post your chicken coop pictures here!

[MaBell2001]

Love the Amish style coops but couldn't have one in my dry hot SoCal climate - darn it!  Raising the coop off the ground a bit is always good but if you do, hardwire it below so the chickens don't go under it to lay eggs or you'll never be able to collect them LOL!  As for the poop thing, a plywood board under the roost pole will collect the nightly poops and then slide it out for cleaning when needed.  Personally, we found a strip of flattened cardboard boxes under our 4-foot roost was easy to remove a couple times a week, scrape off the the dried poop into compost, and toss the cardboard.  Cheap and easy to do and there's always plenty of empty boxes at Costco, etc.  I searched for a coop to replace our first little coop and no matter how much I searched on-line there never was a coop that I liked 100%.  Even when you build your own there's always something to be desired or improved.  Get a rake for cleaning that floor.  We also got a hard bristle long broom for scraping the hard to clean spots and a long-handled dustpan.  Some owners like to use PDZ for their coop floors, some like shavings.  Sometimes you need to experiment to find what works best for you and the chickens.  One thing that we found was a good investment was to get organic Manna Pro Poultry Protector to use on both the chickens and the coop crevices for lice/mite/ant/spider control.  The directions are on the label and the Protector can be used as often as you need since it's safe/organic -- even on chicks 9 days or older.  Enjoy your coop and flock!!!!

Oh, thanks so much for the organic bug product. I wondered! I thought of cardboard as well. We always have cardboard around. Is it on the floor under? There is also an,amish lady near me that has this very thick rubbery flooring that is waterproof I thought about adding over the floor...that or horse stall mats with pine needles or shavings over that. Good to know about under the coop, too! I was just thinking better off the ground (it has runners, just very short) due to snow, snakes, ect. What an adventure! My hubby thinks I am crazy.

 

[gpeters3]

Actually, I can stand upright in there. It is much taller than you think!

Most coops have similar design features but locations vary quite a bit. My first design had The nest boxes off the floor as does my new one. I prefer to stand to collect eggs but it is a very nice design and attractive outside as well. The idea of roost in front of nest boxes is probably ancient. My grandads New Idea nest boxes came with roosts in front 80 years ago and i like it because it give them a place to stage before entering the nest so they dont have to hit their wings trying to get up and in. Having them on the floor eliminates the need and allows roosts to be located where ever you like. If you can stand in there , you are off to a good start

 

[MaBell2001]

Most coops have similar design features but locations vary quite a bit.  My first design had The nest boxes off the floor as does my new one.  I prefer to stand to collect eggs but it is a very nice design and attractive outside as well.  The idea of roost in front of nest boxes is probably ancient.  My grandads New Idea nest boxes came with roosts in front 80 years ago and i like it because it give them a place to stage before entering the nest so they dont have to hit their wings trying to get up and in.  Having them on the floor eliminates the need and allows roosts to be located where ever you like.  If you can stand in there , you are off to a good start

I did not know that! Thanks! My thought is they will have to walk through droppings from roosts to get into the boxes ?? Seems dirty to me, but let's face it! The coop isnt exactly a clean environment.

 

[koopmaster]

Both good points, but as I stated earlier, it's not done. It's hardly even started. The coop is just that a coop, the range is gonna be free, I will have wheels on the coop so I can move it to different areas of my yard

 

[bigmrg74]

Both good points, but as I stated earlier, it's not done. It's hardly even started. The coop is just that a coop, the range is gonna be free, I will have wheels on the coop so I can move it to different areas of my yard

Just thought I would mention it. I kinda got to feeling that I overengineered my tractor that I built 2 years ago. Kinda wish I had used something more like 2x2's instead of 2x4's for the side supports. would have save me some weight. I can still drag it myself, but I'm a big guy and I'm usually only moving it a couple of feet just to keep the poop from building up in one spot. For longer moves I'm hooking it up to a quad to pull it.


Works out to be about a 9 by 8 foot coop. Got plans to do a 10 by 13 hoop coop this spring that should be a little lighter while more roomier

 

[Latestarter]

Hey @koopmaster Greetings and welcome to BYC! I JUST noticed your avatar! That is AWE-some... A Chuck Norris Cock!

Gotta love it! Nice sense of humor

 

[ShrekDawg]

I was thinking something like that! I did smack my head going out.

Awesome! And aw yeah, definitely gotta watch your head haha

 

[kettle chickens]

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Mine looks pretty poor compared to these.....

 

[bruceha2000]

Here are some pics of our "work in pregress" we are new to raising chickens. This coop is going to be tractor like and our birds will be SEMI free range.
The coop is still in the building stages!!! As you can see.
All this lumber was left over otherwise scrap from my place of empoyment. The floor was the base of a shipping crate, the size of my coop is the size of what I had laying around! Nesting boxes will go along the one side where the long openings are and a big door on the end with no sheeting now

Looks like it is going to be really heavy. Do you have a garden tractor or other motorized vehicle to move it?

Hi there! Have this baby being delivered in a few days for my new flock. It is 8x8. Still need to make a base to set her off the ground and a run, but I am excited! Fisrt time chicken owner. The only thing I am not sure I like is the fact that there are no poop pans under the roosts. Not sure I can pull that off. Any thoughts?

Given the 4 sq ft/bird rule (6x8 since the floor level nest box areas don't count), that is a 12 hen coop with 16 nest boxes. 12 hens likely won't even use 6 nest boxes. I would block off AT LEAST half of them (all of one side) and use that space to store stuff like feed, BOSS and scratch

Nice looking coop, looks well built.

Oh, thanks so much for the organic bug product. I wondered! I thought of cardboard as well. We always have cardboard around. Is it on the floor under? There is also an,amish lady near me that has this very thick rubbery flooring that is waterproof I thought about adding over the floor...that or horse stall mats with pine needles or shavings over that. Good to know about under the coop, too! I was just thinking better off the ground (it has runners, just very short) due to snow, snakes, ect. What an adventure! My hubby thinks I am crazy.

I wouldn't dive into stocking the "medicine cabinet" too quickly. The chickens will most likely take care of an ants and spiders (food!) and not all chicken coops have mites and lice. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Quote:
Nope

And if your chickens are out in the run most of the day, there won't be much in the way of poop except under the roosts. I rake the shavings under the roosts every morning and my girls can be in their indoor run from dawn to dusk since they have an auto door. I VERY rarely have anything on the eggs that needs to be cleaned off. And when I do, it is likely from poop stuck to the hen's butt feathers.

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

I have been rising chickens for over a year now and I only have one egg that has ever gotten poo and mud on and it's from my mentally challenged chicken she will not use the nesting box she digs a hole in the Sand and lays it there but if I catch her in time I chase her out and try and set her in the nesting box but she hops out and goes down to the sand again