post your chicken coop pictures here!

[lynnehd]

Oh ok and how would i keep predators from digging their way from under? Its a dirt floor

You could attach 24" of hardware cloth like an 'apron' around the perimeter base and fan it out. (screw on with washers, or use pneumatic staples; really strong, 1" ones)
You scrape away a few inches of soil, lay out the cloth (attached to the well house base), secure with 12" garden staples, and cover with the dirt and some gravel if needed.

Go all of the way around.

The door should fit very well, or frame it in behind, so there are no open gaps.

 

[TalkALittle]

Do you find that large flake, medium flake , or small flake works best in a coop with wooden floor?

My feed store only sells a large flake and a small flake. I always buy the large flake and I'm pleased with how it works.

 

[Latestarter]

Echoing @TalkALittle I have tried the small flake and wouldn't even consider the powder (saw dust) for chickens. I much prefer the large flake. The issue is dust! The chickens make enough without adding in the saw dust issue. Also, the small flake seems to clump up worse than the large, Have you ever tried to sweep or even worse rake, wet sawdust as opposed to wet wood chips?

 

[perchie.girl]

Oh ok and how would i keep predators from digging their way from under? Its a dirt floor

All my coops have dirt floors. there are a few of ways to resist digging predators.
Dig in hardware cloth around the base of the coop down about two feet.
Do a skirt that lays flat on the ground and is attached to the base of the coop. set stepping stones on top to keep it flat.
Build a floor on the ground inside of the coop. I would lay down pressure treated lumber and then plywood on top screwd in. If I were doing a floor.
Or you could cover the whole floor with hardware cloth fastened to the sides then do bedding on top

gotto go

 

[FarmerPhronc]

Oh ok and how would i keep predators from digging their way from under? Its a dirt floor

This is how I did it.

I took some 2 ft wide 1/2 inch hardware cloth and attached it to the bottom of the wood frame using fence staples. The extended run is made from dog kennel panels, so I used #10 self tapping screws and washers to attach 4 Ft wide 1/2 inch cloth folding it in half so that it extends 2 ft up and 2 ft out. In addition to the blocks I used garden hoops to hold it down.



I live in rural Colorado, lot of predators here, no problems so far. I didn't get my coop and chickens till late October so didn't have time to bury the hardware cloth before the snow started.
Come spring I'll throw some dirt on top of the wire and throw down a mixed greens seed (lettuce, kale, etc.) harvest and feed to my chickens.

 

[Sylvester017]

Quote:

Oh ok and how would i keep predators from digging their way from under? Its a dirt floor

There are a lot of ways to deter digging predators. Rather than digging into the soil to make a wire skirt barrier extending from the coop walls into the ground, we just placed our little feed store custom coop on a paver stone patio and left a little 2x4 dirt floor in the middle of the coop. We eventually raised the coop just a couple inches on treated lumber to divert rain water and it basically worked well to keep the dirt floor dry especially when we used a tarp and a pop-up canopy over the little coop - sorry, no photo of the canopy. This little 4x6 custom coop came with chicken poultry hex wire which I adamantly oppose because stray dogs broke our fence gate and attacked the coop mangling the chicken wire beyond repair. I strongly recommend 1/2" hardware cloth as opposed to this weak chinsy poultry hex wire!!!!!! It keeps chickens inside but doesn't keep predators OUTSIDE!!!!! Our neighbors saved our chickens when they heard the commotion and chased the stray mutts off. TG for good neighbors.




The little feed store coop served us well for almost 5 yrs and now we have the little Barn Coop I always wanted which has a 4x8 heavy kennel run extension (not attached yet) to extend under the coop. Our chickens free-range the yard all day and only use the coop for laying eggs or roosting for the night. The rest of the day they snooze under makeshift plywood lean-to's, several large doghouses placed around the yard, and a pop-up canopy for shade and protection from the visiting Cooper's Hawk.

 

[Cluckies]

Do you find that large flake, medium flake , or small flake works best in a coop with wooden floor?

I agree, large flake is what I use and like, I have a bag of smaller flake sitting in my shed that I don't know what to do with

 

[chick-a- doodle]

Here is my ode to Gypsy's 6ft wide x 8ft long x 9ft high

This is creative! Does it move on those wheels or are they decorative?

 

[philyc]

right, after a bit of a browse and suggestions from others i have made a few alterations to my coop and run.


firstly in the coop i have raised the roosts to above the nest boxes as previously they were all below the height of the nest boxes. now i have a low one on both sides (one to be used as a step up to the nest boxes) and two above the nest boxes to be accessed with the use of the ladder you can see on the side.

also from seeing everyone else's nest boxes, i added the partitions.





outside i have added some more daytime shelter in the form of two wardrobe doors, cut in half and fixed together. i have also covered them in roof felting since taking the photos. inside i have their feeder and a small dust bath made of an old seed germinating tray.



there is now also an upright christmas tree to the rear of the new shelter, hopefully making it that little bit more sheltered and interesting.

this is my hole setup so-far:



and one last one of the girls enjoying one of the suet cakes ive hung up

 

[TalkALittle]

right, after a bit of a browse and suggestions from others i have made a few alterations to my coop and run. firstly in the coop i have raised the roosts to above the nest boxes as previously they were all below the height of the nest boxes. now i have a low one on both sides (one to be used as a step up to the nest boxes) and two above the nest boxes to be accessed with the use of the ladder you can see on the side. also from seeing everyone else's nest boxes, i added the partitions. outside i have added some more daytime shelter in the form of two wardrobe doors, cut in half and fixed together. i have also covered them in roof felting since taking the photos. inside i have their feeder and a small dust bath made of an old seed germinating tray. there is now also an upright christmas tree to the rear of the new shelter, hopefully making it that little bit more sheltered and interesting. this is my hole setup so-far: and one last one of the girls enjoying one of the suet cakes ive hung up

Wondering why you think you need a ladder. Your roosts are, what, maybe 24" off the floor at most? Your breeds can jump up that distance just fine. In a small coop I'd be looking to maximize space as much as I can. If the roosts are low enough the birds will more than likely just hop up rather than wait in line and file up in orderly fashion. If that's the case then all a ladder does is take up space. How long is each roost? If you just have those 4 birds then you can probably just use a single roost. Then there'll be plenty of clearance for them to jump up. Right now it looks like they couldn't jump up to them if they wanted to since it looks pretty tight between them.