post your chicken coop pictures here!

[ShrekDawg]

The last rooster that attacked me... Found himself in a nice warm bath with special bath salts and all the veggies he could want

LOL! I was thinking about that but I think she just doesn't have enough space or doesn't respect me or whatever so I'm gonna try enforcing some rules and try with a bigger coop, whicb we're building now and hope she improves

 

[MeepBeep]

I have read different ideas on the roosts some say flat footed and other say no. I think I am going to try both and see what works best and they like the best.

I posted this link previous on the 'ideal' perch shape, it's a great read...

http://www.yourchickens.co.uk/care-and-advice/the_perfect_perch_1_2842822

What is interesting to note is that chickens don't actually roost on their feet, they rest a majority of their weight on their keel bone (sternum) and for this reason the keel bone pressure points should be the primary focus of perch design... A wider 'flat' perch that provides the most keel bone support is actually ideal for the primary focus, and if you round the corners it becomes more ideal for the secondary focus being their foot grip... The actual width of the flat with rounded surface should actually be tailored to your birds foot size...

IMO for a quick and dirty the 2x4 flat side up, with rounded corners is a decent compromise for most standard sized birds... Especially in colder climates as it allows them to hunker down and cover their toes entirely more easily with feathers...

I envision something like a flat top staircase hand rail of the appropriate width to be a most ideal...

 

[FarmerPhronc]

I've got the ladies eating out of the palm of my hand! Boss with some meal worms mixed in.

 

[TJordan]

Well the bottom of the coop is done.

walls, roof doors..... Still to be built.

 

[gpeters3]

I got all my wire up today and thought id see if the chicks wanted out so i opened the lid and stood back. A couple jumped up on the feed bar and looked around then jumped right back in the pen. It was windy all day. I think they still like their heat lamp. Supposed to warm up tomorrow so ill try again. I'm going to add the tunnels tomorrow and open them up to see what they do. I'll get some pics tomorrow. All i have left to do is run the dig proofing hardware cloth and eventually the barn door. I'm ready for a break

 

[ridingtailboard]

EPIC FAIL!!! I put my pullets in my nice New tractor. My dogs would not leave them alone for 5 minutes. So to keep from stressing my chicks out, I grabbed a hold of the tractor and moved it forward about twenty feet. Then I noticed I had steam rolled two of them.

I will be redesigning this death trap!

 

[beautifulpirate]

EPIC FAIL!!! I put my pullets in my nice New tractor. My dogs would not leave them alone for 5 minutes. So to keep from stressing my chicks out, I grabbed a hold of the tractor and moved it forward about twenty feet. Then I noticed I had steam rolled two of them.

I will be redesigning this death trap!

Oh no! So sorry to hear that. I read somewhere on putting a bar (PVC or conduit) or something a couple inches off the ground near the back of a xhicken tractor so that as it moves along, it urges the chickens to move forward too with a little warning time from that bar. Not sure of its effectiveness but maybe look into it.

 

[TJordan]

I hate to hear of the tragic event. So sorry.

 

[Sylvester017]

That makes sense! I wanted mine for pets but also eggs, to my dad and brothers they're working animals (though they love them

), to me they're pets. I tried to pick breeds that were really friendly to me but also nice to each other. I think part of it is they outgrew their brooder by 2 weeks and were in it till 3 and the last day or so the roof caved it which i didnt notice till later. But maybe some of it is just big girl personalities. Maybe Australorps are just a bossiet breed? My Orpingtons are just the sweetest little things but one of them stands up for herself. My EEs and Barred Rock are extremely friendly and personable but I can't hold them. I don't know, I think they're all fairly gentle besides the one Australorp but hopefully they'll be okay when they move

Since our unhappy circumstance having heavier dual-purpose breeds mixed with docile or lighterweight breeds we saw that the bigger hens (even the sweet ones) pushed their weight around and picked on the gentler birds because they could get away with it. That's when we made the backyard decision to keep breeds 5lb-&-under to avoid the bigger birds being tempted to pick on the smaller ones -- it's a chicken thing.

 

[Sylvester017]

Thank you very much for the input Svestor017!!! The chickens are put to bed just before dark each nite and the coop IS varmint/predator ptoof. We are new to raising chickens so tips are always welcomed! We are in the process of building the "permanent cook and run now.

That is so great! You can never be too secure where chickens are concerned. Most coops are secure once they're locked for the night unless it is a flimsy build. The real target to secure should be the run since that's where the chickens will spend most of the day and there are all sorts of night critters that will also come around in the daytime if they're hungry enough.