Constantly Evolving!

[LDev]

Is it just me? Or is everyone else constantly tweaking and adjusting their coop to accommodate not just your hen’s needs but also your own?
I started off with one of those tiny little cute looking coops that looks like a little house and says they fit ‘6-8 hens’ but after about 2 days you realise that nobody in their right mind would ever put more than 3 tiny Little
bantams in there? So fast forward 7 years...I live in an urban area,not on a farm, and definitely not a massive house with land so I am restricted to what I can build BUT even in my little back garden I have somehow managed to make my garden look better by adding more I have the ‘grown up’s’ side with patio, garage, seats, table, fairy lights and bbq ..however on the opposite side I have a 16ftX5ft run and a 6ftX4ft potting shed converted to a coop. Today I got guttering fitted for my newly heightened run roof. I got it heightened because I suffer from chronic back pain and arthritis so cleaning a run with a low roof and coop was an absolute nightmare. I can’t believe the difference it’s made to my life with the simple act of being able to extend fully upright. I have also just starting hatching my first ever chicks using my constantly broody Light Sussex hen.
The new run and coop will mean I can adapt more room to younger birds that I have hatched, letting them run around in there while my older girls are in the garden.
I guess what I’m saying is remember that not only is this a constantly evolving project it is also one that you may become addicted to and you need to adapt constantly. Not only for the hen’s sake but for your own x

 

[Mamatomany123]

You are never done building your coop. Never. I'm out there everyday making adjustments.

 

[Tre3hugger]

It is definitely not just you. Never stop adapting and learning from practical experience! Sounds like you have come a long way,

 

[LDev]

You are never done building your coop. Never. I'm out there everyday making adjustments.

Absolutely true!

 

[Folly's place]

My coop has evolved over time too! It's had three major additions, all improvements, and worth it all.
Mary

 

[Ridgerunner]

Lets see, major changes. Inside the coop I've added nests (and tried different types of nests), installed a juvenile roost to help with integration, and built in a permanent brooder which is also a broody buster and droppings board. I tried a tractor for a short time but didn't like that. I've added a big electric netting run space, covered the original run, added a grow-out coop that is also a broody buster, added a shelter in the electric netting area, sectioned the main run into two separate areas, added a pop door in the fencing between areas, and improved predator protection. I've changed waterers and feeders a few times and added shade against the afternoon sun on the west side. I'm sure I'm forgetting some things.

I can agree that it is constantly evolving.

 

[HappyClucker7]

I have definitely changed things over time as well.
I've put up and taken down various curtains, I have tried out different things with the poop board, and I've tried many different roosts and swings for the run. (They didn't like the swing, but they love all the roosts.)
Also, now that I have a broody hen raising chicks, I have tweaked the nest boxes, and set up a food and water station inside the coop for the chicks and the mom. I've also built a little mini ramp leading from the pop door to the actual ramp so that the chicks can easily get in and out of the coop.
The biggest change, however, is yet to come. I'm going to build them an extra run area that they can go into when someone is at home. There are a lot of chicken predators where I live, so I can't let them free range. Instead, I'm going to give them that extra, covered run that they can use during the day. I think they'll absolutely love it. It will give all my chickens time to scratch, peck and eat bugs and grass.

 

[LDev]

Lets see, major changes. Inside the coop I've added nests (and tried different types of nests), installed a juvenile roost to help with integration, and built in a permanent brooder which is also a broody buster and droppings board. I tried a tractor for a short time but didn't like that. I've added a big electric netting run space, covered the original run, added a grow-out coop that is also a broody buster, added a shelter in the electric netting area, sectioned the main run into two separate areas, added a pop door in the fencing between areas, and improved predator protection. I've changed waterers and feeders a few times and added shade against the afternoon sun on the west side. I'm sure I'm forgetting some things.

I can agree that it is constantly evolving.

Lol! This is typical I’ve found, I live in an urban area but I’m constantly improving, my most exciting thing at the moment is having a proper clear roof with guttering added to my 80sq ft run so it stays dry, scratch area isn’t like a swamp and the dust bath isn’t mud. I’m introducing birds we hatched ourselves this year for the first time and I want it to be as clean and dry as a chicken run can be. The best bit is I have had it heightened and it’s so much easier to get in and clean. Next addition is juvenile perches

 

[drinkoj]

Please don't tell me this is like restoring an old car, where you never finish working and blowing money on the thing?

I was hoping to just have some small projects to finish, let the wife take over, and me just have to do some small fixer-upper things for the chickens as needed.

 

[Folly's place]

You don't have to do a thing! That's why there are carpenters for hire!
Mary