Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[dfrazie1]

Don't buy those cheap ones they sell at the farm stores. We bought a shed kit from Lowe's. Size is depending on how many chickens you get. You can build your own if you're handy. There's a link on the home page of member's coops. You can see what you think is right for you and get ideas.

Thanks! Yeah, that is what I've heard about the store bought ones. I think I'm going to give it a go at building my own. I have a lot of pallets, wood, shingles, chicken wire, etc. laying around. I'm going to have fun with it! I'll post pictures as I go!

 

[aart]

Welcome to BYC and the MI Chat thread! @dfrazie1

Don't buy those cheap ones they sell at the farm stores.

Ditto Dat!

@aart hows the melt going?

Snow melt is long over here.
Tho saw some ice and snow on the pondsai this morning.

 

[aart]

Thanks! Yeah, that is what I've heard about the store bought ones. I think I'm going to give it a go at building my own. I have a lot of pallets, wood, shingles, chicken wire, etc. laying around. I'm going to have fun with it! I'll post pictures as I go!

Awesome!
Go big and tall with big roof overhangs and open soffits.
Take a look at some of the coops here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/chicken-coops.12/
I highly recommend sketching your plan out on graph paper,
then getting some feedback by starting a build thread here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/coop-run-design-construction-maintenance.9/

 

[1muttsfan]

Hi Dave

Snowed here quite a lot yesterday, almost all of it sideways, but by morning it had all melted

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome Dave!
Build your own, or buy a garden shed and modify it for light and ventilation. Like @aart said, post plans here for feedback, on the Coops thread especially.
Forget about the chicken wire! Predators go through it just fine.
What chicks? pictures!
Mary

 

[electrycmonk]

Thanks! Yeah, that is what I've heard about the store bought ones. I think I'm going to give it a go at building my own. I have a lot of pallets, wood, shingles, chicken wire, etc. laying around. I'm going to have fun with it! I'll post pictures as I go!

Like you we ended up with new born chicks before we figured out what our coop would look like and how big it should be.

I seriously recommend looking at as many build threads, like ours & do it now so you can digest it all and realize the truth behind: 1) chicken math & 2) build bigger then you think you need based on sq foot per chicken.

Welcome to the forum. I'm curious (transplant from Cereal City) where in SW mitten ya from generally speaking of course?

 

[electrycmonk]

Welcome to BYC and the MI Chat thread! @dfrazie1

Ditto Dat!


Snow melt is long over here.
Tho saw some ice and snow on the pondsai this morning.
View attachment 2089226

Now that I like, a lot! Do you have a photo gallery of that creation?

 

[aart]

Do you have a photo gallery of that creation?

The pondsai?
Was on a different forum at that time...was a decade+ ago.

 

[electrycmonk]

well, shoot, you have any other pics of it on here to see? how deep is the deepeest segment? looks to be a self filtering design too, yes?

 

[RaZ]

I think I'm going to give it a go at building my own. I have a lot of pallets, wood, shingles, chicken wire, etc. laying around. I'm going to have fun with it!

Hi Dave and Welcome to the Michigan thread. We have a gathering, a pot luck, swap meet thing called Chicken Stock in June. We do it every year and we would love to have you attend.

Build your coop like you are building a house. Or get a shed kit from Lowes, HD, or Menards. The n modify it as needed. Build it bigger than you think you need. Each chicken should have a minimum of 4 square feet IN the coop and 10 feet in the run. Then think about where you want it to be. You should have easy access to water and a way to get feed to the chickens.

Myself and others here can provide tips on how to get started with chickens. Just ask.
One thing we all agree on is that chicken wire is next to useless. Hardware cloth, welded wire, and sturdy fencing are much better options. When building a coop and run, overkill is good.