First Time Chicken Owners-Here's photos of our coop

[petitesphinx]

Tips, suggestions??? Please, we hope to do this right and make the most from our coop...Thank you for your tips and ideas!! We're on a tight budget

, so we're having to make this up as we go along and almost everything is recycled from something around the farm

:

Nesting boxes made from book shelves:

Roost:

Coop:

 

[Chickenaddict]

Looks good to me!!!! wish i had that much space. Great job on using scraps from around the farm

 

[SterlingAcres]

Welcome to BYC.

I'm not sure how cold it gets down there in the winter, but you should ditch those metal roosts. Your chickens' feet will really be hurting... Frostbite and such.

 

[petitesphinx]

Okay, we'll swap out the metal for tree branches. Sound good?

Also, is it ok to paint the inside of the coop, or will the chickens peck/eat the paint and get poisoned?

 

[ScottLee]

Hey guys, made my own coop, and today i made a dirt bed for them.

I also made the wooden auto feeder fro them that holds me 4 bags of layer mash, all secured at night aswell.

Coop
http://www.scott-h.co.uk/site/various/index.php?action=gallery&gallery=03.08.2008 Chickens

and dirt bed
http://www.scott-h.co.uk/site/various/index.php?action=gallery&gallery=22.08.2008 Chick bed

 

[scooter147]

I agree with the above post if you get weather below freezing those metal roosts will turn into a diseaster.

Another suggestion would be in reference to the skids you have in front of the nest box and roosts.

It doesn't look like the roost and nest are more than a couple of feet from the ground so getting to the nest boxes and roost should not be a problem. I would do one of two things.

1. remove them.

2. remove ever other board.

I am speaking from experience in that they will accumulate poo and become a mess. There isn't enough space between the boards and when they poo it lands on the board below.

Do the seabrights roost on top of the nest boxes? (just curious)

In reference to the paint, paint away. Just avoid lead based paint which I am not even sure you can buy anymore.

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

YUp wood is a good switch. Your hen house looks huge! Very nice job

 

[cmom]

I agree.

Quote:

 

[chickenfanatic]

looking really good lots of space mim sure they will be happy and