My urban stealth coop ideas

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
I LOVE THIS YOU ARE AMAZING

Thank you, thank you...

One nosy neighbor would be all he'd need to spread the word that Captain Cluck is a nut job who sits on his back deck and listens to SOUNDS of chickens because it reminds him of simpler days when he was a child on the farm. "Gosh, those sure are REALISTIC recordings!" (Wink, wink...)

Here's the Google link to genuine Australian Ground Parrots, another nice evasive answer to give to the neighbors who catch a glimpse of illegal hens:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...y=125&sqi=2&page=1&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0

OMG .... I just fell of my chair......

 

[sunket77]

I think you are going to have to seriously consider noise when it comes to breed....almost all the hens in my laying flock are VERY noisy when they or someone else lays an egg. Imagine as loud a human yelling....it echos in our coop which is wood. The chickens out of the breeds we have that are the quietest are definitely the bantams, but not just any bantams. Our polish don't tend to sing the song and lay a decent size egg for a banty BUT they all make a whiny bocking sound for most of the day, I don't know why but every polish we have does this. I have found the quietest to be silkies, and they don't flap around a lot either, they also lay a decent size egg for a bantam and are good layers. As long as you collect the eggs everyday, you shouldn't have a problem with them going broody. The other breed that tends to be quiet are the cochins. Their eggs are a bit smaller than the silkies but they are also not flighty. I have other breeds that are quiet but their eggs size is a lot smaller. But that is only from my experience, I would ask around on here and maybe study the BYC breed chart. But it's great to ask people that keep the breeds. But I would always recommend silkies or cochins (bantam) when it comes to quiet. These are the breeds we keep in our coop we call the "Silkie Sanctum" and we hardly hear much from them at all.

 

[airmechreed]

Quote:
Could I just use a piece of glass? I happen to have an old sliding door that I don't know what to do with, it would be more than enough.

Glass board is made of a fine glass material more like fiber glass. I think a glass door would probably be to slick but I have never tried it sounds like a good forum question

 

[Athenzchick]

Here's a product you may want to consider

http://www.quietrock.com/quietrock-drywall.html

Best of luck in your covert operation

 

[Gracie9205]

We have 3 of these "Australian Ground Parrots" living in our backyard right now!

They all lay their eggs in the morning, so we just keep them cooped up until they are finished (usually by 9:00 am). I don't have to go hunting for eggs, and the neighbors don't have to endure the oh so lovely egg song!

 

[ChickInDelight]

It sounds back-breaking to clean. I would carefully consider maintenance.

 

[Dooner]

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Newbie here, good idea, I have been running out at daybreak to let them out, but that makes a lot more sense!

 

[dbcooper02]

OP wrote, "Water: That's trickier. I was considering putting a little auto waterer outside the door, but it would freeze in the winter a lot (like our cat bowl does.) So, I think it should be inside where the air would never get below freezing. I'm hoping to make a little valve-operated deal."

Chickens easily learn to use a rabbit water bottle. Mounted inside the coop the warmth from the birds would probably prevent freezing. A small pan underneath would catch any drips.

 

[wheresmypeeps]

This is great! Rabble rouser! And some preeety darn funny responses are giving me some self-confidence... perhaps my husband can fan the flame on his post-sixties attitudes and be entertained by (hopefully) getting away with something benignly rebellious. Some rules/ordinances are just plain ridiculous.

 

[wheresmypeeps]

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Hahahaha... GOTTA show my husband this one!!!