Our chicken coop

[NewbyChicknGirl]

Hello here is the coop hubby built in just 2 weeks. I think he did excellent. The neighbors gave us their chickens when they moved and we didn't have anywhere for them so this is what he came up with. It is working out great.... the chickens love it. They settled in quickly. They roost on the branches and seem very comfortable.

http://www.flickr.com//photos/95318445@N08/sets/72157633354264742/show/with/8682699724/

A few changes since the pictures were taken
-the watering container is much larger now and in the corner
-the feeding container has a protective roof on it so poop doesn't get in the chicken feed
-the slanted roof of the 'house' now has metal on it


We are looking for old license plates to decorate the wooden part that stands up straight so the goats don't climb on the top of the chicken coop.

 

[cosbackyard]

Love the pic with the goat.
Looks solid. One thing to consider - depending on predators in your area things may try to dig underneath at night. I can't tell from the pics whether or not there's preventative measures in there.

Congrats on chickens

 

[NewbyChicknGirl]

We didn't do any preventative measures on the digging front. Is there a specialized product or do we just dig & put chicken wire or fencing in the ground, then cover it up?

Speaking of predators hubby reached in to collect eggs Monday and a 4.5 foot copperhead was in there. Snake extracted & killed but a firm reminder to be alert.

 

[wwdubose]

Nice looking coop! Ditto what cosbackyard said about the critter prevention. I'm burying hardware cloth around the parameter of my coop and run.

 

[NewbyChicknGirl]

WW how deep are you burying hardware cloth?

 

[wwdubose]

WW how deep are you burying hardware cloth?

I'm digging a trench that is one foot deep by 2 foot wide (on the exterior side) and burying a 3 foot wide section of hardware cloth. The cloth is stapled to the 2x6 frame and curved down and out to fill the trench. Anything that attempts to dig in will always start digging at the wall and be blocked by the hardware cloth.

Below are a couple of pics to show how I did it around the outside of my coop.

 

[yyz0yyz0]

I'm also going to bury fencing to stop digging, but I dont' plan on going as deep. It's my thought that as soon as they hit the fence they can't dig any deeper so why let them dig deep holes before they hit the fencing. Plus it's less digging for me.

I'm just going to cut up the grass/sod and lay the fencing then replace the sod.

 

[wwdubose]

I'm also going to bury fencing to stop digging, but I dont' plan on going as deep. It's my thought that as soon as they hit the fence they can't dig any deeper so why let them dig deep holes before they hit the fencing. Plus it's less digging for me.

I'm just going to cut up the grass/sod and lay the fencing then replace the sod.

I do tend to overbuild, but deeper will also prevent burrowing pests like rodents and some snakes.

 

[aart]

We didn't do any preventative measures on the digging front. Is there a specialized product or do we just dig & put chicken wire or fencing in the ground, then cover it up?

Speaking of predators hubby reached in to collect eggs Monday and a 4.5 foot copperhead was in there. Snake extracted & killed but a firm reminder to be alert.

Ewwwww yuk!

How do they chickens feel about goats climbing on their coop? Must make quite the racket!

 

[NewbyChicknGirl]

Yes it's a racket. Thankfully it's not very often now that its just 1 kid who has access to the chicken coop roof. The chickens are unusually calm & act like nothing is happening.