Planning/Building my First ever Chicken Coop. Need help and ideas!

[aart]

Yes but Im going to put a plastic bin in each one so they won't fall out. I made it open like that so I was able to clean out the coop.

Might need to put a board up to hold the floor bedding in when you open the nests to gather eggs.

 

[Skyfeathers]

Jkraft, welcome to the fun of being a chicken mama! Looks like you are making nice progress on your little coop, be sure to post a picture when it's done, we'd love to see it. The run you are planning is a nice size, are you using hardware cloth on it? My girls love their swing I made from a branch and a couple of chains. Recently I made feeders from trash cans and PVC pipes, let me know if you'd be interested and I'll post pics. They keep the food dry and the girls don't throw the food around anymore. Will you let your girls out in the yard on occasion? Too bad you have a limit of three, but that will keep you from the dangers of chicken math I started with 3 roosters my daughter couldn't keep at her place because of neighbor complaints, and now have 35! O-O

 

[Jkraft]

Thanks Skyfeathers!

Yes, I plan on using hardware cloth. I was able to buy some pretty cheap off craigslist. They had a ton of leftover from making their own coop. I have already done the windows. I would love to see a picture of your swing and all the diy projects! I haven't got to making much,The coop keeps me busy. I did however make a chicken nipple waterier. That was pretty easy and under $10. I plan on letting them out of the coop almost everyday. The coop is mainly for nights. I have dogs so I have to make sure they get along first. But so far so good!

My husband brought home 2 silkies on Friday. They are in the brooder. They are only a few days old. I have been holding them everyday. I just love them! Our power went out last night, we had a bad storm so we had to start the fire place for the first time since we moved into our home. It was in the 100's but the last days have been much cooler and we didn't want them to freeze. I think we will end up with 4 chickens. We wanted to limit ourselves (not a neighborhood rule). I have 3 dogs, none of my neighbors have chickens, and I just don't want to cause any problems. The breeder I found will only sell me chicks in doubles so I think were going to get 4 and smaller breed chickens than we first intended.

We painted the coop and just need to put the roof on the nest boxes before putting it on it's legs. That should be done in the next few days.

* Pic doesn't show real color. It is grey with a slight blue tint*


My brooder. A horse through that came with the duck house I bought

 

[Skyfeathers]

Jkraft, your coop is looking really nice! I love the idea of using a horse trough for a brooder! I'll have to look on Craigs List and see if I can find one. My last brooder was my bathtub! Don't really want to do that again, at least I won't have to worry about it until next spring! Silkies are adorable, and usually very sweet. They lay such cute little eggs, too. Handle them a lot so they are used to you and you will really enjoy them. They tend to be broody, and make excellent mothers. Please keep us updated on how your coop progresses and your cute little chickies. I'll get some of some of my girls on their swing and of my coops.

 

[Skyfeathers]

Jkraft, here is my "get acquainted" pen which is an area of the main covered run that I fenced off for these young pullets. They can see each other and interact without bullying. The young ones are almost ready to be integrated in with my main flock. They are getting close to laying, and are big enough to defend themselves, you can see my hen Marigold in the front, then the 6 mixed red pullets. Also, there is the swing which I made out of a sycamore branch, the red trash can feeder with 3inch PVC pipe access, and a 2 gallon nipple waterer. I use the deep litter method with straw for this covered run, which has worked very well. Then you can see one of my coops, I wanted something a little different It needs to be painted but I needed to put my Silkie rooster in it and have just not gotten to it yet. He has a Brown Leghorn hen as a companion, and they get along like an old married couple. There is a door under the back of the coop that leads to a fenced area where they can roam a bit.
Hope all is going well finishing up your coop and run.

 

[youtubeminer]

Watch out for foxes if you fences are weak the doc can bite it

 

[Skyfeathers]

I agree! I have 1/2 inch hardware cloth up 3 feet, and 2X4 welded wire up the rest of the way, with an 18 inch skirt around it on the ground. We have a lot of foxes here, probably 8, because I think their last litter was 6 kits, but my big concern is how well they jump. They can jump over a 4 foot fence easily, or from flat ground onto the roof of a garage, run across the roof, then down into the chicken yard. I'm working on making a much larger area covered with wire fencing so they have more play area. We've survived 3 hawk attacks, the last time he actually caught one of my girls, but dropped her. . Her back is bare from where his grip kept her feathers when she fell. He has swooped down within 6 feet of me. Definitely worth it to take precautions!

 

[Jkraft]

Sorry I haven't been on in awhile. Also thank you for the pictures and comments. I just started my own business and it is booming and haven't had a break. I also work part time as a caregiver on the weekends for the elderly.

We finally got the nesting box roof on and the coop is outside. It is so heavy now with the nesting boxes I could barely move it from my garage to the backyard. Tomorrow we will put on the legs and I will get photos of the coop all finished before we build the run. Lots more to do but I am feeling accomplished. Pics to come tomorrow. Also my chicks are going great. They have begun getting feathers. They seem to hate me though. I hold them everyday but they just don't like me. Any suggestions? Also how long are eggs good for once they hatch? Mine won't lay for a while just curious. I read they last more than 6 months without refrigerated.

Thank you all so much! Ya'll have helped me more than you know. So happy to have my own small flock! My dogs seem to get along just great with the chicks but I always supervise. I don't let them get to much time together as I don't wanna overwhelm the chicks.

 

[Jkraft]

Thank you! Beautiful coop!!!

 

[lindalouly]

Coop sounds great!!!! Good job!!!!! I think since you are making a pretty decent sized run , your coop would be just fine for four birds. My birds only use the coop for bed time.

other than that they run amok around the yard with two protector dogs... 9 birds total and they are all very happy