post your chicken coop pictures here!

[Sylvester017]

I figured it would be easier to see what I'm working with with a picture of the tree house in the daylight. We're trying to figure out a way to enclose the top level seeing as how we live in rural Alabama and predators are drawn to our 5 acres. The area in the actual tree house is 4x6ft. Would that be enough room for our 13 hens?

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If chickens free-range they only use the coop for laying eggs or roosting for the night - those are the two main considerations for coop space. My purchased 4x4 coop house with 4x8 run says it houses 15 hens but always figure half the number advertised by the manufacturer. Considering the amount of roost area in the coop I wouldn't put more than 6-8 medium size hens on our roost perches. It also has 4 external lidded nestbox cubicles making the total coop 4x5 with 4x8 run space below - Too cramped for day-to-day housing but adequate for hens that free-range all day.

 

[Sylvester017]

Starting to look like something. Still have plenty of work left

That is too stinkin' cute!

Scatter some picnic tables, lawn or patio furniture around the yard since free-range chickens will forage far enough from the coop's protection to be prey in an open field and the scattered furniture will offer them protection from hawks. The hawks will see the chickens under something but won't go after them. We have 4 large recycled doghouses, a pop-up canopy, plywood sheets propped on cinderblocks, an Adirondack cedar rocking chair, and some stickery plants like rosebushes and evergreens that our girls use around the yard to snooze/hide in.

 

[crazyhen]

[COLOR=0000CD]Nice to see the egg boxes protected from rainy runoff!  Looks like the human that's collecting eggs will be a bit protected too![/COLOR]

[COLOR=0000CD]I agree - the natural wood is beautiful - maybe just a clear sealer like Thompson's to protect the wood finish - unless of course you're partial to adding colors to your creation.[/COLOR]

Just a note watch the heights of the nest. they will want to roost in them if their hgher than their perches. Looks really nice.

 

[Sylvester017]

Coop is from Wayfair.com
We attached it to our old swing set covered in chicken wire <3

Those little coops are so cute but fortify/brace the corners of the walls is what some reviews have suggested - just in case you have strong nasty city Raccoons like we do. Do you have the opportunity to allow more backyard free-ranging or do you want them contained in the swing area only? Chickens are diggers and scratchers and the grass under the swing will be dug up and full of dust-bath holes -

If you choose to free-range then scatter a few pieces of lawn or patio furniture and/or a picnic table for the hens to sleep/hide during the day. A row of stickery rose bushes along the fence will become their favorite places to sleep/hide under, the flowers will look pretty, encourages bees, discourages hawks, and roses use less water than most other decorative plants if a soaker hose is buried along the roots. Your yard looks spacious and looks like it has enough room to divide - half for chickens, half for human use. We divided our yard with a roll of green rabbit fencing - half the yard is for chickens and half for a patio and raised garden veggie beds.

 

[Sylvester017]

Just a note watch the heights of the nest. they will want to roost in them if their hgher than their perches. Looks really nice.

Another added note - it won't be the end of the world if the hens wind up sleeping in the nestboxes. My girls over the last 4 years have slept in the nestboxes because they don't like the open wire walls where the perches are mounted. They use the perches during the day but prefer the seclusion and safety of the nestboxes at night and they double up inside the spacious nests. We just make sure to clean the poop straw in the morning before the hens start laying. Not a biggie if you're home to do the chicken chores in the morning. Thankfully our new coop has the perches set higher than the nestboxes. Higher perches is ideal but don't stress if the hens are sleeping in the nestboxes - just be fastidious about cleaning out the poop and adding clean straw if needed. We spray the nestbox corners and seams with Manna Pro Poultry Protector and spray the hens per directions for lice/mite prevention once a month.

 

[NutnNew]

I have just joined. But I would like to share my hard work. this is the beginning stage of my project of turning my dog house into a coop. I will have it finished my Fathers day, and will post the finished project.

 

[Granny368W]

Does anybody know where I can purchase an automatic door opener? A good one! And I was wondering if a nanny cam would work in the hen house? We soon have to start working on the run. ugh!! We have still been getting thunderstorms, tomorrow is supposed to be big ones...

 

[Latestarter]

Hey there @Granny368W !

and the thread! I'm a fan of the pulletshut door; http://chickendoors.com/ There are others out there. Don't see any reason why any camera wouldn't work. Just has to be within range of the receiver unit, or wired. Of course it's beneficial to have enough light for the camera to see (at night) unless it's IR capable... Lots of folks on BYC have cameras in their coops. Sorry, but I don't.

 

[Granny368W]

Hey there @Granny368W
! and the thread! I'm a fan of the pulletshut door; http://chickendoors.com/ There are others out there. Don't see any reason why any camera wouldn't work. Just has to be within range of the receiver unit, or wired. Of course it's beneficial to have enough light for the camera to see (at night) unless it's IR capable... Lots of folks on BYC have cameras in their coops. Sorry, but I don't.

Oh thank you so much.... I'm going there right now and look at them....yeah, our son in law is going to run an electrical box in our hen house so I can plug things into it... I'm really wanting to watch my chickens, not looking for a preditor yet...

 

[bigmrg74]

I figured it would be easier to see what I'm working with with a picture of the tree house in the daylight. We're trying to figure out a way to enclose the top level seeing as how we live in rural Alabama and predators are drawn to our 5 acres. The area in the actual tree house is 4x6ft. Would that be enough room for our 13 hens?

I think I would just go and enclose the the upper porch area from the railings on up with hardware cloth, and go with a covered roof over that area. That way you would have a secure coop and enclosed run area for girls to get out and exercise during the day if you leave them locked up when you're away. Maybe get some cheap linolalim to put on the floor to protect the floor and make cleaning poops easier.

Plus, with your climate in Alabama, you're probably going to want something pretty open and airy for ventilation on those hot Alabama summer days. You'll have a lot of shade from the tree, but plenty of airflow for them will help as well.