post your chicken coop pictures here!

[Sylvester017]

I'm glad to hear that... The new coop we are building this weekend will, like yours, have an open front covered with hardware cloth but we will make a panel that can be added or removed for weather purposes. Due to VERY rainy weather here we will also have a 6-8 foot overhang. The open front was why we were thinking of adding the heat lamp.... Now I'm thinking we will stick with the front cloth but just add extra flat roosts to allow room to completely cover their feet at night...

Now... The other hurdle.....
........ Bedding.... We've been using pine shavings but the dust build up, low absorption, slow composting rate and constant cost of replacing it every week, I'm thinking of using granulated sweet PDZ.

........ Nesting boxes.... I want slanted, covered boxes low to the floor but my husband wants to set them close to the top of the coop with hop bars allowing the natural slant of the roof to act as the top keeping birds from roosting above them.

....... Feed/water troths.... Covered troths or hanging feeder/waterers?

Any suggestions?

Sounds like you're coming along with your coop! Remember that if the nestboxes are so close to the slanted roofline and the roosting bars are lower than the nestboxes your chickens will roost in the boxes instead of on the bar. For protection from rain or hot sun we have a pop-up canopy over our little coop. I hate standing in rain to collect eggs or to chance getting the nestbox bedding damp. We bury the canopy legs into the ground about a foot to keep it from para-sailing in a breeze. We replace the cover once a year with a new tarp using ball-ties because regular replacement canopy covers are too expensive for our budget. For water we bought EGLU feeders (they hook inside the largest EGLU plastic coop). We hook it in our small coop for water so the chickens can't stand in it - we had a Leghorn that used to love standing in the drinking water and getting it all dirty. My wish list is to have a nifty little nipple waterer that attaches to a Rubbermaid jug but it's not cheap - about $70.

 

[Sylvester017]

Quote: That sounds better. I thought the picket fence was the coop structure!

 

[cyclearkansas]

 

[andreanar]

Subscribing. Up to page 155!

 

[DOUGNASH]

Subscribing. Up to page 155!

That looks like a sphynx in your avatar picture

 

[PAChickLady]

Thanks

Adorable build!  The barn red and white accents are pleasing.

If you really want something durable you may want to start with a locking lid on hinges with a strong lock for the pen area to keep out stray cats, stray dogs that break in (like we had), aerial predators, wandering wildlife (that you never knew you had until you get chickens!)  Since you're in PA you probably get snow so a slightly tilted pen roof would probably be helpful for snow cleanups.  As for the ground we never put anything on our dirt floor pen but then we're in SoCal with no snow - we rake up the dirt to collect for the compost pile but because we free-range days the girls don't use the coop much.  I love your lattice finish but would suggest a hardwire (1/2 inch) interior walls to keep manipulative wildlife paws from reach through the white slats.  I know your coop is still in progress but just throwing in some security suggestions before you "finalize" your build.  Also provide a portable little perch or tree branch on the ground in the pen to keep the chickie tootsies free of wet or muddy ground - plus they love perching even on low little perches all times of the day.

Not sure what your space requirements are since what you have might be comfortable for only a couple bantams - unless you provide some more space with supervised free-range time for your birds every day.  Having a chicken pop-door open 24/7 is not safe as predators will climb in at night into the coop like someone's loose pet snakes, rodents, maybe even oppossums, weasels, or raccoons that you never knew lived in your city.  Don't know where your people door is located for coop cleaning but I definitely see an issue with needing more ventilation holes near your roof line.  If you drill some ventilation holes cover them over with hardwire to keep out rodents/snakes.  A paver stone walkway around the perimeter of your pen will discourage digging critters- it kept dogs from digging under our 4x6 coop 3 years ago - but of course they mangled the chicken poultry wire with their teeth and claws which is why I suggest using only secure 1/2 inch hardwire and not flimsy poultry wire which tears apart from itself.

When you get on this thread there will be a lot of experienced advice thrown your way.  We all love our chickens so much we want to do everything possible to pass along security suggestions.  You'll probably get more suggestions than this.  Post your finalized project again as we love photos!

Thanks for the advice as all your suggestions were taken. I made an enclosed roof of the run using clear corrugated roofing that opens on hinges. The coop itself has a window in the back that allows for the needed ventilation.

For the winter, I plan on wrapping the pen using 6 mil plastic doubled over to use as break the elements. The corrugated roof panels allow for ventilation for the girls.

For the short duration that we've had them, Betty and Mabel have become pets and i love them dearly!

Thanks everyone for the valuable info!

 

[jtbass2756]

Except for your chicken wire.......I'm in love with your coop. The chicken wire will not keep any predator out and keep your ladies safe! I'm saying this from experience.

1/4" or 1/2" hardware wiring is more expensive but at least you know if you bury 12" and use some kind of pavers around the perimeter.....I put the rest of the hardware wiring up 3' ....to the cheaper 2x4" x ?.... This has been the most expensive part of my coop.

 

[jtbass2756]

 

[jtbass2756]

 

[jtbass2756]