post your chicken coop pictures here!

[Sylvester017]

Garden coop plans but added a section to make the run bigger. Put the access/cleaning door bigger and on the outside of the pen. Put a ramp and porch on the side instead of through the bottom.

Porch and ramp on the left. Solid panel on the bottom right should help block some wind and snow/rain in winter.

Added a chicken yard access door to the solid panel on the end of the run.

I would use 2 or 3 feet at least of smaller guage hardwire along the bottom base of the run. It'll deter foraging rodents, crawling snakes, and raccoon paws trying to snag the chickens' heads or legs or stray dog or cat paws reaching through the pen.

LOVE the overhang roof - really a bonus you'll appreciate in rainy weather!

 

[iwiw60]

@mrsfluff100 First off, let me tell you....you did an outstanding job on your coop and run!! With that said, I do have one suggestion I noticed from your picture of the main coop:



VENTILATION! From your avatar/signature I can't tell what part of the country you live in, but it appears there is only that small "slider" on the main coop for ventilation...yikes!!

You really need to put at the very least a second window of sorts...that little coop with your birds in it will generate a LOT of heat.

 

[Pineridge]

Here are a few more updated pictures of our coop. I took the advice given on here and used 8" cap block under the run fence panels and then back filled it with dirt that will be seeded. The roof is made with PVC flexed across from the sides and then covered with nylon netting that is stapled to the top of the fence panels and wire tied to the PVC cross members. I know the run is not "predator proof" but the coop itself I feel pretty confident is secure. I still need to finish putting up the wire and lattice underpinning and install the aluminum vent panels between the rafters. I also added a small roof over the external nesting boxes to help keep them dry as suggested. We picked up our first four hens a few days ago and so far everything has went well and they seem content and happy. Thanks everyone for the help and the advice.

 

[bruceha2000]

Here are some pictures of my coop and run! that coop was bought and is wonderful! Also I made the run myself as a school project for math since I am homeschooled. I know that the coop and run look really bad, lousy, and aren't creative but oh well it work for us! Plus I live in a tiny house and this is in out back yard!

Are you my "100% is ALMOST good enough" older daughter (only when it was school work, not so around the house)??

All the Mediterranean class of birds like the Ancona, Leghorn, etc. are wonderful birds. I LOVE Leghorns especially but they are a class unto themselves and should only be kept in a mixed Mediterrancean breeds flock with Anconas, Andalusians, etc. All the Mediterranean breeds will be equally matched in temperaments. The largest of the Mediterranean class is the Minorca who surpasses the average 4.5-5 lb Med hen range but still would be okay mixed with other Mediterranean breeds. Just wouldn't put Meds with other classes because as I say they are smart, assertive, active, non-shrinking violets in a flock. The Meds are also terrific layers because they are non-broody. However, most newbies want a "colorful" egg basket and the white eggs bore them so they start throwing in EEs, Ameraucanas, Marans, Brahmas, Welsummers, Sussex, Polish, Orps, 'Lorps, Faverolles, Dominiques, RIRs, NHRs, BRs, etc into the flock, also throwing in a Silkie and bantam Cochin because they are "so cute" not realizing what they will be dealing with when all the different breeds reach full maturity between 18 months and 2 years old. Now I said the Meds are non-broody - but guess what? About 2% of Leghorns will go broody and I had one this past 6 weeks. She was the one who came out of her broody and started asserting herself against the other 3 hens and is sadly rehomed now. As you said, live and learn,

Chantecler are a skittish nervous bunch from the videos I've watched of them which is why I didn't try them. Everyone seems to love their BAs but they are way too large for my smaller sized hens. Chanties are shy jittery types that are not too human friendly. Some breeds like Ameraucanas, EEs, Dominiques, and BRs actually seem to like interacting with their humans but Chanties do not. I didn't realize Chanties were broody types either.

Having to deal with notoriously broody Silkies (and one surprise Buff Leghorn broody) I found their raging hormones during broody sessions causes a lot of squabbling and fights protecting their imaginary nest eggs. Broodies are just naturally crabby until they snap out of brooding and get normal again. We find that isolating broodies in a separate broody pen solves a lot of fighting issues and keeps them safe from injuries if they aren't fighting. Sometimes broodies will nest together occasionally as in the case of Silkies or bantam Doms - but it's not common unless the two broodies were sisters or same age chicks growing up together. I've seen as many as 3 bantam broodies share a clutch of eggs and share rearing the chicks but that is not the norm. When one of our Silkies or in our case the one Buff Leg goes broody the other hens tend to leave them alone in the nestbox. Only our sweet ditzy klutzy Ameraucana dares to approach a broody nestbox to lay her egg and somehow manages to sit next to a crabby broody (Amers are non-combative and ours just ignores other irascible hens). Some broodies actually welcome another hen's egg to tuck under her to set. That's why it's so important to quickly remove other hens' newly layed eggs. We had a Silkie so determined to brood we found her sitting on a cucumber slice in the nest!

