post your chicken coop pictures here!

[islandgirl82]

We used the metal bars type kennel fencing.  Sure saves the hassle of building a pen from scratch plus the kennel panels can easily come apart and get configured differently if needed.  Once assembled the panels are very sturdy against predators.  Ours came with a roof assembly that we wired securely before putting on the UV tarp roof that came with it.  For extra weather protection from rust we sprayed an added coat of Rust-O-Leum on the panels before assembling.  Put a couple low shelters like boards propped on blocks for hiding places in the pen from aerial predators and/or plant some stickery bushes like evergreen, rose, or berries for the girls to hide/snooze under.  We found in our open yard to scatter shelters like popup canopy, old wheelbarrow, bench, planks on blocks, a couple doghouses, and stickery roses for our girls to duck under when the Cooper's Hawk visits.

The kennel panels certainly are convenient and I do have bird netting over the top mainly to keep them from flying out but nothing has gotten in either. They spend most of their days ranging as I work from home. My coop faces north so there's always shade in the run and we're right on the water so the sea breeze keeps us all cool. They also have full access to my gardens when they're ranging and the gardens are loaded with shrubs and leafy plants for cover and they hang out under my front porch a fair amount. I will be adding a section of covered run before winter because I know they won't want to range as much but they won't want to stay in the coop either. Thanks for the tips!

 

[Sylvester017]

The kennel panels certainly are convenient and I do have bird netting over the top mainly to keep them from flying out but nothing has gotten in either. They spend most of their days ranging as I work from home. My coop faces north so there's always shade in the run and we're right on the water so the sea breeze keeps us all cool. They also have full access to my gardens when they're ranging and the gardens are loaded with shrubs and leafy plants for cover and they hang out under my front porch a fair amount. I will be adding a section of covered run before winter because I know they won't want to range as much but they won't want to stay in the coop either.

Your yard looks like it has a lot of shrubbery/plants and chickens like BIG plants or stickery ones to hide/snooze under. It's a chicken thing so we placed a lot of shelters around the yard for them. We have heatwave summers and mild winters so our girls love to romp in the rain. I've seen people in snow areas shovel dirt paths for their chickens in the winter and breeds like Hedemora actually were bred to walk in snow! Chickens only use a coop to lay their eggs or roost for the night. They're outdoors the rest of the time.

 

[jerrey]

I agree

 

[islandgirl82]

Your yard looks like it has a lot of shrubbery/plants and chickens like BIG plants or stickery ones to hide/snooze under.  It's a chicken thing so we placed a lot of shelters around the yard for them.  We have heatwave summers and mild winters so our girls love to romp in the rain.  I've seen people in snow areas shovel dirt paths for their chickens in the winter and breeds like Hedemora actually were bred to walk in snow!  Chickens only use a coop to lay their eggs or roost for the night.  They're outdoors the rest of the time.

Yes, they stick close to the house and tree lines. Once in a while they'll check out the frog pond but that's also close to the trees but they never go into the open field unless they're following me. They have tons of natural hiding places and they will also take cover under the benches surrounding my firepit. When they are a little more exposed my dog is usually right with them keeping watch.

Here he is keeping watch with his Hamburg partner while the rest of the flock takes their dust baths throughout the flower bed.

 

[cwrite]

It has taken 6 months, but the last major addition to the coop & run has been completed. There are minor works in progress.

Although our property size is relatively small, we have bush over the back fence. Our main predator/problems are extremely venemous snakes, termites & fire. We have had four fires in the last 4.5 years we have lived here.


It started with the playhouse my kids had grown out of. I realised I couldn't buy a coop with that I could get for it & the playhouse would be much larger so we repurposed it. Then we added the run. It is mouse proof because I figure that if we have no mice, we won't attract smaller snakes. It is also snake proof & as of yesterday the run now has a roof added by DH as an anniversary present. The run is 4m by 2m & we have five hens I raised from chicks. We usually get five eggs a day laid in the small dog box in the run. It was there because I hadn't done the nest boxes when they hit 20 weeks & now despite all my efforts they refuse to use anything else.

It was the first day of spring yesterday & my sunflowers are nearly finished. I'm sure the chooks will appreciate the shade for when it gets really hot & the shelter for when it rains. It has been an exceptionally dry 6 months!


