post your chicken coop pictures here!

[Sylvester017]

It's made from weather treated plywood and the nesting material is pine shavings....

Thought about pine straw but I'm not sure... Now I do need to clean the coop so should I make a nest, carefully move the eggs, clean the coop and then replace the eggs back in the same area? Or should I just clean out around the eggs?

I wouldn't disturb the broody momma's area at all. They will abandon their eggs sometimes if they know their hiding place was disturbed. That's why I suggested a small fence area around her where the other hens can't lay eggs in her spot and disturb her. If she needs to poop a broody hen usually doesn't do it on her nest eggs. She accumulates the poop inside her and when she leaves her nest to eat/drink she'll poop one huge disgusting poop away from the nest.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
if they are just laying eggs in there and not sleeping in there the nest should stay much cleaner than the rest of the coop.

If you are collecting eggs daily then collect them and clean the nest if you want to.

If you have a broody hen.... Walk away from nest cleaning... she wont appreciate it and you risk having the eggs get cold.

They should NOT be sleeping in the nest. Many people block the nest boxes off after the eggs have been layed for the day for that reason. Your roosts should be higher than the nest boxes.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

Still need to make a runner for them and want to build identical house next to this one. I'm new at the byc life so input is appreciated. I know big house for just a few birds. I have some chicks that I don't think are big enough yet for the older birds.



In the fall I will be adding heat lamps and artificial light then when winter comes gonna add thick tarp and possibly vent fans.

LOVE it.... Um where are the roosts? My wire coops all have roosts... its easy to do

For what its worth in the winter all they will need is a wind break and a cover to protect them from rain and snow. Chickens are pretty good down to the teens in temperature without heat at all as long as they have a place to roost that is out of a draft.

I have a BYC friend that is in Alaska and he not only doesnt heat his coops even down to below zero.

deb

 

[SHemphill]

Security IMO is foremost over looks but yours seems to have both security and style.

Why thank you. I try my best to do everything once. I don't like to rework. But I do tend to overthink and over engineer. To bad my grammar and spelling lack the same effort.

 

[TJordan]

if they are just laying eggs in there and not sleeping in there the nest should stay much cleaner than the rest of the coop.

If you are collecting eggs daily then collect them and clean the nest if you want to.

If you have a broody hen....  Walk away from nest cleaning...  she wont appreciate it and you risk having the eggs get cold.

They should NOT be sleeping in the nest.  Many people block the nest boxes off after the eggs have been layed for the day for that reason.  Your roosts should be higher than the nest boxes.

deb

Thanks... Sadly when we made this coop we were severely limited on the materials due to a tree falling on the frame and crushing most of our work... This next one will be 4'x8'x5' tall at peek and will be better laid out... I think we will leave her in the current one until the eggs hatch or prove non-viable. She's been on these 4 for about 5 days so ill candle them in about 3 more days...

 

[SHemphill]

LOVE it....  Um where are the roosts?  My wire coops all have roosts... its easy to do

For what its worth in the winter all they will need is a wind break and a cover to protect them from rain and snow.  Chickens are pretty good down to the teens in temperature without heat at all as long as they have a place to roost that is out of a draft.

I have a BYC friend that is in Alaska and he not only doesnt heat his coops even down to below zero.

deb

Yes I forgot to mention the perches I'm building for the coop still working on that one some decisions to make yet on those size material and such. Have plans for getting a trucking blanket and tarp for winter though we rarely see teens here and below zero is unheard of. But like everything I plan I do so with an excessive safety margin.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
here is a modular perch I designed that works across six feet I have two types of wire Either chain link or Aviary the aviary wire is my fav... its 12.5 gauge and the spacings are 1/2 x 3 inches the eye bolts work for them all.


I run either safety wire or just a plain old Zip tie between the eye bolts to keep activity from popping the perch off its perch on the wire. The zip ties are tempoarary of course till I find the right height.

Oh and I predrill the holes so the eyebolts dont split the wood because of the end grain.

I have had as many as fifteen Large fowl roost on these without breaking down. The one caveot though is it puts one bird very close to the wire so Hardware cloth of suffiecnt size needs to cover that area.... Dang Raccoons... (personal experience)

deb

 

[SHemphill]

here is a modular perch I designed that works across six feet I have two types of wire Either chain link or Aviary the aviary wire is my fav... its 12.5 gauge and the spacings are 1/2 x 3 inches the eye bolts work for them all. I run either safety wire or just a plain old Zip tie between the eye bolts to keep activity from popping the perch off its perch on the wire. The zip ties are tempoarary of course till I find the right height. Oh and I predrill the holes so the eyebolts dont split the wood because of the end grain. I have had as many as fifteen Large fowl roost on these without breaking down. The one caveot though is it puts one bird very close to the wire so Hardware cloth of suffiecnt size needs to cover that area.... Dang Raccoons... (personal experience) deb

I was looking at something similar being that I have the rigid cattle panels for the arch. And you say fifteen can purch no troubles? How long(6') or is that from side to side?

 

[Beekissed]

Hoop coop made from cattle panels and scraps of lumber collected over 50 yrs or more. Has outside access next boxes and an attached dog house on the back that is built from pallets and insulated/stuffed with old hay.



It has tons of ventilation at all levels and the top half of the door and front windows stay open all winter long, even with temps at teens below zero. The style of the coop and the DL keep it ten degrees warmer than outside temps, as measured at roosting level.



It has natural roosting at several levels and large windows that can be opened on three sides of the roosting area in the warmer months.



I use a clear tarp on the hoops in the winter to let in more light and warmth and it has changed the whole nature of the coop since I switched to that. It's bright, warm and cheery even on the darkest winter day.



The outside access door on the right hand side of the coop. I had used an antique glass doorknob for the coop door so I found some reproduction glass knobs for the nest doors to match.

I left intentional large cracks at various levels throughout the coop for good, passive ventilation, and I also have two pop doors, three large windows that can be opened, half of the front door and two smaller side windows open, and the tarp sides are unfastened and raised for summer months. Soon we will be placing a shadier tarp on the coop instead of the clear one and, in that way, get more life from both tarps by rotating them seasonally.

This has been the best winter coop I've ever had and I'm very pleased with the performance, the warmth and the ventilation control I had this winter. My best DL ever this season, so the coop is performing like I had wished. I'm also pleased with the roosting formation as I no longer have youngsters who sleep in the nest boxes due to pecking order...plenty of multilevel opportunities for them to roost.

The only thing I'm going to change is to mount a platform up high for the watering bowl, with perch access to it, as I found it has to be very high in this DL in order to escape the flipping of the bedding into the water. Other than that, I'm tickled pink with this coop design.

 

[Sylvester017]

Yes I forgot to mention the perches I'm building for the coop still working on that one some decisions to make yet on those size material and such. Have plans for getting a trucking blanket and tarp for winter though we rarely see teens here and below zero is unheard of. But like everything I plan I do so with an excessive safety margin.

For fun the hens would like some big round tree stumps during the day to sit on - from the forest trees around your property!