post your chicken coop pictures here!

[lovechicks1293]

I don't get many laughs these days, but something about this short exchange about the chihuahua (no offense) had me in tears I was laughing so hard...matter of fact, I went and woke my wife up to tell her about it...bits and pieces between my laughing spells. Thanks....I *really* needed that!!!!

No problem at all! Me and my sister were giggling about it all day

 

[lovechicks1293]

Small update

Good morning

Practicing

Chick pile

Eeeeeep! So Cute!

 

[ShrekDawg]

The eves are not open. There's 2 windows and 2 vents. Both doors will stay open all day and I'm hoping that helps. I'm looking into adding more ventilation. And we're lowering the nesting boxes when my husband gets out of work today. That is my daughter and she loves collecting the eggs!

I would definitely look into it!

Windows are good, but they need to be shut to keep rain out. Ventilation needs to be permanent, and year round. Put some holes in the eaves to draw in good air, and expand or add a few more gable vents to expel the bad air.

I second this. The doors open will provide a lot of ventilation I'm sure but what about at night when the doors are closed? I would definitely look into the under eave ventilation or maybe even more windows or gable vents. You could even cut out a section of the wall and put hardware cloth or something instead of multiple gable vents, though of course then rain can get in. But your coop is plenty big enough that I would at least look into adding some more windows if you can. It won't just help with ventilation, it will also let more light in. And your daughter is very cute! Glad to hear you're lowering the nest boxes!

 

[MeepBeep]

Windows are good, but they need to be shut to keep rain out. Ventilation needs to be permanent, and year round. Put some holes in the eaves to draw in good air, and expand or add a few more gable vents to expel the bad air.

That really depends on the location and design of the windows, I keep the windows of my coop (all four sides) open all year round... I sometimes close them a bit during the winter if I have high winds to stop snow drifting in and temp dropping so fast as I do heat the coop to just above freezing and don't and thus don't want all my heated air being blown out instantly... That or I lean a sheet of plywood against the outside of the building with a gap to act as a wind break with the window still open behind it allowing ventilation but stopping drafts or rain/snow entry...

Quick question: Has anyone tried using that liquid rubber I've seen on TV to seal their coop flooring?

Blackjack 57 elastic rubber roof paint/sealer is the stuff most use and have found to work well, you can also get white elastic rubber roof paint but it generally cost significantly more...

 

[ApiaryandAviary]

I'll play...

bought the plans online for $20 from http://www.thegardencoop.com.  We modified the plans to make it bigger. 


Good luck, I know from experience that the planning for chickens and a new coop can be overwhelming.   It will all be worth it in the end.

Here is my smaller coop that I started with ( run is behind ) and then of course I had to have a large coop . It is a lean-to built on to a horse barn 20 x 50 ft . I have added clear tarps over the dog fence panels for the winter . Chickens , Guineas free range during the day .



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just my style

 

[americanchicks]

I am happy as a hen that the coop is done! Thanks to my wonderful man with help from his dad and my 2 little girls. We even had extra material so we built a little coop for the teenage chicks, I call it the half-way-house.


We where reluctant to build a large coop since we are house shopping. We built it in a way however that makes it come apart relatively easy.


My girls fun messy work. Got all the paint and shingles for free


Still have to finish the trim on the nesting box, ran out of tape.


Right now I only have 2 hens. Have to wait for the babies to grow up a bit before they move in.

My man with the half-way-house.

 

[lynnehd]

Very true!! The next question is whether to put it in the nest boxes or not. I think we should but dad thinks it won't make a difference in cleaning because of this lip. I think it will at least protect the floor some or be a little easier. We probably will since we have extra.

These are just the 2 outer boxes since the lid was propped up so i couldnt get a pic of the middle one, theres 3, but you can see the lip. I think we should but idk.

I'd put vinyl down on the bottom of the nest boxes and caulk the seams. Maybe seal or paint the trim parts for easy cleaning later.
Nest box bedding can help, but if an egg breaks, it trickles down.
If you've got the extra vinyl, it seems worth the effort.

 

[Gundawg]

My birds have spent their second night in the new house and they seem to be settling right in nicely. Here are the latest pictures.

Mike

My brother helping me finish this project the flooring is sign board I got fairly cheap it has a fiberglass veneer on both sides of plywood 1/2" thick. This is sitting on top of some reclaimed rough cut 2" x 12" fir planks they were uneven as far as thickness and I had planned on using linoleum but I would have needed something sheet the floor with to make it even enough for the linoleum. I like this solution and it was cheaper than the linoleum.



Nest boxes hopefully the roof has enough angle to keep them off of it. The nest boxes have pieces of scrap linoleum lining the bottom and left loose to be able to remove for cleaning pine shavings added for nesting.


A view through the side window from outside I removed the factory screen and made hardware cloth screens that are on the inside and hinge open to operate the windows and the side benefit is they can't roost on the window ledges.


The chicken ramp is a piece of 1" x 8" trim board and I added some lattice I got for free from a fence replacement they were throwing 2 of these small panels and when I saw them a chicken ladder came to mind I have more and I plan to put another piece in by the nest boxes to make it easy to get up to the boxes.


My flock enjoying their new run. The dirt is covered with some wood chips that I make with my chipper I used the same wood chips on the floor of the hen house.

 

[Gundawg]

My biggest hen LOL one day it dawned on me this hen was a rooster this is pretty pathetic my daughter thought someone was calling for help.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10209359059467456

 

[ShrekDawg]

I'd put vinyl down on the bottom of the nest boxes and caulk the seams. Maybe seal or paint the trim parts for easy cleaning later.
Nest box bedding can help, but if an egg breaks, it trickles down.
If you've got the extra vinyl, it seems worth the effort.

Thanks, i think I'll definitely do that!!