post your chicken coop pictures here!

[A2Kzoo2]

I'm doing research and starting to make plans for a tractor coop and was wondering if you guys had suggestions about building materials and size. I will make the run detachable so that it will be easier to move. I think I'm fairly set on my idea for the run part, but still working on ideas for the coop. Does anyone (especially those in colder climates) have any ideas about a good light weight, but weather and predator proof siding material? I was thinking about using 2x4's to frame the base for strength but using 2x2's for the rest of the frame (as people have noted earlier in this thread). I will have a stationary coop and run (coming with the house I'm buying, also comes with 11? hens and a roo plus it looks like they have a few pullets in another small coop/run), but I would like to set up a system where I can move at least some of them around the yard/garden during the spring/summer/fall. I would like to be able to move all of them, but I don't think I could design something big enough for them that I can easily move by myself. I may eventually have to make 2... How big is as big as you can go without being cumbersome (I know this depends on the materials)?

Also, in considering wheel design, I like the idea of what is on the Urban Coop II (in the tractor coop section). It looks like it would be easy to steer, but would require lifting one end while moving it, which would limit the size. I also like the idea Roswell is designing for his/her? coop with the wheels that swing out or under (thank you for linking the video). It looks easy to make, and can be used for a bigger coop, but looks like it might be hard to turn... Any thoughts? (I would like to keep it a simple design.)

As for nest box ideas, what about a box that has a flip up door on the side? Shouldn't have the leaking issues of the top access door, but also shouldn't get as wet as a flip down side access door. (I realize that I would still get wet without a canopy or umbrella.) Actually, if you had stacked nests, the door would be 2'+, it would give a small amount of shelter when flipping it up, just need a stick or piece of wood to prop it up. Any thoughts?

I won't be able to start buying materials until after closing on the house in Feb., so just starting to make plans.

 

[RoosterCogburn7]

You gotta show some pix of the project!

It is a work in progress, two of three walls up so far.

 

[bigmrg74]

I'm doing research and starting to make plans for a tractor coop and was wondering if you guys had suggestions about building materials and size. I will make the run detachable so that it will be easier to move. I think I'm fairly set on my idea for the run part, but still working on ideas for the coop. Does anyone (especially those in colder climates) have any ideas about a good light weight, but weather and predator proof siding material? I was thinking about using 2x4's to frame the base for strength but using 2x2's for the rest of the frame (as people have noted earlier in this thread). I will have a stationary coop and run (coming with the house I'm buying, also comes with 11? hens and a roo plus it looks like they have a few pullets in another small coop/run), but I would like to set up a system where I can move at least some of them around the yard/garden during the spring/summer/fall. I would like to be able to move all of them, but I don't think I could design something big enough for them that I can easily move by myself. I may eventually have to make 2... How big is as big as you can go without being cumbersome (I know this depends on the materials)?

Also, in considering wheel design, I like the idea of what is on the Urban Coop II (in the tractor coop section). It looks like it would be easy to steer, but would require lifting one end while moving it, which would limit the size. I also like the idea Roswell is designing for his/her? coop with the wheels that swing out or under (thank you for linking the video). It looks easy to make, and can be used for a bigger coop, but looks like it might be hard to turn... Any thoughts? (I would like to keep it a simple design.)

As for nest box ideas, what about a box that has a flip up door on the side? Shouldn't have the leaking issues of the top access door, but also shouldn't get as wet as a flip down side access door. (I realize that I would still get wet without a canopy or umbrella.) Actually, if you had stacked nests, the door would be 2'+, it would give a small amount of shelter when flipping it up, just need a stick or piece of wood to prop it up. Any thoughts?

I won't be able to start buying materials until after closing on the house in Feb., so just starting to make plans.

For your base, you could probably use 2x4's, you just might want to use some that are pressure treated as they're going to be on the ground and wet all the time and that would rot the wood in a hurry. For something you plan on using only a year, it really wouldn't matter, but for a long term coop, make the investment.



After manhandling my tractor, The Heart of Gold all summer, I do wish I had used the 2x2's instead of the 2x4's. It would have saved me a lot of weight.


Mostly finished, and parked for the winter.

 

[A2Kzoo2]

Anyone use PVC boards for siding on a tractor coop? http://www.menards.com/main/buildin...x-4-x-8-white-pvc-panel/p-1739266-c-13411.htm

 

[A2Kzoo2]

Quote: Actually, I was thinking of taking an idea from a gardening book I have in which they attached a smaller board (trim board or 2x1) to the bottom of their 2x8's in their raised bed so that the smaller piece sat directly on the ground, but ran the length of the 2x8's, under them. That way they could just remove and replace the thin piece every couple years as it decomposed but they didn't have to worry about using treated lumber and having the chemicals leach out into the garden.

