New member-Finally finished my coop!

[WetFeathers]

Hi,

I'm new to BYC and new to chickens!

BYC has been a tremendous resource for us as we begun our adventure and I appreciate how helpful everybody is on the boards. We've had the opportunity to learn a lot. We started by purchasing five chicks a little over five weeks ago. While we did enjoy having them in the house, we were sure ready to get them outside! I finally finished my coop and moved the girls in this weekend. I am still using a small light in one corner of the coop for a little extra warmth, as it is still a bit chilly, but they seem to be enjoying the bigger space.

Here are the girls not long after getting them:

Here is the coop all finished--sorry, I don't have more pictures, especially of the inside, but those will follow. We were just too excited to get them in there to stop and take too many pictures

The coop and and run is 10 x 6 and the coop is 4x6. I still need to add the nesting boxes, but I figure I have a little bit of time for that. It's hard to see from the picture, but I have a string that runs from their sliding door to the outside of the coop so that we can open and close their door if we do not feel like going in the coop. I still need to figure out what I am going to use on the ground of their run--pine shavings (like in the coop), straw, or sand---too many choices!!!

Anyway, it was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun! I've done quite a bit of woodworking, but this was my first attempt and something "structural." While some of it is a bit wonky, overall I am pleased--I hope the chicks are, as well!

Thanks for looking!
Bill

 

[redhen]

Welcome!!! And NICE coop and yard!!!!!

 

[kichohana]

Quote:
ditto!

 

[RockyPhoenix]

WOW!

!!!!!!!! thats beautiful!

oh and

 

[lisseree]

Great coop! I'm new to chicken ownership too, and it's been a fun spring building our first coop. Thank goodness for Naomi's Organic Farm Supply here in SE Portland, they've been a wealth of information for me.

Fun to think that next time this year we can dye our own backyard eggs for Easter!

Elissa

 

[Baymen Moe]

I love your coop, nicely done.

 

[Turner]

Beautiful chicks...and coop. I would not use shavings in the run. They hold moisture..if you get a lot of rain it will take forever for them to dry out. Sand would probably work the best. You can change it out if you need to. You can leave the ground natural also..the hens will dig holes to dust bath either way. I replace sand in mine several times a year. Good Luck!

 

[scooter147]

Very nice.
I second the recommendation on sand. The grass will be gone in no time and in the NW I would use sand. The girils will love it, makes a great sauna.
If you want to see the girls have some great fun, let them loose in that well maintained and MULCHED yard.

 

[WetFeathers]

Thank you for all the nice comments

It really was a lot of fun to build. I pretty much "winged" it as I went along.

I haven't heard of Naomi's Organic Farm Supply. I'll need to check it out. I relied on Livingscape in NE Portland (I'm in NE) and The Urban Farm Store in SE. Both were very helpful and Livingscape held a seminar on raising chickens that was a huge help.

I figure that the girls are going to have fun in the mulch

Actually, it's not quite as well maintained as it looks--it's just rather photogenic

What I'm really excited about, is that we have a small garden patch (about 10x20) behind the coop that is fenced. I plan on letting the girls "go to work" to till it up for me Now, if only it would stop raining!!

I'm leaning towards the sand idea. I seem to see quite a few people on the board who have had great success with it. I figure that since the rain should be tapering off soon, I will likely just stick with dirt for now and through the summer and then make up my mind in the Fall.

Has anybody noticed any downside to sand???

Thanks again!

Bill

 

[HorizonChickens]

Very much like the coop and run in one idea. We are new as well- actually don't have our chicks yet and are building our coop now. Always love seeing what others have done. Yours is fantastic. Thanks so much for posting the pics!