Our Chicken Dream Come True!

[Great_Strides]

How beautiful!!! Your birds are very lucky!

 

[Jenessa_096]

So Gorgeous Spoiled chickens

 

[Dreammaker]

Thank you all so much! I shared your words with my husband and he was touched. It means a lot to us. We really couldn't have done it without all the great resources available here and other chicken sites.

I've been enjoying the wealth of information and sense of community here at BYC so much. I appreciate everyone being so helpful and friendly, sharing advice, pictures, etc. It's a big part of why this chicken journey has been so fun!

 

[aart]

A masterpiece for sure!
Is the cupola functional or just decorative?

 

[Jeanw]

Just fantastic!

 

[Dreammaker]

A masterpiece for sure!
Is the cupola functional or just decorative?

Thank you! It is functional!

 

[LadiesAndJane]

If I were a chicken, I would definitely want to live there! It’s just stunning and you can see all the love and hard work that went into it. Bravo!

 

[blackdog043]

Your husband did a great job on the build and you did a great job on your end! That coop should last a long time!

A few things I noted when looking at your pics.

Your water cups will freeze when it gets cold enough. If you don't have something figured out already for winter, you could make a heated horizontal nipple waterer, I'll add my article link below. You could run a heavy duty extension cord out to the coop for the winter. That's what I used to do, before I moved.

Are your chickens able to use the feeder good? It looks like the elbows are pointed down coming out of the bucket. With that style feeder the elbows should be sticking straight out, so they don't have to go up at an awkward angle and stick their head down.

If you put gamma lids on the buckets, it will make your life easier when filling them up, unless you don't snap them on tight. Gamma lids screw on and off, I have them on my feeders and had them on my 5 gallon waterers, before I switched to bigger waterers. If you do buy them, don't tighten the waterer all the way. Screw it down then back it off a quarter turn so it can vent.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ock-tank-deicer-and-horizontal-nipples.74609/

 

[BleuSaphir]

That look amazing!

 

[Dreammaker]

Your husband did a great job on the build and you did a great job on your end! That coop should last a long time!

A few things I noted when looking at your pics.

Your water cups will freeze when it gets cold enough. If you don't have something figured out already for winter, you could make a heated horizontal nipple waterer, I'll add my article link below. You could run a heavy duty extension cord out to the coop for the winter. That's what I used to do, before I moved.

Are your chickens able to use the feeder good? It looks like the elbows are pointed down coming out of the bucket. With that style feeder the elbows should be sticking straight out, so they don't have to go up at an awkward angle and stick their head down.

If you put gamma lids on the buckets, it will make your life easier when filling them up, unless you don't snap them on tight. Gamma lids screw on and off, I have them on my feeders and had them on my 5 gallon waterers, before I switched to bigger waterers. If you do buy them, don't tighten the waterer all the way. Screw it down then back it off a quarter turn so it can vent.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ock-tank-deicer-and-horizontal-nipples.74609/

Thank you! So, the waterer and feeder were kind of an afterthought; I'll admit. At that point, we were so anxious to get pullets that we thought "We'll just do something simple for now and upgrade once they're here." Being in New England, it can be tricky to find started pullets from a local, reputable breeder once you get into fall and winter.

That said, they do use the feeder and waterer just fine. We set the feeder up on several pavers to make it easy for them to reach. The pullets will get bigger of course, so we'll reassess. Again, it was something to hold us over. The watering cups suck. I thought they'd appreciate a cup vs nipples, as they had an open water bar where they came from. They are so flimsy and one broke already.

I will look into the gamma lids and horizontal nipple waterer you mention. For heating, we had considered an aquarium heater plugged into a solar panel power source (it would be a huge PIA to run an extension cord, as there are no exterioroutlets near the coop). That is one of the challenges we need to work out soon. One thing we'd like to address with any new feeder or waterer is freeing up space and minimizing their footprint in the run. PVC pipes for food and water had been an option but we were hesitant because some claim they're difficult to clean.

Thank you for your feedback. We hope to enjoy many years out of it and make lots of memories with our kids.