Designing a coop out of a doghouse

[turtlewomyn]

I was going to post the links that Chickkat posted. I used those for inspiration. I am really new to chickens, and needed something to be discrete in my backyard for a small (3 hen) flock. My husband said it had to be cheap (of course it ended up costing twice what I had planned). I got a dog house off of craigslist similar to yours. We tried to flip the top part around, but water immediately got in (we were setting this all up during T.S. Lee which didn't hit us, but came close enough to rain down on us). So we have the dog house set up with pine shavings and have a divider to make the back part into a nest box. We put the dog house on pavers inside of a dog kennel that is 4 feet high that we bought off of craigslist. The ad said it was only 6ft by 4ft but I am pretty sure it is bigger based on the amount of hardware cloth we have used to reinforce it (a 4ft high 25 foot long roll didn't make it all the way around). It is at least 6x6 and maybe even over seven feet. We put the hardware cloth up the side by 3 feet and put out a 1 foot apron. We covered the top with poultry netting (and I want to go back to add pvc pipe to form a bowed roof for more head room). It needs more work and I am already dreaming about making a real coop for more chickens. Ours is designed to be mobile though so that we can move it around the yard for more forage (the girls get out for an hour or two in the late afternoon when our dogs are locked up and we can supervise).

 

[cute chicks here]

I redid my coop and now have a longer outdoor area and the whole thing looks nicer. I found a friend who has a jigsaw and we are going to cut that peice for the egg door. For today I left the coop the way it was though cuz its pouring rain and they aren't laying eggs yet anyhow. I am going to post some pictures of "the girls"

 

[cute chicks here]

Thank you so much for the link, It was nice to see the pictures how it is done. I will be making the little doors and turning my roof around as soon as I have time. Right now I have the dog coop attached to a 7.5 foot covered run. I worked on it all morning. I will post pictures later on.

 

[kjfrogster41]

Quote:
We also constructed a hen house from an old dog house. The hen house is inside the old dog kennel which we have made more secure by covering with chicken wire, including the top. My husband sunk a barrier around the perimeter to keep out digging rodents/skunks/raccoons (we hope). Tonight is the first night our 7 week pullets will spend in their secure hen house. We have 3 and hope they will keep each other warm enough. Once winter arrives (we live in Maine), we plan on running electricity to the hen house to either keep a light or warming pad inside for warmth. I appreciate any suggestions.

 

[kjfrogster41]

Hooray! Our sweet girls got through their first night out in their hen house, just fine. Why was I worried? Tonight, just after sunset, they "tucked" themselves in. OMG, they are growing up so fast! About them imprinting on humans, I truly believe it works both ways.

 

[cute chicks here]

Thank you for the links and the advice. My chickens are supposed to be Rhode Island reds but the one is a golden color. I bet it is a golden comet because I am pretty sure the guy I got it off of didn't know much about chickens.

 

[ChicKat]

Quote:
hi Turtlewomyn,

great minds think alike--that link is a pretty cool way to visualize. Sounds like your chickens will have it really good when you get everything set up the way you want. When I first got my chickens, I also kept the chickens and dogs seperate. I saw the video 'instinct to insync'--- and now I feel really calm with the chickens and dogs together....AND, believe me it makes your life so much easier if they can intermingle.

If you want a link to it---you can go to my BYC page and look for the part about 'Dogs and Chickens' and use that link.

:O)