chickenlips' coop

[chickenlips]

I just had to share the first coop my DH built last year for my 8 girls. I am so proud of him! It's 4' X 8' and he built it without any plans! Eggs are gathered from the side double doors, food and water containers hang from the ceiling, the floor is hardware cloth so poo drops through to the ground and there is power into the coop for light and heat. It's totally insulated, so no additional heat was needed when the temps hit the single digits. During the winter I cover the hardware cloth floor with a piece of heavy cardboard and add pine shaving throughout the winter. I also used a heated water bucket that plugged in inside their coop. Additional pics show the fenced yard we added soon after.

 

[chickenlips]

 

[chickenlips]

 

[chickenlips]

 

[chickenlips]

 

[chickenlips]

16'X16' chicken yard.

 

[chickenlips]

 

[chickenlips]

Three nesting boxes for 8 girls. They never use the middle one. I often find 2 girls in one box at the same time. No patience what-so-ever!

 

[suburbanchick]

What a great design... your husband is awesome!

 

[soonerdog]

Chickenlips, you all have a great set up! I am glad that you've shared your pictures with us. How nice to meet you too. Your chickens seem so happy in their nice coop and run. Lots of hard work and it turned out wonderful. Just one thing of caution to be as safe as possible from the wild critters. See if you can place some wire around the bottom to discourage any critter from digging under. Put down some wire on the ground around the bottom and place some of those big rocks all the way around the bottom. Good luck, looks so nice.

Give your chickens a kiss on the lips for me!

P.S. A good bright flood light aimed in the direction of the pen would be another safe thing. If you hear any sounds during the night just flip on the light! This would be a big help!