post your chicken coop pictures here!

[Bwirolla64]

Well at the current time I am using the locks due to I am building a fence and don't want randoms getting back there! Don't think they will but it's just me worrying

 

[bruceha2000]

Lovely and so well integrated into the house, no one would even suspect you have a coop!

Flying up and down from windows, ramps, perches, or balcony ledges may be okay for some breeds. Our Silkies are good jumpers but flying is not something that breed can do. Never hurts to always have a wide gently sloping ramp for non-flyers or sometimes older birds that need an extra assist up or down. Silkie bantams or heavier meat breeds will need the extra assistance from ramps. We had an injured Silkie who got knocked down from a ledge by a klutzy LF so we made sure to make a wider ramp so if it happened again the poor little bantams can roll down instead of get knocked directly down to the dirt floor below. While chickens are young they are flappy birds but age and maturity slows them down to use caution in their movements.

Good points! I only have layers and they are not quite 2 years old. The Cubalayas have been known to fly a hundred feet rather than walk or run if they REALLY wanted to get somewhere. Mostly all my girls just walk or run. You would think they didn't have wings!

Your last sentence applies to we humans as well

I know I can't do stuff now that was easy 30 years ago,

The Girls Outside run

Ramp to get out to the run

Our Hen house! We upcycled our kids playhouse that my hubby & son built together and used a pair of old shutter doors & added screen so they can get natural light during the day. At night, the big door closes for privacy

The nesting boxes.

Great example of a good slope and cleat spacing for a ramp. I would think the outside ramp might be easier for them to use if it were either wider or set off the building 6 inches. Hard to use your wings for balance when one side is up against a wall. Though, my guess is they used it when they were chicks and probably fly to near the top now. Beautiful birds.

They will tear out staples.

There are staples (like Arrow staple gun staples) and there are PROPER staples - poultry staples. Basically just a piece of thick galvanized wire curved in a U shape with one leg a little longer than the other and cut to a sharp point on both ends. While screws and washers are easier to use, they are a LOT more expensive than poultry staples. I can tell you from personal experience, if you hammer a poultry staple down over hardware cloth into a 2x, it is NOT coming out. Not without hammering an awl or other pointed tool in under the small bit of exposed wire and prying ... A LOT. The 19 gauge hardware cloth wire will break long before a poultry staple will pull out. Found this:

Use washers if you want to screw it down. If you want to staple it don't use regular wire staples, you want galvanized fence staples. You'll have to hammer them in. Put them across where two wires on the hardware cloth cross.

Bruce

 

[vehve]

Here's ours =)

 

[chickeelina]

SUPER CUTE!

 

[chickeelina]

OH YES! The old poultry nails!! I like to call them 'THUMB SMASHERS!' i got a few good fingers smashed nailing those because our store had smaller ones that were doable or really big ones that were too big.

Lovely and so well integrated into the house, no one would even suspect you have a coop!


Good points! I only have layers and they are not quite 2 years old. The Cubalayas have been known to fly a hundred feet rather than walk or run if they REALLY wanted to get somewhere. Mostly all my girls just walk or run. You would think they didn't have wings!

Your last sentence applies to we humans as well

I know I can't do stuff now that was easy 30 years ago,


Great example of a good slope and cleat spacing for a ramp. I would think the outside ramp might be easier for them to use if it were either wider or set off the building 6 inches. Hard to use your wings for balance when one side is up against a wall. Though, my guess is they used it when they were chicks and probably fly to near the top now. Beautiful birds.


There are staples (like Arrow staple gun staples) and there are PROPER staples - poultry staples. Basically just a piece of thick galvanized wire curved in a U shape with one leg a little longer than the other and cut to a sharp point on both ends. While screws and washers are easier to use, they are a LOT more expensive than poultry staples. I can tell you from personal experience, if you hammer a poultry staple down over hardware cloth into a 2x, it is NOT coming out. Not without hammering an awl or other pointed tool in under the small bit of exposed wire and prying ... A LOT. The 19 gauge hardware cloth wire will break long before a poultry staple will pull out. Found this:


Bruce

OH YES! The old poultry nails!! I like to call them 'THUMB SMASHERS!' i got a few good fingers smashed nailing those because our store had smaller ones that were doable or really big ones that were too big.

