post your chicken coop pictures here!

[lindsey8980]

I love it super cute!

 

[biddybarn]

Thanks for all of the compliments!

 

[bruceha2000]

Ok guys... Something tells me that I need to kick my husband in the can.... His idea of putting the dog near the chicken run has resulted in something strange....


My dog has become a big chicken lol....

You would have to kick him in the can if your chickens had gone missing, ie down the dog's mouth. But if the dog isn't interested in doing anything other than hanging out with them, you need to do something nice for your husband. He just got you a Livestock Guardian Dog for free! I would watch him/her though because it only takes a second for a live chicken to become a dead chicken.

I have to say that there are some nice coops out there. Ours pales in comparison, but it serves the purpose...and I've never built anything in my life. We, my wife and I, thought we'd save some money by using an old plastic shed that was onsite when we bought our house. However, as the construction progressed, one mod led to another until we had our final product. please see below:

Don't sell yourself short. That is a fabulous looking setup.

 

[Sylvester017]

@Sylvester017
Thank you for the insights on Leghorns...especially which breeds would be good coop-mates with them. I was looking at those cute Silkies and your post quickly put a stop to that daydream. I would hate to have to rehome any chicks due to incompatibilities, so your comments were much appreciated. Also, I will now keep an eye out on the reproductive issues. We don't plan to add winter lights or rush the egg laying cycles, just let our pets be pets. They are certainly not lap pets like other breeds, but the Leghorns are extremely smart, very entertaining to look at and play with. Unfortunately, two of the four girls had a cracked beak at the base of their noses this weekend from being startled by a visiting dog, I was pretty upset with the bloody scene, back to browsing BYC for advises. They seemed better today, eating fine except one will cry out occasionally from pain. Sometimes, it doesn't matter how predator-safe our coops are, it is hard to keep these chickens from harming themselves due to unforeseen circumstances.

A dam*ed loose neighborhood German Shepherd along with another stray mutt broke down our backyard gate to go after our brand new coop and scared the hens. The commotion luckily brought a good neighbor to the rescue. The mutts couldn't dig under the coop because it was sitting on a paver stone walkway all around the base but the mutts mangled the cheap chicken poultry wire beyond repair. We had to rebuild the gate and added a second one in case the constantly loose Shepherd wanted in again. Thank goodness those owners moved out of the neighborhood! Can you tell I hate irresponsible dog owners?

Before we got our chickens we lined up a vet that accepted chicken patients. That way when an emergency arises it's worth the $$$ to keep a chicken from suffering because of injury or illness. For a couple weeks feed your chickens moistened food so the hard pellets don't cause discomfort while your two injured hens are recovering.

P.S. Silkies are so adorable as most crested/bearded breeds are but Silkies are so extremely broody you do not want to invest the extra time in handling broody hens. I waited until retirement to get our two Silkies to invest the time in getting them to come out of their empty imaginary-egg nests several times a day so they can eat/drink/dust bathe/exercise. They will brood empty nests on the drop of a hat and can get ill from not leaving their nest. Currently I have two bitc*y hormonal Silkies at the same time! Our entire flock breed choices revolves around them, hence the addition of a gentle APA Ameraucana (my avatar) and 2 gentle small-bodied Bredas in the Spring. These gentle breeds are why we had to rehome our 2 assertive Leghorns. Legs are not just alert and predator-savvy, they are an extremely smart breed and some can be quite personable. Other Mediterranean class breeds should mix well with Legs. I would avoid Buff Orps, RIRs, BRs, Marans, or heavier dual purpose breeds because they will want to challenge the Legs for leadership. Our heavy Marans was quietly sneaky about challenging the smaller Legs but Legs are not shrinking violets and put her in her place. It's best not to have larger assertive birds with the Legs because it doesn't make for a peaceful environment for egg-layers.

 

[Evewon]

Some Pics of our coop!
More pics and info at our thread Chateau de Wong

 

[PrimroseMom1]

Some Pics of out coop! More pics and info at our thread Chateau de Wong

Whoa!! Someone is a artist. Super!

 

[Sylvester017]

How did you know i was putting a cinder block bench in there today for them to roost on...?

All we chickeneers are like-minded!

Around the open yard I have 3 cinderblock shelters, a cedar Adirondack chair, a pop-up canopy with legs buried to keep from para-sailing away, 2 large doghouses, an old wheelbarrow, and several stickery evergreen and rose bushes for the girls to hide/snooze under. The hawks seem to ignore hiding hens and don't go after them snoozing. I'm currently slipping some posts through cinderblock holes to make low perches for the Silkies but I know ALL the breeds will use it! We keep an Orbit Mister under the canopy for heatwaves. I've had backyard chickens almost 4 years and still keep finding more things to make it fun/safe for them.

 

[Sylvester017]

Baby girl has plenty of time to enjoy her new chick chicks.

I was 10 months old when my folks purchased their farm. Your little DOLL is getting an even younger start!

Watch the hygiene around chicks/chickens with children. Many 24-hour intestinal bugs are not fron mild food poisoning but a result of poor chicken handling and not washing hands or trying to kiss or hug chickens. By the same token human mouth bacteria can cause a chicken with low immunity to get ill. Washing up after handling chickens, collecting eggs, or cleaning a coop are good practices for well-being.

With your youngster teach her (when she can understand) how to scoop up a chicken with one hand under its breast and the other hand holding down the wings and hold it gently but securely against your torso - it's the "show judges' hold" and prevents the adult/child from holding the chicken by its reproductive backsides. Children that hold a chicken by its sides will squeeze harder to hold a startled chicken and that can damage the reproductive (egg forming) area. Some chickens take several handlings to get accustomed to this "hold" but well worth the patience to work with the chicken.

Happy chickeneering!

 

[Sylvester017]

My 22 year old daughter playing with the chickens…just like when she was little!

Having a cover over a coop really extends the life of the coop from sun and rain damage. We've been using a pop-up canopy over our current little coop so rain doesn't wet the straw when we open the egg door.

Your DD will probably have her own flock one day!

 

[Sylvester017]

So true... I thought that my roo was about to be dinner yesterday... My dog was swishing her tail around and that bird was chasing it like a cat!!!! Then he stuck his head next to my dogs mouth and she licks his head... He was a little ruffled after that lol...

Your doggie was taking a sample taste test!

It's funny that a chicken will voluntarily stand chest-deep in muddy water but just don't YOU be the one to get him wet!

I had an Old Boston Bulldogge (foundation breed for future Boston Terriers) and a Border Collie with the same colorings as your doggie. I love dogs with white-tip tails although my personal preference is for males over females.

No matter how friendly I still wouldn't trust a dog around chickens. An animal is an animal is an animal and sometimes dogs just can't resist chomping on an easy bird. Our Rotties were sweet as pie but when we weren't around they would kill the gentle Mourning Doves. We were able to train them on everything including halting on command when chasing a cat but we couldn't break them from the birds