North Carolina

[moss farm]

Went and looked at coops today with my lovely wife. Not what I expected from the Amish community. it looks cheaply built using the lowest quality lumber. It looks good in the photo but in person it's totally different. I can't justify spending $1300 on it. I'm going to build my own. I built the one I have now and it's perfect for the 5 hens we have but we are wanting to expand our flock to 10. So onward with the build!
I'll post pics so I can get lots ideas from all of y'all.

 

[jtbass2756]

Went and looked at coops today with my lovely wife. Not what I expected from the Amish community. it looks cheaply built using the lowest quality lumber. It looks good in the photo but in person it's totally different. I can't justify spending $1300 on it. I'm going to build my own. I built the one I have now and it's perfect for the 5 hens we have but we are wanting to expand our flock to 10. So onward with the build!
I'll post pics so I can get lots ideas from all of y'all.

I have checked out a lot that are advertised as "Amish" coops but what they are claiming is NOT a coop really built by the Amish but an Amish "style".....They have copied the style or design of the Amish people but they were definitely not built by them..

. and that is a quote from an Amish builder who is a friend of our family. He had no anger about it ...just made a statement....

 

[Coop Scoop Boogie]

Good morning folks

I'm wondering how much ice is out there today and just
how crazy some drivers are going to be. Some of the kids
will be fritzy because the schedule is off by 2 hours and
they just don't deal with the change all that well. It blows my
mind every time one of those kids asks me when to be at
the bus stop if there is a 2 hour delay. I just tell them 2 hours
later than the usual time. They just can't convert that.

hope everyone has a good day

 

[Regin]

Went and looked at coops today with my lovely wife. Not what I expected from the Amish community. it looks cheaply built using the lowest quality lumber. It looks good in the photo but in person it's totally different. I can't justify spending $1300 on it. I'm going to build my own. I built the one I have now and it's perfect for the 5 hens we have but we are wanting to expand our flock to 10. So onward with the build!
I'll post pics so I can get lots ideas from all of y'all.

Here's some coops that I built for our chickens. Actually, I built 3 previous versions, and improved each time, to come up with this design.

I built them in single units, double width, and in this 5 coop unit. Also, a single size unit divided in 3 for breeding pens.

I like the single units best which are moveable like a tractor.

I'm still building more. As soon as I think I've got enough coops, I find I need more.

I pre-painted all the wood before assembly. The roofs are corrugated plastic panels.

 

[crazyhen]

I really like the looks of the big coop. Safe and neat. The poly. top is nice too since they get extra light.Do you free range your flock?. That grass would be a find for them. Here I can't free range. We have two resident hawks down by our stream. It would be so much fun to watch them on our grassed hills.sigh, every place has some draw backs.

 

[Regin]

I really like the looks of the big coop. Safe and neat. The poly. top is nice too since they get extra light.Do you free range your flock?. That grass would be a find for them. Here I can't free range. We have two resident hawks down by our stream. It would be so much fun to watch them on our grassed hills.sigh, every place has some draw backs.

Thanks!

The idea is to be inexpensive and quick to construct. Also since the panels are uniform sizes, they can be broken down and rebuilt in different configurations.

The poly roof is opaque, and in the hot summer sun it is a lot cooler under there. I do range some of my chickens (mostly cockerels) and three turkeys. Not much grass and such right now in the winter. The above picture was taken in the fall.

The 2x4 fencing I had was 36" so I made them 37 1/2" plus the roof height. You can get in them stooping down if you have to. The door is in the solid panel area behind the roosts. I put the feed and water in that area too, so I rarely need to actually go inside.

BTW we have 3 large red tailed hawks around here. There is a lot of rabbits, squirrels and other small game in the area, so they haven't bothered the large fowl yet. I won't chance it with little ones or silkies though.

 

[crazyhen]

I like to be able to stand and clean out the coop. I have a big poop board area under my roost. I thought yours were taller than they really are. I still like how neat they look though. I would have put them up on stilts so I could rake them out for cleanning. I hate bending at my age. LOL

 

[Regin]

They could be made with the 5 ft. fencing as well. I thought about it, and probably will do that when I built the replacements for my layer flock. I rarely need to actually go inside these, since everything is right at the door.

 

[cwhittington]

Li

I'll repeat this post on the SC thread, since I'm in Wilmington, which will wash down into SC with the next big hurricane.

I'm looking for some folks who would consider, at some point in the future, going in together on baby chick orders where the minimum is too large for us. At the moment I'm looking at some Welsummers and Marans from these folks http://www.whitmorefarm.com/ but would also be happy to collaborate on other sources as well.

Not sure if this would be helpful, but Little Birdie in Wake Forest just posted:
We have some more baby chicks that were hatched on 1/12/2015 that are ready to go to good homes. They are all sexed females and vaccinated for Mareks. They also all come from NPIP certified hatcheries and farms. As always all questions are welcome.
Available Breeds:
Ameracaunas: $6
Black Austrolorps: $5
Black Copper Marans: $16
Buff Orpingtons: $5
Domoniques: $6
Welsummers: $7
White Leghorns: $5

They are in Wake Forest, NC and probably don't require minimums...

 

[johanssonmel]

Awesome, thanks so much! Heading right over there!