post your chicken coop pictures here!

[junebuggena]

THIS IS MY COOP !

This is a frontal view of the coop itself. It's painted to match our house.

This is the inside of the coop, now. These are just the usual perches for them at night and the nest boxes. I forgot to get pics of the perches


The opening for the chickens to get in and out is just a hole in the floor. They use it really well. No drafts get in and it makes for easy cleaning, too !

The run was originally enclosed fully, but over time, though I only had 4 chickens at the time, I felt it was to small. They were just walking around in dirt. Can't be to fun I imagine so... we cut a hole in the wire around it and built a big pen for them ! (Which of course meant we needed more chickens)

Inside the pen is a big Mulberry tree. The chickens LOOVVVEE it. The mulberrys drop and they eat them up. THe tree also provides great shelter from the sun.

There's also a plant in there overrun by some weed but they don't mind. They enjoy hiding under it.



Then we have a few small pine trees in there. 2 of which are dead but like it matters to them, right ? Haha. Under them is there favorite dust bathing spot.


Hope you guys enjoy

Really cute, but have you thought about how you're going to retrieve any eggs that get laid under there?

 

[Braxton Brigade]

THIS IS MY COOP !

This is a frontal view of the coop itself. It's painted to match our house.

This is the inside of the coop, now. These are just the usual perches for them at night and the nest boxes. I forgot to get pics of the perches


The opening for the chickens to get in and out is just a hole in the floor. They use it really well. No drafts get in and it makes for easy cleaning, too !

The run was originally enclosed fully, but over time, though I only had 4 chickens at the time, I felt it was to small. They were just walking around in dirt. Can't be to fun I imagine so... we cut a hole in the wire around it and built a big pen for them ! (Which of course meant we needed more chickens)

Inside the pen is a big Mulberry tree. The chickens LOOVVVEE it. The mulberrys drop and they eat them up. THe tree also provides great shelter from the sun.

There's also a plant in there overrun by some weed but they don't mind. They enjoy hiding under it.



Then we have a few small pine trees in there. 2 of which are dead but like it matters to them, right ? Haha. Under them is there favorite dust bathing spot.


Hope you guys enjoy

Awesome setup! Love sheds that are converted into coops, they always seem so perfect.

 

[MeepBeep]

Has anybody rigged up an electrical predator deterrent system to protect their coop?

Seems like that might discourage raccoons permanently.

Define what you mean...

IMO nothing is a permanent solution for raccoons short of euthanizing the raccoons... They will continue to 'test' and 'explore' any other deterrent for a weakness and as soon as they find one they will exploit it, if it's some kind of 'scare away' deterrent they will generally start to ignore it in short once they figure out it's not actually harmful...

 

[lydiagirl99]

Really cute, but have you thought about how you're going to retrieve any eggs that get laid under there?

That usually doesn't happen but it has happened twice. I find them a day or so later, though. The chickens kick it around and they eventually come on out. And Thank You

 

[lydiagirl99]

Really nice setup...the chickens have gotta be happy with all of that space. I bet they even sing "Here we go 'round the mulberry bush....".

Oh Yeah. They're always singing it... in chicken talk though, of course.

and Thank you !

 

[nilifer]

Define what you mean...

IMO nothing is a permanent solution for raccoons short of euthanizing the raccoons... They will continue to 'test' and 'explore' any other deterrent for a weakness and as soon as they find one they will exploit it, if it's some kind of 'scare away' deterrent they will generally start to ignore it in short once they figure out it's not actually harmful...

You aren't figuring on attaching the charger to all the mesh fencing of your run/coop are you?  

Why not? Excuse my ignorance about electric fencing, I know nothing about it, YET.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Electric fence is dependant on having a good ground. The animal has to be touching the ground in order to get zapped by the electric wire. OR you have to run the positive and negative wires close together so when they touch one they are already touching the other. Charging the wire on the coop is problematic because all the wire has to be isolated from the wood and ground. meaning elelctrical insulation. Then the other issue will be the amount of wire you are charging. I have only worked with containment for horses and dogs... I know nothing about whether you can actually charge your wire. I suspect no because of amount of power it would require.

The best application for climbing critters is to run the Hot wire around the base so they cannot touch the coop without touching the hot wire. Any access to the coop from above needs to be eliminated. This set up is also good for Canine pedators. Nose height so they have to scoot under and zap. Domestic Dogs are smart enough to learn the sound of the wire and their prey drive can be discouraged. Coyotes may test it every time. But the beauty of that is Coyotes have a range once you teach one that fences bite they go somewhere else but keep their territory so you dont have to train another coyote.

When I set up fences there WIll be low hotwire and high hotwire... Bipolar setups because my land is too dry to make a good ground. You need at least 35 inches of rain per year or irrigated land to that efect to make a good ground. The MOST rain I get has been 12 inches per year. Lately its been 9.... for the past five years.

Do the research dont depend on what I say.... But I know you Will need to buy a dedicated Fence Charger rated for the amount of wire you are going to charge... Solar chargers have their limitations Work very well for my area for dog and horse containment but they are dependant on a good battery and should be checked periodically.

DO NOT hook up the wire directly to household current. I met a woman once whos husband decided to cut corners for her horse containment.... She lost seven horses in one day. electrocuted.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
you can tape a big soup spoon to the end of a pvc pipe for egg retrieval

 

[nilifer]

Thanks Deb (perchie.girl),
Lots to ponder there about electric fences being used to deter predators.

 

[Intheswamp]

nlifer, don't let electric fences intimidate you. They are a very good predator determent and are really simple to install and operate. Basically you need a good ground or, as perchie.girl does if you're in a dry area or in a drought... run one grounded wire and one hot wire close together so that a predator will hit both wires and the same time thus making them (the predator) part of the circuit...and shockng the stew out of them in doing so! Besides a good ground you need to insure that the hot wire is NOT grounded...weeds, tree branches, etc,, can short them out and kill the power in the fence. That is no biggie, just keep an eye on the fence and keep stuff off of it.

Roada Red...it won't work simply attaching the charger to fencing that is nailed directly to wood posts...you need wire than is insulated from ground. The best way is to run single wires around the perimeter down low, up high and maybe mid-way up. This wires are ran through plastic "insulators" that are nailed/screwed to the wood of the run. Situate the wires so if a critter tries to climb the fence that they have to touch the wire. Keep the hot wire from touching the 2x4 (or whatever) fence wire.

Best wishes,
Ed