I have stopped trying to break broodies. Silkies, Amers, EEs, and Legs are such prolific layers that it's my feeling that Mother Nature gives these breeds a broody session rest from laying so many eggs. It is nutritionally stressful on the bodies of these small animals to keep laying eggs day after day (like giving birth everyday!) so I let them have their 3 or 4 week broody session rest in an empty nestbox (we have no roos so none of our eggs are fertile anyway). During their broody session we make sure to take them out of their box 2 or 3 times daily to eat/drink/dust-bath and give them a drop on the side of their beak (not down the throat) of Poly-Vi-Sol no iron children's liquid vitamin for supplementation about 1-2 times a week as they tend not to eat enough during brooding. Because they are setting so much we Poultry Protector (organic) spray the bird (directions on label) to discourage the invitation for lice/mites in the warm nestbox. If after the 5th or 6th week the broody is not over her broody session we lock her out of the brooding pen. She won't like it and gets agitated wanting to get back inside but in a couple-three days she forgets about it and returns to "normal." It takes her a couple-three weeks to get back to regular laying again.

Guess you know this by now but I'll mention it for other readers: A hen's output of eggs diminishes 20% average each year. Example: If a hen lays 200 eggs her first year, she'll lay 180 eggs the second, and 20% less the third year for approx 144 eggs, and so on and so on. From Sandhill Preservation statistics the only layer that is just as good the 2nd year as their 1st year are the Ameraucanas (not sure if this is inclusive of EEs though). Our White Leghorn layed about 6 times a week but in her second year it was sometimes 5 times a week so even the mighty White Leg slows down production each year. We are keeping a record of our Blue Wheaten Ameraucana (my avatar) to see how her 1st year will compare with the 2nd.

Hope your girls don't injure each other. Putting a crabby hen in a roomy wire cage elevated a bit off the ground/floor with no bedding cools them down and sometimes breaks them of their broody in 2-3 days - that is if you want to break them. I just let nature take its course and isolate them like they seem to isolate themselves naturally when in an open barnyard setting - coming out on their own occasionally for water and food to quickly return to their nest.

I actually got the Anconas because I wanted a colorful egg basket and white is a color

Are there any white (large) egg layers BESIDES the Mediterraneans? The Cubalayas are for the "cute" factor. They don't seem to get into trouble with the bigger girls even though they are 2/3 the size. I don't know if it is because they are small and fast or if the bigger girls figure they don't need to show authority over a runt chicken. I got the Faverolles because I thought my daughter would like the "fluffiness". She is fine with never getting any more since they are so broody.

My BAs are great (though Zorra has done the broody thing 3 times now, but breaks easily). Echo is about the same size as the Anconas and EE, Zorra is bigger. Neither cause trouble in the flock as far as I can tell and the Anconas leave them alone for the most part. The only problem I have with Echo is she makes a shrill whistle sound that is grating and goes on too long. I have no idea what she is telling me. Echo, SHUT UP!

But then Peep (Cubalaya) "squwarks" a LOT, begging for food and the Faverolles squawk loud and long. They can shut up too!

My Partridge Chanteclers (one died for no known reason in March) aren't particularly skittish. My perspective might be skewed though because I don't have "lap chickens" I have laying hens. Spoiled but not pets so if people say a breed it skittish or flighty, maybe it is because they DO want lap chickens?

I built my broody buster last spring. Big enough for 3 birds (only because I had scrap wood that was about that size, less cutting). I'm thinking I should split it in half since I have a broody problem. My wife said Laura and Zorra were in the box together while I was gone with the girls. Maybe there is some connection to their squabbles there. Laura was out again yesterday and for no reason I could see, jumped Zorra AGAIN. Cloud of black feathers. Happened fast, I guess she hit with her claws. Stuffed her back in the broody box. I let her out this morning and she seems better ... so far.

But Anais (Faverolles) is broody AGAIN. She was broody while we were gone not 2 weeks ago. I made her stay out of the nest for 15 minutes but she kept heading back in so I took the plastic egg out and replaced it with a freezer pack in a plastic bag. She kind of squatted over it and pecked around at the nest shavings, then sat down. MAYBE it will cool her off enough. Didn't work when my wife did it to Laura 2 weeks ago but she had been broody for some time.

If these stupid broodies don't knock it off, their second year production won't be down 20% it will be down 75%. I don't expect the girls to lay eggs 7 days a week but going broody and letting them stay that way for a month or two several times a year, then not lay in the winter isn't in the cards.

@mrsfluff100 Echoing what those ahead of me said: That coop looks just fine, and the run looks more than adequate for the number of bantams you have. I'm sure they are quite happy with both! Also nice to see hardware cloth all around, and buried as well as reinforced with concrete blocks! Very nice and secure! I would make one small change though if I were you... I would replace those little slide locks with actual hasp type closures and use a carabiner clip. I have seen animals open the little locks that you have in no time at all.

