pics of coop - not finished!

[joanm]

This is my coop still unfinished. I have to finish painting and put the roof on. I do have the ladder made - just not pictured! What do you think?!

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Looks great! This is one of my favorite types of designs. Are those 2x2 boards? How are the verticle boards attached / fastned to the horizontal (top and bottom) boards?

 

[joanm]

Thank you! Yes, 2 x 2's - they are fastened with screws.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Ah, screws through the bottom / top of the horizontal members?

 

[joanm]

Yep, and we used staples to attach the wire... I put handles on it so I could move it around the yard, but it's sooo heavy it will probably stay in one place!

 

[doghamstyluv95]

great coop!!! the chickens will defientely enjoy it

 

[barg]

Looks good, I am building one along the same lines as that right now... and have been for what seems like forever.
What are your dimensions and how many birds are you houseing? standards or bantums?

Also, im useing a few 2x2's in my design but yours must be much better then the ones I get, cause the ones I have fall apart if you look at them the wrong way
Great job!

 

[suburbanhomesteader]

If I might offer a couple of suggestions (not because I know a lot about chickens, but because I'm quickly learning a lot about tractors and moveable coops!).

My tractor has a roost 2' from the ceiling, in the outside area, and my hens prefer to roost there; they do not like roosting in the "box" area, although when it was under 32 degrees, I sort of forced them to go in there.

Also, the handles you have will not allow you to get good leverage, are not placed well to allow you to use your biceps (the strongest muscle in the arm) to their best efficiency, and might even pinch your hands when in use. I might suggest putting a 2x4 at a slant from the base of the middle vertical support and then about thigh level in the front, and then attaching those arms to a cross piece. You would lift on the cross piece to move the tractor. Also, if you added a couple of wheels at the VERY back of the coop, you could move it yourself and it would only get the coop about 1.5" off the ground at the back end. I found out the hard way that if you are going to lift one end, the wheels at the other end have to be at the extreme edge of the tractor, or else the corners of the tractor will "dig in" to the dirt when the front of the tractor is lifted, and eliminate the usefulness of the tires. If you can't put wheels on (I'm still working on using a better wheel; I want a pneumatic, puncture-proof one, to make it easier to ride smoothly over the ruts in the back yard), I'm finding that if you make a gentle radius on the back end of the bottom side pieces, and attach some metal to the "runners", you can drag a pretty heavy tractor. I still like the wheels better, though.

I'll include a photo of my tractor so you can see what I'm talking about as far as the "leveraged arms" go. When I got the tractor, it didn't have those long 2x4s sticking out the front; it was designed to be pushed around like a Trojan Horse, and it was a PAIN to move! It's slicker than snot right now! It's all about LEVERAGE! Good luck!

PS: The roost you can see in this picture is NOT the one they use; the one they use is about 12-18"higher, and is close to the front door. You can see it in the second photo.

PSS: That is NOT my garage in the photo, which needs painting so badly! It is the neighbor's garage. Not that I'm a snob, but I'm just saying I'm not that far behind on my painting!

 

[barg]

Quote:
Personally I plan to have my chickens in the box everynight because of all the preditors we have around here.
Seems as though doing it that way will avoid alot of additional problems.
Just depends on where ya live I guess though.
Cyotes, racoons opossum, skunks, big neighbor dogs, bald eagles, owls, redtail hawks, and I live in the burbs

 

[Whirlwind]

I like it. It looks like mine. My dh insisted on wire on the bottom. We used the same as the rest of coop. 1/2 cage wire. I keep straw or pine shavings on the bottom. I am glad he did as we live on the creek and lots of wild critters here looking for chicken dinner. I now have an attatched run and also free range a few hours a day. My roost is on the very top under the peak with a short one over the ramp. They all jump on the short one first then up to the top. I also now have a door on the opp. side as this one which opens into the run. Mine is way to heavy to move often. My dh builds every thing to last 100 years. lol
If there was any way to attach them I saw trailer jacks used on someones tractor and that would make it easier to move.


I think yours looks super and please post pics of it when you get finished.