post your chicken coop pictures here!

[bigmrg74]

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[jtbass2756]

On the right Internal wall dry feeder; I made the metal tray from flashing and was sure to make bend all the corners and edges so its not sharp.
The original cut on the inside was not large enough so I had to bore it out to make it a little bigger the cuts not to pretty but it works


Side view of the feeder the hopper for the feeder is outside the coop in this picture you can also see in the right background the copper tube line I split off the hose bib for the water dispensers

And the back of the feeder

It stays dry in the winter and is easy to fill





The External water feeder;

External watering feeder the 5 gallon bucket in the background of the picture has a high pressure 1/8 inch copper line attached to a float to keep the bucket constantly full and the pvc line fills a watering troff from the bucket. Its funny to see the chickens sticking there heads inside the holes to drink the water, but it works great they love it.



Wall mounted Internal watering feeder;
4 inch ABS pipe filled by a high pressure 1/8 inch copper tubing line attached to a float to keep the troff constantly full
i put it on a slight angle to keep it deeper on one side for the float.



The coop itself is all fabricated from recycled siding from an old church and old red wood decking.




I fabricated the gutters from flashing and recycled an old gutter downspout from the same old church we got the siding from






The chicken cat walk;



I built a small shelf like catwalk for them they love being able to be off the ground.
And put a wooden stool in there and screwed perch to it for them the jump and fly back and forth playing chicken games.


The coop open for cleaning

I know you are going to hear a lot about the chicken wire....so get ready. We all feel very strongly about it and have usually had bad experiences with it!

Here are 2 picts that I alway keep near at hand.. My son who is in the military and was seriously just trying to get up a run for his young pullets temporarily. He knew he would be able to be home the next weekend to do a good job. BUT... the kids went out to feed up the next morning and found this along with some bodies and pieces of their young ones.

He thought that 2 layers would be enough here and he was using what he had at the garage.


Good luck with your little ones...I like your coop. I wanted something small like yours but lost control over all of it but that's a long story. If you click on 'coops' at the top and go to Judy's Chickadee Coop you can scope out all of my challenges. Take care..

 

[KingKongChicken]

I know you are going to hear a lot about the chicken wire....so get ready. We all feel very strongly about it and have usually had bad experiences with it!

Here are 2 picts that I alway keep near at hand.. My son who is in the military and was seriously just trying to get up a run for his young pullets temporarily. He knew he would be able to be home the next weekend to do a good job. BUT... the kids went out to feed up the next morning and found this along with some bodies and pieces of their young ones.

He thought that 2 layers would be enough here and he was using what he had at the garage.


Good luck with your little ones...I like your coop. I wanted something small like yours but lost control over all of it but that's a long story. If you click on 'coops' at the top and go to Judy's Chickadee Coop you can scope out all of my challenges. Take care..

 

[perchie.girl]

Yeah I agree thee chicken wire I bought for the whole run was only 56$ and if I would definitely use hog wire next time its a lot stronger and less flimsy. The only upside to the chicken wire I used is its like piano wire very sharp, I'm sure what ever is digging is hurting its paws. I'm just waiting for one of our local bears to try to get in. So far this season its working fine but for sure I recommend anyone making a run to use hog wire instead.

But I have had several attempts at dogs, foxes, racoons and skunks trying to get in, I had taken precautions against that ahead of time by overlapping & bending a few extra feet flat on the ground then buried it with only about 6-8 inches of dirt. So they try to dig down at the fence line and hit wire and don't know to back up 2 feet away from the fence and then dig down. My girls are something like 14 weeks now and it seems at first 3 times a week we would have an attempt at breaking in and they never succeeded and now maybe once a week something tries to get in. Allot of the animals have given up I think.

you must have found sixteen gauge..... The only place I have found it was Stucco wire.

I saw your coop on the DIY page I think its awesome and I commented there. The big concern though Is Chicken wire has holes that are too big and "stretchy" I had a racoon decimate my guineas just by reaching through the holes and pulling a head off or a leg.

Invest in hardware cloth when you can. Just around the places where the chickens can come in contact with the walls. Of course they are protected in the coop when they are locked up for the night... But I had a dog once who was very determined to get out. He had perminant scars on his nose from where he had chewed through kennels from previous owners.

Please dont assume the animals will give up.

deb

 

[iwiw60]

Quote:

Yeah I agree thee chicken wire I bought for the whole run was only 56$ and if I would definitely use hog wire next time its a lot stronger and less flimsy. The only upside to the chicken wire I used is its like piano wire very sharp, I'm sure what ever is digging is hurting its paws. I'm just waiting for one of our local bears to try to get in. So far this season its working fine but for sure I recommend anyone making a run to use hog wire instead.

But I have had several attempts at dogs, foxes, racoons and skunks trying to get in, I had taken precautions against that ahead of time by overlapping & bending a few extra feet flat on the ground then buried it with only about 6-8 inches of dirt. So they try to dig down at the fence line and hit wire and don't know to back up 2 feet away from the fence and then dig down. My girls are something like 14 weeks now and it seems at first 3 times a week we would have an attempt at breaking in and they never succeeded and now maybe once a week something tries to get in. Allot of the animals have given up I think.

I would highly suggest that before you yet again waste hard-earned money on hog wire for your coop/run that you instead purchase 1/2" hardware cloth only! The mere fact that you have known predators such as dogs, foxes, raccoons and skunks trying to get in, not to mention the occasional bear, should be enough to go the extra initial expense. It's not a matter of if they will get in...it's when they'll get in. While it's true that hog wire is more substantial than chicken wire, raccoons and dogs can tear through it. Good to see that you 'aproned' your wire...it does indeed help for sure.

I wish you all the best, and remember a dead scumbag predator is the best scenario you can have:
S - S - S
Shoot - Shovel - Shut Up

 

[TJordan]

Ok guys... I'm not sure if I've got a problem or not.... It's now day 3 and I've not gotten a single egg.... My girls are right at 25 weeks old... Have been laying for a few weeks now.... But suddenly I've had a drastic drop in eggs.... I've cleaned the coop and dusted it to ensure no bugs, I've added a second feeder.... They already have 2 waterers that I change every morning.... I'm out of scratch but that seems unrelated... Do I have a thief?! My dog doesn't allergy to anything.... I'm home almost every day, all day... I've even started doing a sweep of the whole yard each evening to make sure no eggs are hiding.... In, under, around, behind... No eggs found anywhere... No shell fragments or anything... It's to early for a molt right? They are still to young right? ....... I would check for egg bound but all 9 hens at once? Not likely....

 

[PrimroseMom1]

Famous last words. Your chickens will be killed. JS

 

[vader]

Getting there. I agree better to spend the money upfront than to have a dead flock

 

[perchie.girl]

Ok guys... I'm not sure if I've got a problem or not.... It's now day 3 and I've not gotten a single egg.... My girls are right at 25 weeks old... Have been laying for a few weeks now.... But suddenly I've had a drastic drop in eggs.... I've cleaned the coop and dusted it to ensure no bugs, I've added a second feeder.... They already have 2 waterers that I change every morning.... I'm out of scratch but that seems unrelated... Do I have a thief?! My dog doesn't allergy to anything.... I'm home almost every day, all day... I've even started doing a sweep of the whole yard each evening to make sure no eggs are hiding.... In, under, around, behind... No eggs found anywhere... No shell fragments or anything... It's to early for a molt right? They are still to young right? ....... I would check for egg bound but all 9 hens at once? Not likely....

its about time for molt in some places.... they dont lay much during molt.... just a thought.

deb

 

[vader]