 

[Sylvester017]

I love the Easter Egger types. I had some but they were stolen. I really, really want some again.

So sorry about your loss. EEs are extremely popular and even feed stores sell out of them very quickly when they have various chicks for sale in the warmer months. People love the unusual egg shell colors and the great flock personality of EEs plus EEs are much cheaper to buy than APA Ameraucanas. Ameraucanas cost much more because of the strict standards breeders follow to qualify them for shows and one of many show qualifiers is laying blue shells only whereas EEs can lay just about any color. Because EEs are so varied and can't really be standardized because of surprise feather and egg colors they have not been accepted into the APA. One thing I discovered through my research and experience with our own Ameraucana is that she (and EEs) seem to do much better in colder weather than hot humid weather. Amers/EEs kind of remind me of the landrace Hedemoras - a lot of downy fluffy feathers that make them very uncomfortable in hot climates. Some breeds suffer more in hot temps than others - especially heavier larger breeds and breeds with a lot of extra underdown. Our two Silkies are very fluffy but they are lightweight at 2 lbs and even in heatwaves they will busily forge while our poor 5-lb Amer will dig herself down into the wet soil under the Orbit mister to pant and rest. The poor girl is just not cut out for heatwaves but on a cold rainy day she'll be the only one running spryly and happily around the yard while other breeds shelter in the coop. If you do manage to get more EEs in the future just be mindful not to mix them into a flock of assertive LF breeds. The EEs will be better layers if not stressed by bullies.

 

[Sylvester017]

Stolen?! Who does that??

@RoswellOrganic
I have a mixed flock of SLW, EE's and Hamburg and though I love them all, I'm partial the Hamburg - considered large fowl they're quite small so they don't need as much room in the coop as the larger breeds and they're phenomenal foragers, eating things the others won't touch however, they don't do well in confined spaces...even a large run but that makes them ideal for free-ranging. They're exceptional fliers and will take to the trees for safety. They're also extremely predator savvy...much more so than the other breeds in my flock. They're always on alert and the first the sound the alarm when there's danger. They're considered flighty but I don't view them that way at all. You're very unlikely to turn them into lap-chickens as they're weary of humans but handling them a lot and talking with them especially while they're young has made all the difference for my own. They're also excellent layers. Mine will lay an egg each day for 8-10 days before having a day off. Their eggs are on the small side so when baking, I end up using twice as many but I get so many that it doesn't really make much of a dent in my egg bowl unless it's a quiche or custard type of dish.

Hamburgs are gorgeous! If they weren't so self-willed and on the wilder temperament side it was a breed I was considering for their foraging skills and good egg production along with the prolific Jaerhons, Spitzhauben, and Icelandics. But alas these breeds along with Fayoumis and Campine-colored gull breeds were too overly active for our gentle backyard flock mix. It's difficult to train these self-willed types to stay put. It can be done but takes more effort on the owner's part and they especially don't do their best in coop or tractor confinement. Mediterranean class breeds (like Leghorns, etc) fit in the active category but can be more readily trained - except that Meds are assertive/aggressive breeds in flock politics and are considered more shy of human contact. There are so many gorgeous and prolific breeds to choose from but just takes knowledge about what environment and/or climate fits them the best and what the owner prefers - pets and/or utility birds. Like your Hamburgs the Leghorns are considered flighty birds yet I never found them hard to train - they are intelligent alert birds and learned and respected our yard boundaries and were tame enough to jump into our lap as long as we didn't pet them - our only issue with these wonderful birds was that they were overly assertive with non-combative breeds within the flock.

 

[Poison Ivy]

 

[birdman55]

wonderful coop

well just thought I would pop in and say hi its been awhile...I just update my forum below in blue...I go thru step by step on how to orally give meds to birds...with a lot of pics....so check it out....and post..
thanks for your time..

getting the doors done tonight for the next three coops and just entered lockdown...so chicks coming soon

 

[Sylvester017]

I'm doing research and starting to make plans for a tractor coop and was wondering if you guys had suggestions about building materials and size. I will make the run detachable so that it will be easier to move. I think I'm fairly set on my idea for the run part, but still working on ideas for the coop. Does anyone (especially those in colder climates) have any ideas about a good light weight, but weather and predator proof siding material? I was thinking about using 2x4's to frame the base for strength but using 2x2's for the rest of the frame (as people have noted earlier in this thread). I will have a stationary coop and run (coming with the house I'm buying, also comes with 11? hens and a roo plus it looks like they have a few pullets in another small coop/run), but I would like to set up a system where I can move at least some of them around the yard/garden during the spring/summer/fall. I would like to be able to move all of them, but I don't think I could design something big enough for them that I can easily move by myself. I may eventually have to make 2... How big is as big as you can go without being cumbersome (I know this depends on the materials)?

