post your chicken coop pictures here!

[TherryChicken]

there are 22 panels plus door. They are each 3 feet wide and 7 feet tall

 

[bruceha2000]

I showed the coop to my wife because, let's face it, yours isn't in the running for a "built as cheaply as I could" prize.
Then I found something to suggest as an improvement. I presume you are planning to put some material on the floor such as shavings or hay. You want to put a 3" to 4" barrier across the door trim. Otherwise the door won't be able to close as the girls drag stuff through it (or toss it there scratching, etc) and also get stuck in the channel. And if the door doesn't fully close, the predators can open it. You can make it easy to remove like the roosts so cleaning everything out will not require lifting it over the barrier.

@bruceha2000 I have to say that they are my favorite breed out of what we have (Three Araucana-Marans mutts, a pure BCM and two Speckled Sussex). They are a bit more flighty and gamelike, more primal than the others. Really quick, and seem to be able to escape predators (had an episode with them escaping our yard earlier today and the neighbors dogs showing an interest with them, no harm done though). Also, they're beautiful to watch.

I'm expecting the egg size go up to about 50g or so. I don't know how easy they would be to find outside Finland, even here I think the population is estimated at about 3000 birds I think. Although, that is a few years old info, and backyard chickening has grown more popular, and that is one of the more popular breeds.

You are making them sound even more appealing. Maybe I'll be able to find some when my "what, broody AGAIN!" Faverolles and Partridge Chantecler (the ones that lay in the upper end of small to the really lower end of medium) kick the oyster shell bucket. No freezer camp here, just social security until natural end of life. The Cubalayas lay small to ALMOST medium but they are CUUUUTTTTTEEEE (channeling my daughter) so I will have to replace them when they die. I have to agree, they are nice looking birds and don't bother the others at all.

So, please tell me that yours don't go broody otherwise they are off the list no matter how pink the eggs.

Hi Bruce - very nice egg box with the round-hole entrance. That is the round entrances we have on each of our 3 individual nestboxes. Hens love seclusion so I'm not a fan of your open box but love your lidded one with the round hole. I love the round-hold entrance because it helps to keep some straw in the nestbox when the hens kick it around - especially that OCD Silkie of ours who will scratch til her toes bleed. Had to line the boxes with plexiglass to keep her from getting splinters. They have plenty of deep straw we add every day but the two OCD hens constantly kick it out. We re-homed one of the two OCD hens so now it's just the Silkie that throws the straw around and there's less being kicked out. I suppose it was good to re-home at least one of our OCD hens.

You look to have more chickens than we do so our circumstances are dissimilar. We are down to 3 hens after rehoming a bully last weekend - she wasn't just a pushy broad - she was pulling out the beard of the Ameraucana and when there was no more beard left she started chasing the Silkies to pull out their crests. She came to maturity after her first broody period and being a LF started to get assertive in a damaging way and the non-combative Ameraucana and two smaller Silkies were not able to challenge her back in a fair fight and she got drunk with power! She is in an egg-laying flock now where there are older LF hens to put her in her place. Hated to lose her as she was a good layer.

We're crossing our fingers that the Blue Wheaten Ameraucana stays non-combative since she is as good a layer if not better than a Leghorn. Until we got her I was giving up on LF egg-layers for our backyard flock - she is non-combative towards flockmates, friendly, seeks humans to talk to (and loudly), easy to handle/pickup/pet so easy for health checks, lays XL eggs at least 5-6x/week, and they're blue! From comparing notes with other chickeneers, these characteristics seem to prevail among Ameraucanas and EEs.

Syl

Correction, the hole is not round but egg shaped. I have to point that out because it is my SOLE attempt at "artistic flair", I'm a function over form guy

Oddly, only the Anconas and one Australorp use the closed community box. All the others use the open "3 nest stalls" box. I guess my chickens aren't as interested in privacy.

My Anconas have pecked the muffs and all other neck feathers out of the EE and Faverolles. Won't get them again. Decent layers and OK with people but not so nice with the other chickens. If I decide to get more chickens at a later time, I might make another coop. One for the "nice girls" and one for the "naughty girls".

Then I have to figure out how to keep them apart when they are outside all day.

I'm still working on it. And yes, that is a shower drain plumbed in. I poured a concrete floor inside with it sloped to the center. I can open up the big door and rinse it out. I'm also in the process of plumbing feeders and waterers. I'm trying to figure out how to make the waterer freeze-proof. I'm thinking an insulated 5 gallon water cooler with a heated dog dish.

Looks like good work so far. Remember the caveats on chicken wire as "protection". And if that is an "Arrow" style staple gun being used to put up the wire, you might as well hire a fox to guard the run because they pull out really easily, just yank on the wire and you will see.
Add your location to your profile and people can make useful suggestions with regard to winter water. Winter in Georgia is a whole different game than winter in the frigid north. There are many threads on the topic here on BYC and there is definitely NOT a "right" answer.