I have a slide bold latch the takes a lock, or in my case a carabiner. I used a hasp at first but they tend to have some slop and the door could be pulled open a bit. Since the hasp was about 3' up, I worried something could pull the door out at the bottom far enough to squeeze in.

This is our 8x8 chicken coop we just built. It has a two foot porch on the front for decor. I will post more pics of inside coop this weekend. We made it out of pallet wood mostly and old rustic tin we had. I think it is my favorite place to hang out!

You need a whiskey barrel and checker board out on the porch of your "old west" coop

It looks great.
I'm not going to mention how worthless chicken wire is in protecting the flock.

I'm not going to mention how worthless chicken wire is in protecting the flock.

I thought penning chickens would be a cake walk and I found out quickly that toothy predators lurk in the night, and if you want to keep the same chickens for a long time you'd better have a helluva solid coop.

You and me both. I figured I had it made converting the horse stall to a coop since it already had 2x4 welded wire over the openings on three sides except the opening for the horse (just a 3' high piece of plywood door) of which I have ZERO. All I had to do was put in a 4x4 post so the very well made door covered with 2x4 welded wire I found in the barn (there are 4 or 5

) would have something to swing to and make a chicken door in the rest of the space with wire above. EASY and CHEAP! Then I started reading about coop protection. I wouldn't have to worry about the larger predators getting through the welded wire and the walls are wood to 4' high so no grabbing through except right where the roost is against the sides, but I know the people we bought the place from lost chickens to weasels in their coop (in the smaller barn and not at all predator proof). So, off to Amazon I went to get 1/2" hardware cloth. It was the biggest expense by far until I got the Pullet Shut door last spring since I covered the floor, ceiling and all the other areas that were not solid wood including the door.

Still need to add nesting boxes on the front top. And we should have made it taller, but it works for now, all built from recycled wood. (These were taken before we got the heavy duty hardware put on. Raccoon proof stuff.)

Bantams I hope? Doesn't look like much head room in the second floor "apartment".

Garden coop plans but added a section to make the run bigger. Put the access/cleaning door bigger and on the outside of the pen. Put a ramp and porch on the side instead of through the bottom.

The ramp looks kind of steep but given the size of your birds, I think they probably fly to near the top anyway.
I think the nest boxes are on the left under the poop board and blocked off. Is that a "reach in through the side" to collect design or is something not shown?

@mrsfluff100 First off, let me tell you....you did an outstanding job on your coop and run!! With that said, I do have one suggestion I noticed from your picture of the main coop:



VENTILATION! From your avatar/signature I can't tell what part of the country you live in, but it appears there is only that small "slider" on the main coop for ventilation...yikes!!

You really need to put at the very least a second window of sorts...that little coop with your birds in it will generate a LOT of heat.

Very good point. And besides the possibility of heat in summer, the bigger threat to inadequate ventilation is build up of ammonia (from the chicken poop) and humidity which can lead to respiratory problems and frostbite. It is POSSIBLE there are vents along the eaves and the ridge which would be great since there is no threat of drafts over the birds.

Here are a few more updated pictures of our coop. I took the advice given on here and used 8" cap block under the run fence panels and then back filled it with dirt that will be seeded. The roof is made with PVC flexed across from the sides and then covered with nylon netting that is stapled to the top of the fence panels and wire tied to the PVC cross members. I know the run is not "predator proof" but the coop itself I feel pretty confident is secure. I still need to finish putting up the wire and lattice underpinning and install the aluminum vent panels between the rafters. I also added a small roof over the external nesting boxes to help keep them dry as suggested. We picked up our first four hens a few days ago and so far everything has went well and they seem content and happy. Thanks everyone for the help and the advice.

Looks great but I think you need to raise the price of your eggs, you'll go broke selling them for $0.10/dozen!

Bruce

 

[meralgia]

Very beautiful Coop!! You should name it something like the Silkie Saloon or the Bantam Brothel...

 

[RachRed]

I built this by myself...slowly over several months. Not bad for a pregnant lady w no building experience lol! I'm proud of myself and my chicks love it!

 

[Yellowcoop1]

Nice job. Love the quirky colors. Very cool. I like the abstract opening on the top as well.

From everything I read on here (I will pass along what I have gleaned). I would worry about the top of your coop being open. Raptors can get your flock, especially with the convenient huge perch in the middle of your run to watch them from. I don't know if you have raccoons, but if you do I bet they can easily climb the fence and get your girls.

 

[RachRed]

Thanks! All the openings are secured with hardware cloth. In theory, the run only needs to be day predator proof as I'm locking them up at night. It's a chicken wire run but it's enclosed in a 4' chain link yard. I am worried about hawks so I ordered a 50x50' net to cover it in.

 

[Yellowcoop1]

Well then I would think the net would cover it. I hear hawks all the time in my back yard, it will be interesting to see how many are really out there once I have a flock of tasty. Hickeys set up for them. I will be enclosing the top of my run with hardware cloth so they can't get in.

Enjoy your stunning coop!!!

 

[LindaB220]

What a cutie!!!