Also, in considering wheel design, I like the idea of what is on the Urban Coop II (in the tractor coop section). It looks like it would be easy to steer, but would require lifting one end while moving it, which would limit the size. I also like the idea Roswell is designing for his/her? coop with the wheels that swing out or under (thank you for linking the video). It looks easy to make, and can be used for a bigger coop, but looks like it might be hard to turn... Any thoughts? (I would like to keep it a simple design.)

As for nest box ideas, what about a box that has a flip up door on the side? Shouldn't have the leaking issues of the top access door, but also shouldn't get as wet as a flip down side access door. (I realize that I would still get wet without a canopy or umbrella.) Actually, if you had stacked nests, the door would be 2'+, it would give a small amount of shelter when flipping it up, just need a stick or piece of wood to prop it up. Any thoughts?

I won't be able to start buying materials until after closing on the house in Feb., so just starting to make plans.

Is there a reason you want to tractor your birds rather than free-ranging them? Do you have fenced property or is it open field? Do you work all day rather than stay-at-home? Just asking because the ideal would be to allow the birds free-range to forage. When we got our first three chickens we intended to keep them cooped with limited time in a portable pen in the backyard. After a month of anxiously wanting to flee the coop every time we opened the door we decided to allow them a few moments of free range every day (we have a 6' fence all around) and now the birds are free range all day until they put themselves away to roost in the coop. We set up a lot of shelters and canopies and doghouses in the yard for them to hide/snooze in during the day away from the visiting Cooper's Hawk. It's amazing how predator-savvy hens are when there are a lot of hiding places for them. After 3 years of doing this we have no qualms about leaving them out for the day if we're not home. The choice to free range hens is all dependent on the land features, types of predators in the proximity, and how alert the different breeds of chickens are. Something like an extremely docile Faverolles or Polish might not be a good alert free-range breed yet a Leghorn or RIR might be very predator-savvy breeds. My neighbor came home to his rural property once to find his flock of ducks and chickens missing and a hawk circling high in the sky. He expected the worse but discovered all his missing ducks and chickens hiding together on the axles under his trailer! Aerial predators seem to like open fields/lawns to swoop down on their prey and they prefer not going after hidden chickens - they try to target the small chicks. Our Cooper's Hawk can be 5 feet away from our hiding hens but he won't go after them - darnedest thing to see a hawk that close to them yet he won't go after them. I've seen videos of Hawks or Owls trapped inside pens where the roosters went into attack mode to beat the dickens out of the aerial intruders. There are some chicken breeds that are great at staying close to the coop yard and then there are some breeds that are wilder or too independent in temperament and wander far away and Mr. Fox and Mr. Hawk love these for dinner. As for suburban neighborhood cats our Ameraucana attacks them and chases them out of the yard the way our old Leghorn used to do.

If you decide on having a tractor you can extend the roofline over the collection box to protect it from rain when opened. I once saw someone's nifty A-frame tractor with this extended roofline idea. If your tractor will be exposed to the elements constantly then treated wood would be the best to avoid deterioration. One thing about penned/tractored birds is that they can't escape from digging predators like dogs, foxes, raccoons, etc. We live in the suburbs yet a stray German Shepherd and mutt companion broke our gate to attack our little coop. They couldn't dig under the coop because we had a paver stone walkway around it but they seriously mangled the cheap 1-inch poultry/chicken wire which is the WORST wire material to use! Our chickens were "sitting ducks" in the coop because they couldn't fly high to safety and we would have lost the birds if a good neighbor hadn't chased off the mutts!

Congrats on your house purchase! As for your chickens do whatever feels comfortable to you for their safety. We all have different situations and different environments and have to adapt our chickeneering to these factors. Do research on the breeds of chickens you are inheriting to get a feel for their temperaments, utility, environment adaptability, etc. The more you know the easier it gets to care for them. Barnyard cross-breeds are a hoot - they can be anything from extremely mellow to very alert. One common threat in both rural and city environments is the common raccoon - he/she is crafty, very tenacious at breaking into coops/barns, aggressive to kill just for the sheer pleasure of the chase, and will attack humans without provocation! Hard to imagine for all their small cuteness that they are a vicious predator.

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