I personally like the 3" fence rail for perches since the birds favor the rounded edges on a square-ish pole. We had one in redwood going through two cinderblock holes that the chickens loved using in the yard. I doubt I could talk an Amish manufacturer to fashion one for us in one of their coops. I'm still researching coops or trying to find a local builder. Sometimes mfr coops have a good design but sh***y materials or else there's quality materials but utilizing a lousy design (like nestboxes built outside the coop LOL).

I would think that would be an easy mod for a coop builder. The rails are found almost everywhere and making or buying wall brackets to hold the round ends (for easy removal) would be easy as well.

Bruce

 

[ezicash]

Yes i agree about security. I do have a fenced in back yard and have 4 cats and a dog. But I have had racoons/possums come over the fence so I am scared to death they might be attractive to my chicks. I just ordered another runner for my chicks so i can have a double layer of protection and used cloth wire around half my run and will replace the other half with cloth wire and try to make a roof over the run. So much work for a first time grandma farmer but one day at a time.

 

[noXcuse]

Thanks for the thoughts on the staple gun. I only used that to put the wire in place. I have 1x6 that I'm trimming the whole thing with. The trim will be screwed on with deck screws, sandwiching the chicken wire between it and the 2x4 frame. And the screws will be inside the octagons of the wire. Already planned it out man.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

 

[Sylvester017]

So, please tell me that yours don't go broody otherwise they are off the list no matter how pink the eggs.

Correction, the hole is not round but egg shaped. I have to point that out because it is my SOLE attempt at "artistic flair", I'm a function over form guy

Oddly, only the Anconas and one Australorp use the closed community box. All the others use the open "3 nest stalls" box. I guess my chickens aren't as interested in privacy.

My Anconas have pecked the muffs and all other neck feathers out of the EE and Faverolles. Won't get them again. Decent layers and OK with people but not so nice with the other chickens. If I decide to get more chickens at a later time, I might make another coop. One for the "nice girls" and one for the "naughty girls".

Then I have to figure out how to keep them apart when they are outside all day.


I would think that would be an easy mod for a coop builder. The rails are found almost everywhere and making or buying wall brackets to hold the round ends (for easy removal) would be easy as well.

Bruce

* Have been trying to think of a pink egg breed that DOESN'T go broody but nothing comes to mind. Our pink egg Buff Leghorn went broody but her pink egg sister never did - go figure? Faverolles lay pinkish eggs but several reviews say they are too docile for a LF mixed flock. Some EEs can lay pink eggs but mostly you get the green/mint egg layers in EEs. My friend has an EE that lays pink but it's not common. Ameraucanas and EEs are not noted to go broody but I've read reports and seems about 50% EEs will go broody. Of course some Silkies lay pink but then they are an extremely broody bunch. Out of the 4 hens we had this past year only the Blue Wheaten Ameraucana didn't go broody.
* Sorry about your egg-hole entrance but I said "round" since oval/egg-shaped is classified as round as opposed to a "square" entrance

Keep up the artwork - I do appreciate artistic touches!
* Our opposite chickens again, Bruce. Yours like the open stalls and mine prefer seclusion

* Anconas are classified as Mediterranean class like Minorcas, Leghorns, Andalusians, White Faced Black Spanish, etc. I find the Mediterranean class of fowl independent, smarter than the average, active, skittish, alert, good foragers and easy on the feed bill, non-broody, excellent white egg layers, AND assertive - no shrinking violets here so would not put them around gentle breeds like Faverolles, Ameraucanas, EEs, or smaller gentler LF like Dominiques, Bredas, etc. I LOVE Leghorns for so many reasons but I've learned a hard lesson about Mediterranean birds and will never mix these with other classes of fowl again. Mediterraneans mixed together would be fine but only with each other without other classes mixed into the flock. It really makes it easier to keep breeds the same sizes and temperaments.

* As for chocolate layers like Marans and Welsummers - too many cautionary reviews that it's hit-and-miss getting a really dark egg and in our experience and our friend's experience the eggs were reasonably brown but not chocolate like those doctored website photos show. Not to mention that ours and our friend's Marans were sneaky pecky pickers on the other breeds.

* Once I get really serious about the next coop I am planning to throw out my custom ideas (i.e. redwood rail for one) and see what the coop builders are willing to modify. I've already found one Amish company that is willing to search for tilt-out outer windows instead of interior-opening slider windows and another willing to build the perches flat-side-up. It won't be cheap to get a custom coop but the mortgage is paid off in a year and should be feasible then. Before the coop we want to put up a permanent block wall fence first. And our 15-year-old Jeep is falling apart and needs a new companion vehicle parked next to it in our driveway LOL.

 

[Melabella]

I can warn you whatever you plant in there is going to be history! They will love to jump up in there, eat whatever flowers or plants you decide to put in it, and then dig at the root system till its gone!
Oh this gorgeous coop! Such a shame chicken poo will ever have to be in it! Simply beautiful! Did you build it yourselves, or contract it out? Should be submitted to a magazine.. Lovely!


