I am a complete novice but looking forward to having a couple of chickens in my backyard. I live on Sydney's northern beaches and would love to see someone's chicken coop so I can have some idea of what to do and how to make one before I get the chickens.
Welcome to BYC. Click on 'Forums' on the top of the page. Go to the coop section and study and question away. Good luck with your coop build and the establishment of your flock.
If you haven't yet, please make your poultry a FIRST AID KIT for any issues that would arise.
It's definitely better to have it and not need it rather than need it and not have it.
Also, make sure your coop(s) have a proper amount of VENTILATION. Your chickens will absolutely thank you for it!
Personally, I have found the Topic of the Week articles a great resource and a one stop shop for questions which may have already been discussed within the BYC membership group.
Even though we are both in Aus, as you know our climates can be very different. I have found though that Aussie chookens do not spend a great deal of time in the coop, just sleeping and laying and of course, do not get locked in by snow etc. For this reason, we opted for a raised coop with a removable timber slatted floor for additional air flow on our humid nights and ease of cleaning:
These are some pics of our coop and run .. not the prettiest but it works well. One during the construction stage. We concentrated more on the run than the coop for the above reasons. The run is completely covered due to our wet season and torrential rain. One tip, chicken wire is good for keeping chickens in but pretty ineffective at keeping anything out [predators].
I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.
Yes, do pop in on the Aussie thread (Teila has given you a link). You can post there and ask what type of coops work best for the climate. What breeds handle the heat, etc.
They can even tell you where the best feed stores are, and where to get chicks.
Welcome!
