I'm about half way- but you can learn the important part in the first several pages.) I'm plotting to try to incorporate poop boards into my coop.

Our coop is on the same spot as the previous one. We were going to refurbish, but the wood was too far gone, so tore it down and reused as much as possible. My hubby is Fred Sanford reincarnated, constantly collecting "useful" stuff. (I always hum the theme song when he comes home with a great find.

) I tease him, but we actually don't spend much money on these types of projects. Wire was the most expensive thing, and we used a lot of leftovers from previous projects here, at my dad's, the neighbor's, and hubby's work too. So much "junk" lying around that folks offered and were happy to see put to good use!

The coop and secure run is similar to the original setup and similar also to the coop/run my dad built when I was a kid. Kind of a classic small scale style for this mild weather area. Basically just a roosting house with some nest boxes. The coop is open to the run where we put food/water so I never have to worry about forgetting to let the girls out.

Mid-morning, I usually let them out into their chicken yard for the day, but it's a nice option to leave them locked up if no one is going to be home.

Safety is the most important thing! Functionality comes second. Appearance... well, if you don't like how it looks, you can always plant a climbing rose for disguise!

Keep us posted. Really enjoyed your pics a few pages back. I have duck envy!

Wow that's a great thread! I think I want to combine sand with PDZ mixed in. And then maybe sprinkled on top periodically. The poop boards look great but my coop design right now doesn't really allow for it. But def something to chew on! Love my ducks. I am an Instagram addict and I have a hashtag for them #dailydoseofduck hehe It's all my ducks.

 

[zooweemama]

pine shavings with a little cedar to keep the bugs lower

Cedar is ok around chickens?

 

[zooweemama]

I use pine shavings, deep litter method in the coop. I keep sand in the run.

Deb

I use DLM for my ducks with hay. But they root around not scratch and that seems to be working. How big is your coop and how often do you do a big clean?

 

[zooweemama]

Wild turkeys in our backyard. I lost count around 26.


can you see my kitty?

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Cool pics Zoowee! If you've ever thought about getting turkeys to raise, seems unnecessary now! Actually a friend of my hubby said these wild turkeys are tough as shoes and very strong tasting.