Our first coop (pic heavy)

[alaskachick]

Where were you when I needed you? that is a pretty house!

 

[Turkeyrangler]

Really nice job. Good craftsmanship. Looks like the ladys enjoy it too.

 

[~*Sweet Cheeks*~]

Very NICE coop. Love the colors, black hardware. The girls look like they like sitting up high. They'll like it even better when you flip that 2 x 4 on the bigger side so they don't have to grip and balance all night long.

Thank you for sharing and I look forward to seeing picks of your run.

 

[The Chicken Lady]

Very cool! I loved the building pics with the little boy (your son?). He'll remember getting to work on that with you when he was young.

 

[LynneP]

I didn't bother with the deep-litter method because of ammonia, I use about 4" pine shavings on the floor which is planks over concrete. Ammonia is bad for you and especially for your child. I mix food-grade DE and Stable Boy in and use a platform as well as a roost and clean up daily with a paint scraper. You can see on my BYC pages. I notice your roost is very high so you may have to lower it if you change to thinner bedding in future.

 

[PhilErvin]

VERY NICE!!!

The only suggestion I would make is regarding the top of the nest box. I would consider adding roofing material to protect the wood.

 

[lhousesoccer]

Lynne - my floor is vinyl flooring over PT plywood. How often do you change the 4" of pine shavings? It sounds like I should clean my poop board more often as well. Great BYC pages. I need to take more time and read them more thoroughly, but you've got some great info there. Thanks again.

Quote:

 

[Lisa202]

You guys did a great job!

You obviously work well with wood...and I love the color!
Lucky chickens!

 

[biddyboo]

I encourage you to continue with your deep litter, just turn the litter more often to dry the droppings. Our raised coop is only 4 X 8 with four nest boxes extending on the exposed long side. We have almost full wall wide doors on the two 4' ends which open, making litter turning easy. I use a hoe to shuffle or redistribute the litter every two-three days. This takes only a few minutes and no ammonia build up develops. It may be a little fumy when we open the doors in the morning, but these dissipate immediately. I also have some DE and stall dri in the litter mix. I change the litter twice annually to add to the garden: early spring and fall. We also have a connecting indoor pen that is 10 x 12 inside our metal barn, bedding there is deep litter also, maintained the same, though unless the hens are in there a lot through the day and night--as in severe weather periods--I turn this mixture only a couple of times a month. Best wishes with your chickens ~G

 

[TigerLilly]

That is one great looking coop! I think you planned it out very well & I love the color.