If you had lots and lots of space and money to work with...

[Caver Dave]

My "chicken mansion" would include a polished & sealed concrete floor and lower 1/3 walls would hinge up to allow an occasional spring/summertime scrubbing & hose down.

The upper 1/3 walls would hinge down to allow the summer breezes to blow through (closed up in cold weather).

Interior covered with coated Masonite/sheetmetal panels (like they use in restrooms of pre-fab Convenience store) for easy(er) cleanup also...

As long as we're dreaming here!

 

[candylandfarm]

We just got back from the farm and daydreaming. Figuring out where to put my chickens! We're fortunate to have three very nice ponds (the largest is about 3 acres) and they are all stocked. The big pond had about 45 geese on it today. The entire property is fenced and cross-fenced and we have four huge separately fenced pastures (about 45 acres total). We've never had animals which is why we are starting with chickens. Seemed fun and manageable. We inherited the goats,donkey and mule and are figuring them out slowly!

If I can figure out to post a picture, I will!

 

[Cindiloohoo]

Quote:
You inherited animals too! THAT DOES IT!!!! Now I'm jealous too!!!! I wasn't before, I was controlling it, but NOW...you can just only ask so much of me!!

I have goats and love them!!

 

[candylandfarm]

Don't be too jealous of the goats! We have seven and we *think* 5 are girls and 2 are boys. Two look pregnant but we have read that it's hard to tell. They haven't really been around people, we don't know how old they are, they have horns...We are really talking about not keeping these and starting over with goats we can raise and no horns. I'm scared for my children!

What kind of goats do you have? I think they're adorable but three of ours are very aggressive. I won't let my children in the pasture with them. Our donkeys seems very skitterish but are slowly getting a bit used to us. The mule is ornery but I just got a mule book and hope to *understand* him a little more. The two donkeys and the mule spend most of their time kicking at each other but they have a humongous pasture and they are always on top of each other so they must like each other. I don't think the seller of the property paid them much mind... no shelters, no anything. He had a lot of cattle which are now all gone and we feel like this was his focus.

It's coming along with a lot of patience!

 

[SilverPhoenix]

If I had a ton of money and property, I would have multiple large runs (a half or quarter acre each at least)! I'd have a run for ducks complete with a fancy pond, and runs for different flocks of chickens (so I could have multiple roosters) and fancy pheasants. And I'd buy a large barn as a chicken house and put a bunch of nice perches in there, as well as places to dig in straw, an area with heat lamps for the birds to go under if they get cold, and plenty of nesting boxes. My chickens would be treated like royalty! Their runs would be nicely landscaped and have small trees and bushes for them to hide in and perch on, large dust bath areas, big rock outcrops for them to jump on and hide in (with nesting boxes in them and hiding holes), and all kinds of odd structures for them to play on. I'd have a special run for rescued chickens, and possibly another run just for rescued bachelor roosters (if everyone could get along). I'd take in any chickens people couldn't keep and make sure they lived happy lives. I would have at least a few of every breed I want and I'd probably do some fun breeding projects.

Ahhh, someday I'd like to have something like this! I doubt it's realistic, but I can dream!

 

[louloubean]

ooo! a dream farm!

i would have a smaller house and a bigger barn!
for sure, i wish my coop had electricity (and running water, as long as we are dreaming)
i'd have a swimming pond, and one down below for aquaculture (fish to eat)

i am happy i started small with my flock (8 barred rocks) and maybe one day i will expand.

good luck with your dreaming and planning!

 

[teach1rusl]

That's easy...

I'd build a nice roomy coop, large enough to allow for plenty of space for the chickens and space for storage. It would be wired for electricity, have running water available, and would be insulated, with lots of nice windows that open. It would include different sections for different purposes: A brooding area, a "rehab" area, a breeding area, ect.

 

[bibliophile birds]

if money wasn't a worry, i'd build a bunch more chicken wagons so each breed could have it's own. and then i'd buy hundreds more chickens!

i'd also build a large turkey pen that was at least 12 ft tall with a fenced top so at night they could get up into some trees but i'd know they weren't going any where. they would free-range during the day.

i'd dig another pond that i could somehow actually keep snapping turtles out of so i could have ducks without worrying about them getting eaten...

i'd finally have the sheep, pigs, and goats i want. i'd invest in MILES of portable fencing so that i could do management-intensive grazing (a la Joel Salatin) with all of them. then i'd go buy some llamas and donkeys as guardian animals.

i'd be an ALBC endangered breed farm.

i'd have a HUGE organic, polyculture market garden.

...... this is all the stuff i'm working towards now, but it's got to be small steps at the moment.

 

[SunnyDawn]

Quote:
What she said but I'd also raise it up high enough for a wheelbarrow to fit under so I could put poop chutes in the floor w/ hatches that raised with a pulley and rope system (I have that but I didn't raise the coop quite high enough to fit a wheelbarrow underneath). The holes have predator wire covering them so the litter just falls through into the wheelbarrow once the hatches are raised. Then all you have to do is sweep it into the wheelbarrows underneath and then haul it to the garden or compost heap. The raised coop also puts egg collection (from the outside) at waist level, since nests are about 8 inches off the ground (they are bumped out so nests sit on supports from wall and corbels on the outside). Nest hatches on outside are on rope and pulley too.
The coop is HUGE with plenty of ventilation (some that are operable so I can close them if it gets really cold or windy). I would have another bumpout under the roosts that would run along 1 entire wall that extended halfway out the back wall, covered with a hatch on the outside and one on the inside as well (again on a rope and pulley system since I like to have my hands free) for raising chicks in and introducing new stock (actually have the plans written up and DH will add it this spring). I would have a lower feeder and waterer in the chick area for them and a very large, built in, automatic waterer and feeder that can be filled and cleaned from the outside of the coop (never seem them, would probably have to design and build them myself). The waterer would be automatic since I have the coop plumbed for running water and the feeder would only need to be filled once a week.
I would definitely wire it for electricity with a GFI outlet and a switch too. Switch would operate only one of the outlets of course. Back wall would have a long storage area built in, next to food and water with large doors, on inside and out, that can be closed up tight and locked (again trying to divert other animals including the two legged variety from helping themselves) a shelf above for items you want to have handy that you only need to access when inside the coop (would be too much of a reach from outside the coop).
The raised coop gives the chickens plenty of room to escape the rain and hot sun but I think I would extend the front side (side with entry door, steps and window) with a covered porch since my current coop lacks a good spot for me to drag a chair to so I can sit with my girls and enjoy their antics. I know I can't leave a chair there since it would be covered with poo in no time but maybe I'll have a small shallow storage area added to the side of the chicks area where I can store my comfy, folding chair and maybe I should put two in there so DH could sit too.
Of course this time I'll remember to put a 6-8" rise on the main door and the hen's door so the litter doesn't spill out all the time and I don't have to step over a large sill to go into the coop (porch would be even with the top of the sill and the coop floor would be a step down (only a little since you'll build it up with litter).
Finally I would build 5 or 6 exactly like this so I can have my different breeds separated for breeding season (don't breed now 'cause I can't have roos). Seriously I have much of this already but the really important thing is to keep your babies dry and safe from predators, keep their feed and water clean and fresh, add more ventilation than you think you'll need, natural light and a great place to nest and roost (my roosts are high so I have a ramp for them to use and it works very well!) and hopefully it will make your job a little easier as well.

Let us know how it turns out and post pics!!! Oh, and welcome to BYC!

 

[farmin'chick]

Don't miss the sister site, backyardherds.com There's a link to it at the bottom of the non-chickens list.