post your chicken coop pictures here!

[conina]

OK I finish fixing my coop and picking the definite location for it. I'm very eggsited about it

and DONE. Now nobody can dig and easy to clean with sand inside. Took us 2 days to do it but it was worth it

 

[conina]

Now I can just relax and enjoy

 

[Sylvester017]

Hi Bruce, shes 10 months old, so hopefully she'll calm down soon LoL We've been lucky so far but we shall see how we do.

TY for the kind words, yup I do love recycling things, thats a really big issue in the UK

The fence has black plastic under it, but that is under observation right now, if it needs replacing then that will happen. A shelter and an outside perch is on the to do list of tweeks this week. So far hawks havent been an issue thanks to Madam Doofus

As for the water issue, again thats being monitored as I noticed that yesterday, so, may well have to section off the coop & pen if the Chooks ignore the water bucket. The photo looks further than it really is, but yes, the snow will be a killer in the winter for me

But I do have a snow blower LoL With the space we have and if things work out, then we're hoping to take things further and expand as we have our hands full right now and also on a slightly steep learning curve too

Not exactly certain the black plastic is going to keep out digging predators. Having the fence buried under the ground about 18" or more will discourage whatever predator digs under it - plastic won't stop them as it tears easily from claws. What we did was mount our coop on paver stones and made a walkway completely around the coop with paver stones. Nothing can dig through that. I've seen some people use cinderblocks or huge heavy rocks from their own property to surround their pen enclosures. Doofuses are wonderful when alert but they aren't always aware if in a deep sleep to notice predators. Raccoons are probably the sneakiest deadliest night or day critters because they are so cunning and kill mostly for the pleasure of it. We've got the nasties even here in the city.

As Madam Doofus gets older she'll snooze more often and may not even hear/see an aerial predator if she's anything like our Rottweilers were - they get bored and less hyper/alert after a couple years. The birds will then be at the mercy of whatever low shelters you provide them. Doesn't matter if they aren't pretty at first. My original shelters were just reclaimed planks we mounted on cinderblocks and 3 years later are still up. Don't care if they aren't the prettiest - they'll get painted eventually. As long as the girls have something to snooze under immediately. Right now as I look out the sliding door they're under my wheelbarrow under the popup canopy against the fence. For some reason my girls like to shelter/butt up against fences, walls, bushes, and inside or under things like doghouse, plants, equipment, chairs, rosebushes, potted plants. I have dreams of putting a curved walking bridge over a fake pebblestone river for the girls to use as another shelter. But those dreams keep me actively working the yard. I once wanted a playhouse for them to use as another yard shelter but that expense/idea was quickly dropped! I have a boxed 4x4 raised cedar bed form and I'll use it for a dust-bath area under the canopy. That way if it rains (the girls love to forage after a good rain) they will have dry dirt to take their dust-baths in. Except to lay eggs or roost the girls totally ignore the coop all day. Only saw them use it once to hide from a hawk. Otherwise they don't need a big coop because of free-ranging all day.

Learning curve? I'm still learning after 3 years of backyard chickens. So different from my folks farm chickeneering. Between gardening to raise veggies for ourselves and the chickens, my days are spent more on the outside than the inside of the house. That's ok - the chickens love to help me dig in the garden. For 2 years I kept going to Barnes & Noble bookstore to look at Jessi Bloom's book Free-Range Chicken Gardens for ideas on chicken behaviors, toxic vs safe plants, garden layouts, protective shelters, etc. I always thought chickens preferred wide open areas to forage but they actually like seclusion and hiding. Finally got gifted a certificate to the bookstore and got my hardcopy of the book! I understand it can be downloaded to a Nook for about $10 too but I like having the paperback itself.

Happy chickeneering. Beautiful day to remember our servicemen.

 

[iwiw60]

VERY nice indeed! You should be very proud of your efforts!

 

[Pinkaboo]

My little chicken run

Waiting for chicken wire roof to go on then I can relax that the cats won't get in

 

[bruceha2000]

4'x16' Coop/Run. 18 chickens.
Built with all recycled materials. Even the shingles were free on Craigslist.

Looks great on the outside, and skylights! I would change the roosts though. See how the chicken in the front is trying to grip the pole with a front toe on the back? 2x4s on the flat or 3" round fence rail.

First thought - looks great! Last thought WAY TOO SMALL for 18 chickens! My chickens VERY rarely sit on the roosts during the day. In fact, they don't even go into the coop except to eat and lay eggs. I'm afraid your birds will get on each others nerves, time for the expanded run

You need MINIMUM and it is NOT enough, 1' of roost per bird. IN the summer they will want to be somewhat farther from the other birds. They will pack right in against each other in winter..

OK I finish fixing my coop and picking the definite location for it. I'm very eggsited about it and DONE. Now nobody can dig and easy to clean with sand inside. Took us 2 days to do it but it was worth it

That is a lot to get done in 2 days! VERY nice job. I worry about the lack of 1/2" hardware cloth on the bottom couple of feet of the wire.

Bruce

 

[Sylvester017]

My little chicken run

Waiting for chicken wire roof to go on then I can relax that the cats won't get in

I always wondered about the security of those cute chicken coops and how sturdy they would be against a strong predator. You solved it by enclosing it in a large pen. Very attractive!

 

[Sylvester017]

OK I finish fixing my coop and picking the definite location for it. I'm very eggsited about it and DONE. Now nobody can dig and easy to clean with sand inside. Took us 2 days to do it but it was worth it

Apart from being an adorable portable I just realized what makes it so attractive to me - it's the white paint job with just a touch of trim color. I really like the white - it sparkles.

 

[acates]

Coop on the river. Here is my little coop for my girls.

I just love it!

 

[kenmlang]

Goodnight all and God Bless!!