Our coop. What do you think?

[country lady]

We had six hens in a 4 x 4 tractor coop, 4' off the ground and it worked okay. We intended to have only 4 hens but you know, the darn chicks were so cute. DH used mostly left over supplies including a rubber mat on the floor over mesh wire (in the winter). That rubber was left over from a porch roof and it helped a lot. The coop traveled around a large yard in nice weather but we parked it on the south side of the garage in the winter and the ladies came through three winters very nicely. We covered the chicken wire around the bottom of the coop with plastic and used straw over the rubber floor in the winter. They were out of the wind and I fed them vitamins, sometimes apple cider vinegar in their water, buttermilk soaked bread, bean sprouts, etc. They were very healthy in our cold winters. Straw bales around the bottom of the coop would work too--lots of good ideas out there. Keeping chickens is so much fun and those eggs are wonderful to cook with. Also, sharing with family and friends is great because country eggs are something most don't have and many kids never see. Enjoy!

 

[OHGrandma]

Quote:
Oh, great idea about having a mesh wire floor and covering it with a rubber mat in the winter! I have similar plans of building moveable coops with detachable runs for summer use; then in the winter, parking the coops against the south side of our cement block garage, or the cement walls of the barn foundation.

 

[babyrnlc]

Quote:
Oh, great idea about having a mesh wire floor and covering it with a rubber mat in the winter! I have similar plans of building moveable coops with detachable runs for summer use; then in the winter, parking the coops against the south side of our cement block garage, or the cement walls of the barn foundation.

I know, I love that idea. I did it with my bunny hutch. Our floor for our coop is removable. I think we are going to build a wire one and just change them out in the summer.

My question is, Now we keep the feed and water under the coop hanging (like in the picture) so obviously you would not want to do that with a wire floor. They would poop right on it. So where would you keep the food and water to keep it clean?

 

[reliant601]

That is so cute

 

[mychookschick]

Ooh! It is sooo cute!

I have a quick question! How does the light get in? Do you have a window or is there a light inside?

Thanks!

MyChooksChick

 

[babyrnlc]

Quote:
We don't have light inside. There is light from the door, but that is it. It does not seem to bother them, they are laying great, even through this blizzard. If it were cold like this all the time, I would think adding a sky light would be good, but they are mainly only in it at night (other than this week lol, since we have a blizzard. They still go out to play on the snow that I covered with hay)

 

[country lady]

We have two small windows in our coop. I was wrong, our coop is 2' off the ground, just enough for the hens to get under it. In the winter we put the feed tray and water inside the coop. We have a top raise-up lid on the coop back with a hook and a raise-up plywood bottom for access into the coop, if that makes sense. Six full grown hens on the roost was full but we thought it also kept them warmer in the winter. We had two wire enclosed covered wings on the front of the coop where we put the feed and hung the water. Nest boxes attached on the coop outside walls would have been better. I wish I could post a photo but I've been unsuccessful in the past--not very computer savvy. Sadly, our six hens were all killed by a neighbor's dog and hawk.