post your chicken coop pictures here!

[Melabella]

A chicken is only so tall!

They are already using the space under the coop, no? They couldn't use more of the run even if the coop were outside it. And since it is in the run under a roof, Sylvester won't get on you about making sure you won't get wet when collecting eggs in the rain

All true!

 

[Melabella]

No - don't do outside-the-run coop. This is perfect! It's a chickeneer's dream setup. If you have foxes and the like in your countryside the more security the better. Even a dog can sleep through hearing or sensing a predator as our Rottweilers have proven to us and the breed is pretty aggressive and alert - but not if they're in a deep sleep. As dogs age they get less hyper/alert too. Dogs are great but not 100% foolproof security so the more security measures you have the better.

Thank you Sylvester,

Yes.. I was spooked when I first set it up.. lol.. don't know what I'll do if I ever move, perhaps start over again. I think the only thing getting in there is a bear. Thankfully no sightings yet in 2014. I have been wanting to set up a trail camera, just to see what passes by at night other than the possum, skunk and raccoon I see when I do night check for the horses. Last month a female bobcat was hanging around my on my neighbors property. Saw her out in the morning 4 separate days. There's everything out there in dat der woods!

Thank you S017

MB

 

[Foghorn4]

New pics of our coop! They have become addicted to watermelon. I can't help but spoil them!

 

[iwiw60]

Sorry, poor camera phone in low light.
Anyway, here is our 4x8 coop. Pretty much finished except adding decoration. We're thinking flowers under the windows and a sign hanging above the door. Typical stuff I guess


We built it to match our house, but we're a little tight on funds so we painted it instead of using cedar shingles. The roofing and trim style and colors are the same though
Perhaps that's next summer's project.

Housing 6, 3 month old birds. 1 Wyandotte, 1 Speckled Sussex, and 4 Faverolles.

Holey-moley! What a great job you did on your coop! Can I move in??!!!

 

[bruceha2000]

Love those wheels but hate the way they deteriorate - especially since we have more heatwaves here than normal States!

Around here people put plastic (I guess??) covers over the tires of their jacked up camping trailers during "non camping months" which number a lot more months than "camping months".

 

[CoopArchitect]

After countless research hours and a few classes I'm getting close to finding some ladies to occupy the shack.

Thanks to all that post here for making the decision to get chickens an easy one. It is a confidence boost to have so much quality information in one place.

I asked my kids if I could recycle their seldom used play structure for a new coop. It was a go from there. I built a few of these for customers and neighbors before tackling my own.
The only items purchased for this entire build were... Fasteners / Hardware($30.00), a used window ($7.50) and hardware cloth ($48.00). Everything else I had, was extra from jobs, found or recycled from the play structure.
Took about a week to build, set in place, paint and landscape.

We are working on an Arduino based climate control system that will also actuate the door and winter lighting. Another will use wifi to allow the whole family to watch them and allow me to monitor their environment.

I need to build the run door, waterer and a feeder first.

Thanks again.

 

[vehve]

Around here people put plastic (I guess??) covers over the tires of their jacked up camping trailers during "non camping months" which number a lot more months than "camping months".

One thing I've thought about, and this is based purely on speculation, is that the two major components that affect the deterioration of a tire is UV-radiation and evaporation of oils from the rubber. The UV would be easily addressed with covers, and I think that smearing the tires with some sort of lubricant, say silicone or vaseline every once in a while might keep them in better shape. Of course not a good idea to have lubricant on your tires if your driving around in traffic, especially if there's a risk that it might be transferred to you brakes, but in a mostly immobile coop I don't see the same risk.

*Some googling shows that the term vaseline, which I consider to be generic, would actually be petroleum jelly to you native English speakers.

 

[bruceha2000]

One thing I've thought about, and this is based purely on speculation, is that the two major components that affect the deterioration of a tire is UV-radiation and evaporation of oils from the rubber. The UV would be easily addressed with covers, and I think that smearing the tires with some sort of lubricant, say silicone or vaseline every once in a while might keep them in better shape. Of course not a good idea to have lubricant on your tires if your driving around in traffic, especially if there's a risk that it might be transferred to you brakes, but in a mostly immobile coop I don't see the same risk.

*Some googling shows that the term vaseline, which I consider to be generic, would actually be petroleum jelly to you native English speakers.

Nah, we call it Vaseline. Same with "Kleenex", the generic is "tissue" or "facial tissue". But Kleenex and Vaseline have been used as "generic" names for so long that when one uses the registered trademark name, no one expects the product to necessarily BE that brand.

After countless research hours and a few classes I'm getting close to finding some ladies to occupy the shack.

Thanks to all that post here for making the decision to get chickens an easy one. It is a confidence boost to have so much quality information in one place.

ABSOLUTELY! I don't know if I would have gotten chickens were it not for all the information I found here when researching how one raises chickens.

I asked my kids if I could recycle their seldom used play structure for a new coop. It was a go from there. I built a few of these for customers and neighbors before tackling my own.

Ah, learn on others' coops, smart!

The only items purchased for this entire build were... Fasteners / Hardware($30.00), a used window ($7.50) and hardware cloth ($48.00). Everything else I had, was extra from jobs, found or recycled from the play structure.
Took about a week to build, set in place, paint and landscape.

We are working on an Arduino based climate control system that will also actuate the door and winter lighting. Another will use wifi to allow the whole family to watch them and allow me to monitor their environment.

I need to build the run door, waterer and a feeder first.

Thanks again.

Lovely job! I like the sliding nest box access door. Has its own overhang on the coop side to keep rain out plus the larger roof overhang over the entire box. You might find chickens sitting on it if you let them out of the run since there isn't a lot of slope.

Where do you live that you need climate control? I see the roofs are fairy flat so I'm guessing it is not in snow country. They might need fans for cooling in a hot climate, certainly do not need heat even at -20F.

What kind of birds will you have? I'm wondering if the roosts are too narrow. Chickens 'perch' but stand flat footed most of the time and sit ON their feet at night. If you look at a chicken's foot, you will see that the back toe is fairly short and somewhat to the side. If you look at a perching bird's foot, the back toe is longer and aims backward for grasping. What a chicken's foot CAN grasp and what it is COMFORTABLE grasping and bearing its weight aren't necessarily the same thing.

 

[chickeelina]

Holey-moley! What a great job you did on your coop! Can I move in??!!! 

LOVE IT!!

 

[chickeelina]

Sorry, poor camera phone in low light. Anyway, here is our 4x8 coop. Pretty much finished except adding decoration. We're thinking flowers under the windows and a sign hanging above the door. Typical stuff I guess We built it to match our house, but we're a little tight on funds so we painted it instead of using cedar shingles. The roofing and trim style and colors are the same though Perhaps that's next summer's project. Housing 6, 3 month old birds. 1 Wyandotte, 1 Speckled Sussex, and 4 Faverolles.

Love this coop!! Looks great