Our coop

[Rktekt]

Amazingly enough I have never owned chickens, built a pen nor a coop. But here I am now with six chickens. Let me know what you see wrong with my already built pen. I won’t be offended.

i did lay down 18” wide 1/4” mesh around the perimeter so digging should not be an issue. I hope.

 

[human1]

hmm, are the nesting boxes lower than the roosts? if they are not they might not want to go on the roosts. are the roosts the right size for their feet? is there enough space for each chicken? is the coop ventilated correctly?

yikes I just realized the run is made of chicken wire... if you have big animals (like hawks, racoons, coyotes, wolves, and bears) they can break the chicken wire. (i dont recall the best size of the cloth but) hardware cloth is better

 

[Rktekt]

i live in northern Illinois. Suburbia.

we have chipmunks, squirrel, opposum, skunks, raccoons, hawks and feral cats.

there are some coyote around. My yard is fenced and I have never seen one in the yard.

 

[human1]

I have never seen one in the yard.

maybe check for areas where they *could* enter?

 

[LJHC]

Nice set-up! Adding some 1/4" hardware cloth will add a level of security...just in case.

 

[DouglasB]

I would be weary of the chicken wire. It will keep your birds in, but it won't keep predators out. Cover it with hardware cloth. Anything bigger than an inch will let predators reach in and grab a bird, they won't get the whole bird thru the wire, but they'll get whatever they grabbed, not good. Larger critters can also chew right thru it with little effort.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Run looks nice except for the wire (you don't need to remove the chicken wire, but I would overlay hardware cloth or welded wire with no wider than 1/2" openings).

Coop likely needs ventilation added as I don't see any. It may also prove to be too tight for 6 as they get bigger.

we have chipmunks, squirrel, opposum, skunks, raccoons and feral cats.

there are some coyote around. My yard is fenced and I have never seen one in the yard.

Coons can 100% tear apart chicken wire. Stray/loose dogs would be another culprit that can rival/surpass a coyote in destructive ability.

We all have lots of wild animals around that we don't see, but are surely out there.

 

[Rktekt]

I can probably easily overlap 36” wide/tall 1/4” mesh.

 

[Rktekt]

Added three more images

 

[aart]

Run is nice!
Coop looks too small for 6 birds.
Dimension of coop and run, please?
Pics inside of coop?

Oh, and... Welcome to BYC! @Rktekt
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