post your chicken coop pictures here!

[lynnehd]

Built this after one I seen on here. Probably got a little carried away with it.

Very nice! No such thing as 'too much' with a chicken coop. I don't think you'll regret it.

 

[Latestarter]

Built this after one I seen on here. Probably got a little carried away with it.

Greetings Vooda and welcome to BYC! Is there REALLY such a thing as "overdoing it" when it comes to our birds? I don't THINK so!

It really looks great! You did a good job.

How many birds and what breeds do you anticipate housing in it? Hard to tell dimensions but looks like you could fit 4-5 birds in there if you put the food and water outside. Are you planning on installing wheels to make it movable around the yard, or just keep it stationary and let them out to free range every so often? Hope you plan on hardware cloth for the screen covering. The 1/2" is better than the 1/4" as it's heavier gauge wire.

Thanks for sharing. Hope you'll post more once it's complete and occupied!

 

[Vooda]

...

O what's the dementions for that[/quote
It is 10'x 4' and the hen house is 4'x 4'.

 

[Sylvester017]

Built this after one I seen on here. Probably got a little carried away with it.

Very nice -- Nothing is ever "too much" where our lovely flocks are concerned! We put a pop-up canopy over our old little 4x6 coop so we didn't stand in rain to collect eggs and to protect the nestbox from any possible rain leaks. We also mounted the coop on paver stones to keep out the rain puddles and keep out digging predators. I have yet to see a coop that didn't eventually develop cracks, gaps, or leaks. We got tired of using tarps so we finally used a pop-up canopy over our little coop. Enjoy your birds!

 

[Vooda]

It's going to be stationary and I am going to use the 1/2 inch hardware mesh. I've got 7 chicks right now. Golden comets, Barred Rock, and Brown Leghorns. Here's what the inside of the hen house looks like.

[/IMG]

 

[Vooda]

 

[gpeters3]

Noticed the "Clinton" address. I graduated from Clinton in 64. Just thought id say Hi! Just bought 2 turkeys to go with my 18 hens. Updates when i get started on my 8' addition.

 

[junebuggena]

Quote: Hate to break it to you, but that's bare minimum for 4 Leghorn sized adults. You're going to have to build something bigger, or rehome some of your chicks. Plus, your roosts seem too small, and too close together for your larger breed girls.

 

[Leigti]

If you don't try to put the food and water in the coop, put it under the coop. Then you will have just enough space inside the little house to put Three roosts. I think it would be OK if they get lots of yard time to get out of the pen. I have nine chickens and my coupe is 4 x 8 raised so it is 32 ft.². Of floor space with roosts taking up one and which would be 4 x 4. Three roosts will fit if you put them a foot apart and four will fit if they are 8 inches apart. My chickens free range all day and only go to the coop to lay eggs or sleep. And the nesting box is outside which also gives more floor space.

 

[Latestarter]

Really hate to say it Vooda but that's way to small for 7 LF (large fowl) birds

large birds really require ~3-4 square feet per bird inside coop space and ~10 square feet in run space. Also, the roosts look too narrow for large fowl feet to roost on... Though they do like to curl their toes at the front, they more or less roost flat footed, rather than perching like a song bird does, so a 2x4 with the 4" side up is about the right size. Also, there isn't enough room on that top roost, so there will be a LOT of "arguing" over who's going to get to be up there. they will all want to be. The lower roost looks awfully close to the upper one so what will happen is the top birds will poop all over the lower birds all night long.

Another thing you need to consider is ventilation... I can't see any vents and it's very important. You want lots of fresh air but where it will keep drafts OFF the birds when they are on the roost.

Since you said it will be stationary, maybe you can "pop off" the exterior nest box end and add a couple of feet to the coop length, then re-attach the nest boxes? Then remove the existing roosts and replace with a single roost that goes lengthwise along the back wall ~1 foot from the wall and about the same height as the higher one you have now? You're in an area that typically gets cold and snow in the winter, and there will be days when the birds will not want to leave the coop. They need enough room inside to move around on those days. (And that is another time when a lot of ventilation will be needed.)

On a side note, I'm looking for land in KY and will be moving either there or east TX some time this summer. Where will depend on what's available when this place sells. We may end up being "neighbors"