Crazy Chicken Coop Addition

[chichichickapea]

I am very new to having chickens, my oldest ones are just over 5 weeks old. I had been begging to get chickens for about 5 years but my other half balked....finally in a weak moment he gave in and I wasted no time in getting my coop built...I had been dreaming about it and planning it for years, so I knew what I wanted. The only issue was being able to afford what I wanted....I am not a carpenter....and my other half certainly is not! Long story short, built the coup, love it! within 5 weeks I have accumulated 62 chickens and have 15 guineas due the end of June....yes, I have gone insane!!!! Just wanted to show off some pics of my coop and the new addition in the works.....

 

[HEChicken]

You have an awesome coop - I love it! I just hope mine turns out half as nice (currently a build in progress). I notice you have the pullet shut door. I am getting ready to order one - how do you like yours? Another question - have you found that they lay many eggs in the nest boxes in the bottom row? That is a nice use of space if they actually use it. Love the natural roosts too! Very nice job.

 

[chichichickapea]

Love, love, love the automatic door!!!!! Money well spent. It works like a dream! After it closes at night, in a few second it opens again, stays open for about 30 seconds giving anyone who got shut out a last chance to get in. The only issue I have had is a few of my hens have started roosting on it....so I am building a little awing to go over it so they cannot get on top of it...which should also help protect it from the elements. It closes very gently. I couldn't decide which to get at first, the pull up kind of the side opening king....I went with side opening because I though there would be less chance of injury to one of my chicks. I have removed the bottom row next boxes now because they just play and poop in them. My chickens are not old enough to lay eggs yet.

 

[HEChicken]

So glad to hear this - I just placed my order!

 

[furbabymum]

Now we know why the husband balked. LOL

 

[chichichickapea]

Not sure what you mean by now we now why the husband balked, lol. I work, I own my own multiple healthcare businesses that I started from scratch with no help from anyone, I pay the carpenter to build MY coop, I look after my chickens whether 62 or 602, he rides by on the golf cart and makes comments only...does not do the work...if I want a chicken elevator and can afford to pay for it to be put in I will....am not beholding to someone else to do everything for me. Do not mean to be huffy, but I was excited about this new endeavor in my life which I have been enjoying very much........that is all.....do not need your critique on my life. LOL!

 

[furbabymum]

I suppose I wasn't seeing myself as critical. My husband wasn't enthusiastic about our chickens and he's less enthusiastic about the ducks. I'm simply going to wait to see if he notices I got 6 more ducks. Anyway, he knows me and knows that when I start something I go a little crazy. Just figured your husband was probably the same way. Apologies for the unintended offense.

 

[furbabymum]

I'm feeling really bad now. I'm really sorry. I was just likening you to me. My husband always says yes to any animal request I make. He then watches me blast out into orbit. We once ended up with 6 massive dogs and enough hair to clothe a small country. He just takes it all in strides. Am I making sense or offending you more?

 

[canesisters]

I LOVE your coop!!! So big and roomy.

I'm wondering about the windows. I have some old multi-pane windows that I'm going to be installing in my coop over the next couple of weeks (time and weather permitting). My plan was to hang them from hinges at the top - with hardware cloth screens behind and have them open outward. Why did you choose to hinge them at the bottom and have them open in? Since I haven't even started framing yet, I don't want to miss out on a good improvement.

Thanks for posting so many good picts! Some really good ideas there.

 

[timierinrn]

your coop is sooo awesome! Now I want to build a new one!