MB

 

[Sylvester017]

Yes i agree about security. I do have a fenced in back yard and have 4 cats and a dog. But I have had racoons/possums come over the fence so I am scared to death they might be attractive to my chicks. I just ordered another runner for my chicks so i can have a double layer of protection and used cloth wire around half my run and will replace the other half with cloth wire and try to make a roof over the run. So much work for a first time grandma farmer but one day at a time.

The hardwire will always be the costliest part of coop building and the larger the run area the more expensive it becomes. But really saves us finding a torn fence, shredded chickens, and scattered feathers all over the yard. When my daughter came home from vacation she was amazed at how many wild animals I saw in and around her yard while she was gone. For being night critters I caught them hunting in broad daylight! The dog killed the 'possum, the raccoon tipped over the heavy trash barrel and scattered it all over the yard, wild rabbits were coming onto the lawn to eat grass, and a very large coyote was stalking the back iron bar fence. I smelled skunk but never saw it in the yard and I was fortunate not to see the neighborhood's resident Bobcat or have a rattlesnake come into the yard. My daughter lives in a regular city neighborhood but there is a large wooded area behind their tract of homes. One year a Mountain Lion and a Bear were spotted. I told her I was almost afraid to step out of the house for all the wildlife she has around her place.

For security I noticed a lot of chickeneers completely enclosing and roofing over smaller coops for double protection. Sounds costly so take little baby steps toward fortifying like Fort Knox. Wooded areas harbor a lot of small but deadly predators to chickens.

 

[vehve]

I'm still working on it. And yes, that is a shower drain plumbed in. I poured a concrete floor inside with it sloped to the center. I can open up the big door and rinse it out. I'm also in the process of plumbing feeders and waterers. I'm trying to figure out how to make the waterer freeze-proof. I'm thinking an insulated 5 gallon water cooler with a heated dog dish.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

Did you connect this to your regular plumbing? If you did, I'm foreseeing a lot of plumber bills in your future, I would be really careful with washing down any bedding. Also, I think the poop will pretty quickly clog up the grate on the drain. Then you might be stuck with a nice poop soup in the coop.

 

[vehve]

@bruceha2000 I can't speak from personal experience, since our's are only 22 weeks at the moment, but I can say that as it's a landrace, it isn't that specialized, and to my understanding people have tried to keep the traits beneficial to a smallish farmyard flock (that replenishes itself), so I'd say the broodiness might be an issue. I can't really find any decent data, but I found a description of the race that quoted some statistics which said that about every third hen tends to go broody.

Your best bet to get something similar looking would be to look into the Swedish landraces. The Swedish flower hen has gained a lot of popularity in the US, but I don't know of any Finnish ones coming over yet. The SFH is also a bit bigger and lays bigger eggs. Or then you could set up a business selling super rare Finnish chickens for 5000$ a pair

 

[bruceha2000]

* Anconas are classified as Mediterranean class like Minorcas, Leghorns, Andalusians, White Faced Black Spanish, etc. I find the Mediterranean class of fowl independent, smarter than the average, active, skittish, alert, good foragers and easy on the feed bill, non-broody, excellent white egg layers, AND assertive - no shrinking violets here so would not put them around gentle breeds like Faverolles, Ameraucanas, EEs, or smaller gentler LF like Dominiques, Bredas, etc. I LOVE Leghorns for so many reasons but I've learned a hard lesson about Mediterranean birds and will never mix these with other classes of fowl again. Mediterraneans mixed together would be fine but only with each other without other classes mixed into the flock. It really makes it easier to keep breeds the same sizes and temperaments.

We agree on that for sure. I knew the Anconas were likely to be more aggressive than some breeds and no matter what SOME bird will be the top of the pecking order. But until you have the first mixed flock (and in my case first flock of any kind) it isn't easy to understand what that means. I wanted a couple that laid white and thought the leghorns would be even more aggressive so I went with the Anconas. Live and learn.

New problem, hopefully temporary, is my stupid broody Partridge Chantecler is jumping Zorra, a Black Australorp and my biggest bird. Maybe they have been talking smack when she is in the broody box. I let her out in the morning so she can go outside and leave that nasty broody poop somewhere other than in the cage and maybe remember what she is SUPPOSED to be doing all day instead of sitting on shavings. Yesterday she jumped Zorra who was having nothing of it. I grabbed Zorra since at that exact instant, she was on top. I held her for awhile (not something she is used to) and calmed her down and waited for Laura to settle. They were at each other not long after I put Zorra down so I caught Laura and put her back in the box. Immediately at it again this morning as soon as I let Laura out. I broke it up and she was at another bird (or the other way around) and I don't even know which it was. Since it was treat time, they all went for the food instead of each other. We will see.

Bruce