Next time I would use cinder blocks for the base so that the termites can't eat the wood & to raise the level of the base of the run. I have very enthusiastic diggers.

We have a sky tunnel joining the run & coop & steep ladders that the ladies manage without any difficulty so far. The tunnel remains open as the run is secure & the ladies come & go between the coop & run as they please. I don't recommend repurposing a play house & look forward to building a coop from scratch that will include lower access to the run before my ladies reach retirement age.

I took the pics walking from the rear to the front & by the time I reached the front they were all in the coop peering through the windows from their inside roost. I free range the chooks daily. Someone planted a huge number of Lilly Pillies (very vigorous growing trees) around the property so there is plenty of cover. I use wood chips in the coop & dry Lilly Pilly leaves in the run which I have yet to run out of. I cut a few branches down, leave them to dry out in the run, strip the leaves & get rid of the bare branches. I only have a bit of hay in the run because we had enough rain last week to turn the fine leaf litter to mud for the first time. Hagrid (one of my large bodied Austrolorps) was so terrified of the hay she managed to fly up to one of my optomistically high roosts that I have never seen a chicken on before. With hindsight, a sebright would love those roosts.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my Queensland coop & run.

 

[jerrey]

Yes, they stick close to the house and tree lines. Once in a while they'll check out the frog pond but that's also close to the trees but they never go into the open field unless they're following me. They have tons of natural hiding places and they will also take cover under the benches surrounding my firepit. When they are a little more exposed my dog is usually right with them keeping watch.



Here he is keeping watch with his Hamburg partner while the rest of the flock takes their dust baths throughout the flower bed.

love that dog

 

[islandgirl82]

love that dog

Thanks! Me too!

 

[arkansas55]

It has taken 6 months, but the last major addition to the coop & run has been completed. There are minor works in progress.

Although our property size is relatively small, we have bush over the back fence. Our main predator/problems are extremely venemous snakes, termites & fire. We have had four fires in the last 4.5 years we have lived here.


It started with the playhouse my kids had grown out of. I realised I couldn't buy a coop with that I could get for it & the playhouse would be much larger so we repurposed it. Then we added the run. It is mouse proof because I figure that if we have no mice, we won't attract smaller snakes. It is also snake proof & as of yesterday the run now has a roof added by DH as an anniversary present. The run is 4m by 2m & we have five hens I raised from chicks. We usually get five eggs a day laid in the small dog box in the run. It was there because I hadn't done the nest boxes when they hit 20 weeks & now despite all my efforts they refuse to use anything else.

It was the first day of spring yesterday & my sunflowers are nearly finished. I'm sure the chooks will appreciate the shade for when it gets really hot & the shelter for when it rains. It has been an exceptionally dry 6 months!


Next time I would use cinder blocks for the base so that the termites can't eat the wood & to raise the level of the base of the run. I have very enthusiastic diggers.

We have a sky tunnel joining the run & coop & steep ladders that the ladies manage without any difficulty so far. The tunnel remains open as the run is secure & the ladies come & go between the coop & run as they please. I don't recommend repurposing a play house & look forward to building a coop from scratch that will include lower access to the run before my ladies reach retirement age.

I took the pics walking from the rear to the front & by the time I reached the front they were all in the coop peering through the windows from their inside roost. I free range the chooks daily. Someone planted a huge number of Lilly Pillies (very vigorous growing trees) around the property so there is plenty of cover. I use wood chips in the coop & dry Lilly Pilly leaves in the run which I have yet to run out of. I cut a few branches down, leave them to dry out in the run, strip the leaves & get rid of the bare branches. I only have a bit of hay in the run because we had enough rain last week to turn the fine leaf litter to mud for the first time. Hagrid (one of my large bodied Austrolorps) was so terrified of the hay she managed to fly up to one of my optomistically high roosts that I have never seen a chicken on before. With hindsight, a sebright would love those roosts.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my Queensland coop & run.

beautiful flock and coop,well done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[cwrite]

beautiful flock and coop,well done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks : ) This is out first experience with building anything so we are quite please with how it turned out.

 

[MontanaFam]

6 week old pullets and California rabbits co-habitating. Coop and covered run.