post your chicken coop pictures here!

Yup, easy access, and loads of ventilation. Not that bunnies need nearly as much ventilation as chickens do, but it's still nice that it breathes. I think I still need to plug the top of the back wall though, there's a 4 inch gap there and something could get in through it (or out). I was going to go all the way to the top with the siding there, but I would have needed a bit more lumber for that. Just as well, probably, it looks better like this. But some hardware cloth might be in order. I also need to attach some latches to the top doors, right now they're just bungee corded shut. I don't want to waste the same kind of locks I've got on the bottom though, a simple hasp will be enough for those. None of our predators are nimble enough to open them, but I wanted the bottom doors to have slightly sturdier locks so that the dogs don't go in there. But these are all small fixes that can be done later. Oh, the ramp system needs to be improved too. I'm going to put in a hinged ramp in both ends, so that it can be folded up and locked in place to separate the top from the bottom if needed. I'm also going to prepare some sort of separators for the middle parts, for the last few weeks before butchering so that I can separate the boys from the girls. Ideally I should have put cinder blocks in the middle too, but I suppose I can bury some marine plywood in there or something. We'll see what I figure out.
 
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Some of these coops are awesome, but I just went for the good old eglu
 
Thank you for your kind words.

Pine or spruce is pretty much the only viable option here. Anything else costs a lot. But I don't mind, both are easy to work with and last long in our climate, when treated the right way. For this build I actually bought most of the wood, the previous ones I managed to mainly get by with leftovers. I still have some leftovers that I could have used, but they're a 100km away, and it isn't cottage season yet, so I just bought the lumber I needed. Maybe I can think of something else to do with the remnants.
 
Oh, I don't know if I posted a picture of the bunny tractor I made. Should also work for bantams.





It's made of compost panels. The hutch part folds together too, but I left it assembled now. The whole thing stores in about 2½ x 3 x ½ feet. The run can be made longer in 28" segments, the width is 36" and height about 28".
 
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Some of these coops are awesome, but I just went for the good old eglu

Most of Omelet's little coops are a joke but the Eglu raised off the ground was one nice coop we seriously considered but didn't go with it - not because of cost - but because of the following considerations. (1) the ramp is plastic steps and didn't reach to the ground which would make it difficult for an old handicapped hen to hobble up into the coop (we keep our aged pet girls to the death and use cleated ramps rather than steps/ladders for them), (2) I read a review that said their German Shepherd jumped on the flimsy wire pen and the latches folded/didn't hold up the weight of the attack, (3) there is a built-in so-called predator skirting around the base of the pen but it did not look as heavy-duty as Cove Products (USA) Chicken Condos kennel skirts, (4) there's no wood where the hens perch which is not a perch but just part of the plastic floor of the coop (5) the nestbox doesn't give privacy for more than one hen (our hens get really ruffled if disturbed by another hen), (6) the size of the coop will only accommodate 2-3 hens at best for us - we would not use the coop as a mobile tractor and therefore not move the hens around the yard in it (we free-range), (7) the covers/tarps supposedly designed for the Eglu looked skimpy and some reviews we read about the accessories were not favourable.

Now the positives that we liked about Eglu were the (1) ease of disassembling various parts for cleaning/pressure hosing without fear of mildew - although I wonder if the pen has to be disassembled from the Eglu before such a thorough cleaning, (2) ease of opening the chicken pop door, (3) ease of using the egg collection door, (4) nice wheel assembly to allow movement of the coop provided there wasn't a long long run attached, (5) easy-to-clean feeders/waterers, (6) insulation from heat/cold, and (6) ventilation also seemed to be well thought out.

We did not get the Eglu because we felt it needed too much modification and more cost on our part before it would meet our needs, but we ordered 3 Eglu Grubs from Omelet USA to use as waterers ($60+ w/shipping) because we had a chicken that liked to stand in drinking water bowls with her dirty feet and the Grubs would make it impossible for her to stand in drinking water. However we found out the hooks on the U.K. Grubs didn't fit the USA wire spacing in our coop so they have never been used. I was not aware of such discrepancy in measurements between the two countries that the items are not interchangeable for use. Since ordering the Grubs we found that too much wild birdlife was pilfering our organic feed and leaving their poops in our chicken waterers so we invested in closed chicken treadle feeders and nipple valve waterers to eliminate the little pests. The water stays clean and we aren't feeding expensive organic feed and seed to the mooching wildlife. Now I have to find a home for 3 green unused Eglu Grubs - maybe the person inheriting my old coop will like to take them. I would like to see them used after the $$$ spent on them.

The Eglu's are a great product from all I can see but I would not get the accompanying wire pen and then would enclose the Eglu INSIDE a sturdier dog kennel, fence, or shed. These are JMHO for our needs and not a reflection on the total quality of the Eglu coop itself. It's one safety flaw IMO is the flimsy pen against a determined predator like a Fox, Dog, Bobcat, or Raccoon. Even in our ultimate decision to custom order a Cove Products ChickenCondos Mobile Barn Coop/Run it still has features that are not 100% but in the interest of construction time, safety features, and ease of assembly it was the best we could find to meet most of our needs after 3 years of research. That's one nice thing about chicken keeping - there are such different requirements depending on location, number of birds, safety, etc, and I love reading about the solutions people ultimately derive.
 

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