Our Coop/Chicken Hilton

[kressg23]

Well, here are pics of our coop. My hubby is a building contractor, so he had all of the materials laying around. As you can see, it's a framed coop with vinyl siding.

Roost, water jug, and food bin - but will be changing to a hanging feeder this weekend.

Nesting boxes:

Small cage for chicks. It's empty now, but will be home to our little ones soon.

Food storage bins. Adding 2 more this weekend.

Our temporary run.

As you can see the run is not big enough for 14 chickens. I'd like to have it enclosed, but because I want it so big, I'm not entirely sure that'll be possible. Can anyone suggest any ideas for increasing this area? We drove past another coop a few days ago and they used the broken belting from potato combines as their fences. I may consider this, but I'm trying to figure out how I can put it in the ground, plus make it tall enough. Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[suburbanhomesteader]

Wow, nice coop!

Things to consider about the run:

To protect from flying/jumping/climbing predators, and to prevent flying escapes, it should be covered.

I built an 8' wide x 50' long x 6' tall hoop run from horse panels I got at Tractor Supply. They stand on their own, but I put a line of chainlink railing down the middle, which makes it strong enough to stand on!

Not sure how big of an area you have, or what shape the run could be in, but for 3 month old pullets and older, 9 ga chainlink would keep out even the most determined pit bull. 11 ga would probably be OK; 14 ga is so flimsy I've seen labs and raccoons chew through it.

Whatever you do, I would make the run big enough in which to stand up. My first hoop run was only 4' tall, and it was a literal pain in the butt to try to go in and fetch reluctant chickens. Failing a tall run, I've used a very short run with hatch doors so I could get inside most of it. That worked for a small run/tractor, but I don't see how it would work for a large run.

Good luck!

 

[Just-Like-Hatching]

Very nice. Will be great when you finish the run.

 

[rooster0209]

Sweet coop!

My hoghouse is looking pretty shabby

but its solid concrete and a solid roof with plenty of room to expand.

 

[Nuggetsowner:)]

Wow! Great coop! We also used hog panels from TSC covered on the bottom with chicken wire and the top with bird netting. We made a frame from 2X6's and bent the panels to fit inside then nailed them in place. I hope this makes sense. I could go find pictures. Hope this helps!

 

[dangerouschicken]

HOLY COW! I sooo have coop envy! Love the roosts, nesting boxes, everything......

SOOOO great!

 

[kressg23]

Aww thanks everyone. I admit, my hubby is a bit picky about stuff. And when I was the one who kept remind him that it was "just" a chicken coop, I really had to laugh when he plumbed it with electricity and put a space heater in there for winter. It's hanging up high so they can't get to it.

Great ideas on the fence. We live on 2.5 acres, and the coop is out behind the shop, so I can have just about as much space as I want for the run. Right now, if you can kinda tell from the pic, the run only consists of the space between the coop and the shop. The hardware cloth is tied to steel posts with fence wire. But, if one of my kids leaned on it too hard, the wire would come down. Plus, my hen flew over it yesterday for the first time. If there is a way I can do most, if not all, of the work myself, that'd be awesome. I sometimes get the feeling that if I waited for my hubby to have a day off, I'd be waiting a long time this time of year.

To those who have posted run suggestions, share your pics, I'd love to see them.

 

[amyquilt]

Hey your dh can take a break and come down to Texas any time he wants and build me a coop like that! LOL

 

[CATRAY44]

Just so he gets to Michigan before winter........

 

[nakactress]

How far are you from Salt Lake?

lol

We still need to build a coop for our 9 chickens but money became tight for any materials. But I'm sure we will find something. Its fun to look at pics and keep planning.