 

[crowcreek]

I started my chicken coop adventure a year ago with an old chicken tractors a friend let me have after they got a nice new one.
I rebuilt the tractor by removing some rotted wood and rebuilding the base. New hardware cloth and a coat of paint. My three hens were happy and I was happy UNTIL...... WINTER!

I have Buff Brahmas and we had a bad winter (for Virginia standards). It was wet and snowy all winter and I could not move the tractor much. The poor baby's were stuck in wet yuck for a floor most of the winter. I can't believe my Brahmas didn't get bumble foot! I don't think their feet were hardly ever dry. My work schedule was terrible and they were stuck in a 4X8 way more than I would have liked.

I want more hens so I decided to make a permanent and slightly larger coop with a big run that I can cover if the weather is wet or snowy. I had little funds for this as my horse take up my extra cash. Teaching as you know doesn't pay much. I did have a basement full of lots of wood scraps from when we built our house.
I am still working on the run but it should be done in a week or two. The coop is done after May hours hard work by myself (hubby not into this). I have six more chicks coming in a week as well.

So, here is the before fixed up tractor...

AND here is the new permanent coop....

I also added a three cubby exterior nesting box to the back side and a floor with a hole to go down, by ladder, to the bottom level and exit. The top is shavings and the bottom is sand. There will be a 14X16 hoop run attached to the side you see propped open. I already have hardware cloth going down into the ground from the sides of the coop as it will in the hoop run so the nine hens will have full access to the run. I will still give them yard time when I am home. We love on 5 acres but their favorite thing is to go into the horse paddock and dig around in there.

 

[chicken0123]

Ok I will upload a picture tomorrow I've built the frame so far continuing tomorrow hopefully I will finish either tomorrow (Sunday) or Monday

 

[iwiw60]

WOW! Your new digs for the hens is spectacular!! Kudos to you!

 

[crowcreek]

Thanks! I am lookimg forward to getting the run finished. I hate worrying about them when I am late getting back from work or if it has rained for a couple days straight. I will be able to tarp the run and they can still get out during the day.
So excited to be getting new babies on Friday.

 

[Sylvester017]

I started my chicken coop adventure a year ago with an old chicken tractors a friend let me have after they got a nice new one.
I rebuilt the tractor by removing some rotted wood and rebuilding the base. New hardware cloth and a coat of paint. My three hens were happy and I was happy UNTIL...... WINTER!

I have Buff Brahmas and we had a bad winter (for Virginia standards). It was wet and snowy all winter and I could not move the tractor much. The poor baby's were stuck in wet yuck for a floor most of the winter. I can't believe my Brahmas didn't get bumble foot! I don't think their feet were hardly ever dry. My work schedule was terrible and they were stuck in a 4X8 way more than I would have liked.

I want more hens so I decided to make a permanent and slightly larger coop with a big run that I can cover if the weather is wet or snowy. I had little funds for this as my horse take up my extra cash. Teaching as you know doesn't pay much. I did have a basement full of lots of wood scraps from when we built our house.
I am still working on the run but it should be done in a week or two. The coop is done after May hours hard work by myself (hubby not into this). I have six more chicks coming in a week as well.

So, here is the before fixed up tractor...



AND here is the new permanent coop....




I also added a three cubby exterior nesting box to the back side and a floor with a hole to go down, by ladder, to the bottom level and exit. The top is shavings and the bottom is sand. There will be a 14X16 hoop run attached to the side you see propped open. I already have hardware cloth going down into the ground from the sides of the coop as it will in the hoop run so the nine hens will have full access to the run. I will still give them yard time when I am home. We love on 5 acres but their favorite thing is to go into the horse paddock and dig around in there.

Chickens love to dig in dung to get at the maggot worms that the flies lay. Yumm-yumm! Your new coop is definitely an improvement. We used tarp to cover our entire coop during the heavy rains last year. Kept the dirt floor and the coop dry. Still the hens love coming out in light rain. It's just the heavy downpour they hide from.