post your chicken coop pictures here!

[gary bamford]

pens

 

[gary bamford]

creamlegbars

 

[perchie.girl]

@gary bamford

Beautiful stock there Wow are you a commercial breeder?

deb

 

[chickensfinally]

Yay, I finally have my permanent coop installed! I purchased from a local-ish woodworker, and I'm so excited! We still have to get the run built but they have a temp enclosure and I let them into the whole backyard when I can be out there with them. I'm keeping their little coop as a broody coop/infirmary.

[/IMG]

 

[Sylvester017]

Here is where I am after about 3 weeks of off and on work. (mostly off) I've been told that the wheels are too small. I can change them later if needed. Today, I put the rafters in and framed the front doorway.

Seeing the size of the coop your wheels WILL be too small. They will roll on concrete but the minute they hit a bit of wet soil or grass the weight of the coop will cause them to dig into the ground and not roll. You might want to nip the problem in the bud and change them larger now with wider traction before finishing the build. You'll have too much coop weight to try and replace wheels later. If you don't want to deal with wheels than skids on the bottom will work better to travel over the ground. So much work you put into that coop - lucky chickens!

 

[jennyf]

Here is where I am after about 3 weeks of off and on work. (mostly off) I've been told that the wheels are too small. I can change them later if needed. Today, I put the rafters in and framed the front doorway. Yesterday, I cut out the openings on the 2nd nesting bucket and bolted them in place.

Would love to build something like this! If you are planning it to be mobile (I'm assuming so with the wheels), how are you predator proofing around the bottom to allow it to roll?

 

[aim0474]

I want a check on my ventilation and also a question on my pop door.

I added 2 vents on either side. The pop door will also be always open. Is this enough from 3 hens?

Also, should I really be closing the pop door at night? I would rather leave it open to the run SO I do think have to get an auto door $$$.

Thanks!

 

[Sylvester017]

I want a check on my ventilation and also a question on my pop door.
I added 2 vents on either side. The pop door will also be always open. Is this enough from 3 hens?
NICE! I have these same vents in my coop and they work nice for air flow without drafts. Some suggest 1 sq ft of vent per @ chicken.
Also, should I really be closing the pop door at night? I would rather leave it open to the run SO I do think have to get an auto door $$$.
If your pop-door leads into a secure predator-proof run there's no reason to close the pop-door unless of course you have a raging windstorm & it blows directly on the roosting perch. We plan to keep our pop-door open once the predator-proof dog kennel run is attached & only close it during our heavy winds.


There are no steps/cleats on your chicken ladder. Do chickens maneuver well without steps? Our Silkies have trouble getting up our ramp and we had to put blocks under the ramp to level it more because it was too steep - we also discovered that 3-in cleats were better than 4-in apart.

 

[aim0474]

Thanks!

They haven't tried it yet. But I can easily add the cleats if they have problems. It has roof shingle on it now and I am not sure I like that idea. It came like that.

 

[Flock In Texas]

Seeing the size of the coop your wheels WILL be too small. They will roll on concrete but the minute they hit a bit of wet soil or grass the weight of the coop will cause them to dig into the ground and not roll. You might want to nip the problem in the bud and change them larger now with wider traction before finishing the build. You'll have too much coop weight to try and replace wheels later. If you don't want to deal with wheels than skids on the bottom will work better to travel over the ground. So much work you put into that coop - lucky chickens!

I don't have the skins on yet, but I did test roll it in the grass. I will have a handle sticking out on the lighter end to lift it and change direction. I can lift it and if I'm out of town, my 2 sons can lit it. Even my 14 year old is 5' 10" and weighs 170 lbs and is very athletic. I'm guessing it will weigh about 400 lbs or more when it is finished. I can't see moving it on skids. I'm strong, but too old to want to move it like that. I can put a dolly under one end to lift it and put it on blocks to change wheels. The chicks can stay inside for maintenance.

Would love to build something like this! If you are planning it to be mobile (I'm assuming so with the wheels), how are you predator proofing around the bottom to allow it to roll?

The bottom will have a skirt that runs parallel to the ground about a foot out around the bottom. My dogs will help keep predators out of the yard. (As long as they are not predators themselves.) I'm hoping that starting with chicks will get them used to the chickens and they will become part of the family under Pork Chop's protection.

As an extra precaution, I may install a solar powered fence charger that I used to have installed at the fence to keep the dogs in. I'll use the skirt and hardware cloth as a floating ground. I will also install a locking door on their trap door to the run below.