New Coop, chickens first night tonight!

[Cluckatar]

Oh! We named it Chicky's Hideout because the Barnevelder was named Chicky by my 5 year old. She is the smallest of the group, but clearly the smart one. She's busy teaching the other girls how to use the new water bucket right now.

 

[Emilys3guppies]

What a beautiful coop! Well-done!

 

[ducks4you]

Really well made coop and very pretty, too!

I remember some pics from the thread about best painting jobs.
If I Could, I'd like to suggest that you get a couple of carbiners (see below
http://images.google.com/imgres?img...ev=/images?q=LINKS+AND+SNAPS&gbv=2&hl=en&sa=G

instead of the the spring links that you are currently using. Carbiners will last a lot longer. I have been using a USED one on my hutch/coop for 4 years, now, opening and closing 2x/daily.
Congrats!! I have not been able to START my coop project, yet!

**ducks4you stomps away, jealously

**

 

[Cluckatar]

I think you're right about the clips. So far the ones we have are working, but I don't want to go into the rainy season with them. Luckily it won't rain here again until Fall

Thanks for all the coop compliments. I'm amazed by how obsessed I've become with chickens and their living quarters.

 

[pattyjean73]

Very cool! Congrats.

 

[Cluckatar]

Zomg... I think we've reached the end of the road on winging it with the outdoor run construction

We framed out the run, covered it with wire and moved it into position. But we can't seem to make the attachment to the coop in a way that makes sense. Also, I'm not loving the way that it looks. Because of the uneven ground we went with a skirting method, however I do think I want to bury the "skirt" because it just looks pretty awful. We are in full engineering breakdown trying to figure a method to both attach the run securely and keep access to open and close the pop door. And we need a ramp in there somewhere, but that's the easy part. .... Looking for my thinking cap.

So close, and yet so far. Hmmm.

As it sits now, needing to get aligned a bit better, and needing the door to the run hung the opposite direction and painted. Perhaps paint will make it all better

 

[Autumn Mama]

We made our run tall enough that we could easily walk in it to top up the waterer (outside one) and spend time in it with the chooks, clean out old scraps, poop etc.

In your coop, do you have a place for the chickens to roost, such as a raised 2 x 4 with edges slightly sanded to create a comfortable perch for their feet?

I only noticed very small tree branches, in your posted pics, which are too round, and may snap as they age and the birds grow. There are height and clearance suggestions for the roosts too, you could search on BYC... We made two different perches about 18 inches and 2 feet off of the floor of the coop to prevent leg injury when jumping down, and gave them enough room to fly up and not bump their heads when they are older and bigger...

Your coop looks really nice!!!

 

[Cluckatar]

We do have a higher perch. The lower ones were meant to be intermediate hopping spots to get to the higher one, although they work nicely for them to roost at this age. It's difficult to see from the photo angle, but there is decent head room above the highest perch, and hopefully enough room for all of the girls up there. If not, we may add another if I can figure out a place to anchor it.

Since the run is small, I may not put outdoor water and food. The door to the coop will be open for them. I have a second waterer, so I may attach that right inside the run door.

I'm really thinking I need to enclose the area underneath the coop and add that to the run space. Although I need to remind myself that the run is just until they're larger, and they will have the full side yard to move around once those fences are up.

 

[ChickenMusch]

Your coop is so cute!!! Defiantly giving me some much needed ideas for ours! We are starting with a 7x5x4 shipping crate... My BF got it free from work!! So excited to post pics!! Again, awesome coop!

 

[fireguy56]

Great, sweet job. Looks awesome. girls should love it.
Erik