post your chicken coop pictures here!

[DoubleMM]

We have way to much as well in what we call the Taj Mahal but we think there worth it. We only intended on spending $300-$400 but not even close.

Very cute. We inherited a couple off scrap wood/pallet made coops that had been on the property for years. When I built our new one a few years later, my wife began call it the "Taj MaHen".

Can't wait to see how you add on to it, because you know you will...

 

[bruceha2000]

Its nice to see pictures with a chair in the run, my neighbours think I'm mad but I love to sit and watch them

Chickens are very therapeutic. Well, when they aren't squawking for treats anyway. Invite the neighbors over for a little "chicken TV" when they are stressed.

Really nice job on that tractor w/attached run

Nice to see you even have the chicken guard dogs pacing a patrol around it all

I would like to make one comment though... those roost 2 x 4s should be turned 90 degrees either way so the 3.5" side is facing up/down. That would be much more comfortable for your birds as their feet aren't really designed to grip to roost. Is that a human predator I see ducking behind the coop from the right side?

Oh, almost forgot!

and welcome to the thread!

As an afterthought, and in an attempt to beat Sylvester to the punch

Maybe you could extend that roof on back there so when you go out to collect eggs in the rain, you won't get a wet head

Of course, it seems to me that if you're going out in the rain to collect eggs, you're gonna get a little wet regardless... Especially if that tractor is parked somewhere on the back 40.

I don't think extending that roof farther will keep the egg collector dry, it is already not much higher than the top of the nest box. Presuming there is not a driving rain, lifting the lid (which IS half under an overhang) long enough to collect a couple of eggs shouldn't be a problem. If there IS a driving rain, stay in the house until it lets up! Nothing bad is going to happen to the eggs if they sit in the nest awhile, not even if they sit all day. I would put a gutter or something on the edge of the roof though, all rain (and snow if it happens) will come off over the nest box and even a light rain will end up as more water on the egg collector and will make a mess on the ground where s/he has to stand.

Can I just clarify as I was thinking about perches
They should be flat? Not tilted downwards?
My first coop perches had nicely rounded edges
My new ones are just square

"nicely rounded edges" means only "not a sharp 90 degrees". Look at a chicken's foot. The toes are like our fingers, only a few joints. They aren't going to curl around the "rounded" edge of a 2x4, it is still a 90 degree angle. I can't think of a reason to angle them, it would just make it harder on the birds since they would have to grip to stand if there were much of an angle and have to compensate for the lack of level footing by "leaning" forward or backward a bit.

Ok I'm looking to sell a coop I'm building and I have no idea what's a fair price for this coop? It's 5'x3' with 6 nesting boxes it's not done yet but it will be off the ground a foot or two please someone let me know something

You already have had some good suggestions but I would start with: How much did it cost you in materials? Sell for less than that and not only was your labor free, you are losing money.

 

[Melabella]

Ok I'm looking to sell a coop I'm building and I have no idea what's a fair price for this coop? It's 5'x3' with 6 nesting boxes it's not done yet but it will be off the ground a foot or two please someone let me know something

I think an excellent price would be about $100 including shipping.....I can send you the NY address it should go to as well! (he he)

Nice coop! Also, the comment about the cover over the nesting boxes...who collects eggs in the pouring rain anyway? As long as it's leak proof for the girls, I wouldn't worry too much about that issue. Well done! Good Luck selling it!

MB

 

[Melabella]

. My new coop. Almost ready to go outside.

May I ask what the dimensions of this coop are and how many chickens do you house in it? What is the maximum it can hold? Did you build it yourself? Nice job!

MB

 

[jtbass2756]

If only you weren't in Florida! I have some Chocolate Orps on the way and need a separate coop for them and I've been looking for one! Or build one, if nothing is too complicated (and not outrageously expensive).

And can anyone give me any ideas on how to build a good chick run? We've got some Jersey Giant chicks and some Orpington chicks, and also some Welsummer chicks on the way. But we are running out of room for chicks. We need a sturdy little run for them, but preferably nothing too expensive.


Thanks!

I saw a post somewhere on this thread where the builder made his run by first building it in individual panels and then putting it together....making it portable if necessary. I thought that was a great idea. Then you could put a skirt around it with either 1/4" hardware wire or pavers.

 

[1chief]

i guess after researching coops i will ask 500.00 OBO IS THAT FAIR ONES THE SAME SIZE GO FROM 300-1375. mine is not a prefab. all custom made.

 

[Melabella]

i guess after researching coops i will ask 500.00 OBO IS THAT FAIR ONES THE SAME SIZE GO FROM 300-1375. mine is not a prefab. all custom made.

that is more than fair.. wish I was closer! Good Luck..

MB

 

[coaldigger]

thought I might share a pic of our " chicken TV " as well. My daughter and I try and spend and hour or so out in the run with our birds. We mostly have silkies and cochins so they have huge personalities that off set their small bodies and are fun to watch and talk to.

 

[callgood]

. Finally got my chicken tractor and run hooked up together. Coop is 12x6 run is 16x14. Only thing left is white paint to match the rest of the barns

Very Nice

 

[Sylvester017]

Our upgrade- a work in progress, but the chicks went into the coop tonight. Completely custom built by the Amish to my specifications after a couple years of hunting for a coop that met everything I wanted and finding zilch. Took the ideas I liked and put them into one coop. Debating on using sand in place of pine shavings, but used Sweet PDZ under the roost to make life easier.

Most of the Amish Quaker or Dutch coops I looked at have the roosting bars narrow side up instead of flat side up and experienced chickeneers on this thread say the flat side of 2x4 is what should be facing up for the chickens to roost on. Another problem I had researching the Amish coops is that all the windows open from inside the coop. I only found one Amish style on the ezcleancoops.com website where the windows tilted open from the outside - the downside of their models is that their coop legs aren't reinforced the way normal Amish construction is.

I just can't see us as senior citizens going inside an Amish coop daily every morning to open windows and going inside every evening to reclose them again - it would be much easier just taking care of that from outside the coop. We are thinking of negotiating a custom Amish coop with windows opening from outside and flat-side-up perches when we order ours. We also need a taller Amish than the standard 5-foot height so we aren't hunched over when inside the coop (as a senior I'm hunched over enough already LOL) - found only one company that makes a model with higher walls but it's heck trying to get one of these Amish companies to return our calls.