post your chicken coop pictures here!

[junebuggena]

It is hard to tell from the angle but that is actually a 2x4. Thank you

Yes, but it should be wide side up.

 

[MeepBeep]

Please rethink....  they don't need it and if they get dependent on it and it fails....  Any kind of heat element in the coop is a fire risk as well.

Even humans don't need a heated residence in most areas, but it sure is nice...

As for the 'if it fails' I hear people use that all the time, but IMO it carries very little weight in the end... If chickens can handle the cold they can handle a temporary temp drop when and if it fails regardless of conditioning... In the end it's no different than fall and even winter in my area where it can be 60° one day and 0° the next... Also there is something to be said about only heating to 35-40° (as I do) vs heating higher... The 35-40° in my coop is no hotter than a small coop with a lot of birds in it or what a small coop will heat up to with the sun shining on it during the day... It's not an extreme like say heating the coop to 70°... Also the only reason my heat will realistically fail in my coop for any length of time would be a power outage, and then I would also have no heat in the house, so that chance is mitigated with a backup generator... My coop and dog house building is as big as many peoples houses, and has a real house furnace in there, heating to 40° works for me and I know none of my birds will get frost bite, especially my peafowl that are more prone to frost bite... And as long as I properly maintain the furnace (I check the filter daily and check inside for dust build up ever week) fire risk is no more than in most houses...

It's generally accepted that for most small coops the risk of fire outweighs any benefit of heating and thus for small coops most will advise against heat due to those risk... And I'm agreement, mostly, as it's hard to 'safely' heat a small coop, but there are safe options to take the crisp out of the air that pose little risk if one chooses to invest... A properly wired coop (not extension cords) with a safe heat source like a pig blanket spaced about 1" off the coop wall (to provide air flow all around) mounted behind their roost is for all intents safe and will take the crisp out of the air, yet because they only get about 20° over ambient they pose effectively no fire risk as will a properly wired coop...

With that said, with few exceptions any commercial egg farm or poultry farm in a cold climate will heat their buildings, they don't assume that cost for no reason...

 

[TalkALittle]

I used a cinder block with a 100 watt light bulb in each side covered with a tile as a heater in my coop last year. It was my first year with chickens and I felt like they needed something. I honestly don't know if it did anything to mitigate the cold. It was nice to have because i could sit a bowl of water on it on nights i knew i would be late letting them out the next morning and know the girls would have access to unfrozen water. I figured that if someone was super cold or ill they could snuggle up to it. A couple of times I did find a hen sitting on it so I was happy it seemed to be getting used. I ran it 24/7 during only the coldest spells. I don't know if I'll use it this year.

 

[loujeany]

The wide side is flat. They have the 3.5 inch side to perch and sit on their feet

 

[Guvnah]

I built my own coop.





(That little ladder didn't work out. I got it from a neighbor who used to have a parrot that had it in his cage.)

Big door in the front opens down for easy access to cleaning. (Also side door in the next pic.)



Coop is 6x6. Insulated. Has electricity. Back part opens to get to the nesting boxes and a storage area. I installed the window in this pic, plus another around the back (left side of this pic) backwards, deliberately, so we can open/close them from the outside. (Also screen is on the inside, else I wouldn't be able to open the windows from the outside!)

The whole roof is hinged at the top side so it can be lifted and opened if necessary. (Never had to do that yet, but it's there if I ever need to.)






The whole run is chicken-wired in, end to end, top to bottom, and the "roof" as well. I'm not going to lose a hen to a hawk like others have! (Chicken run abuts my garden. The hens get bonus greenery when something grows close enough to the chicken wire that they can reach!)





I made a PVC feeder that holds about 15 pounds of feed, and lasts several days before needing refill.

 

[junebuggena]

I built my own coop.





(That little ladder didn't work out. I got it from a neighbor who used to have a parrot that had it in his cage.)

Big door in the front opens down for easy access to cleaning. (Also side door in the next pic.)



Coop is 6x6. Insulated. Has electricity. Back part opens to get to the nesting boxes and a storage area. I installed the window in this pic, plus another around the back (left side of this pic) backwards, deliberately, so we can open/close them from the outside. (Also screen is on the inside, else I wouldn't be able to open the windows from the outside!)

The whole roof is hinged at the top side so it can be lifted and opened if necessary. (Never had to do that yet, but it's there if I ever need to.)






The whole run is chicken-wired in, end to end, top to bottom, and the "roof" as well. I'm not going to lose a hen to a hawk like others have! (Chicken run abuts my garden. The hens get bonus greenery when something grows close enough to the chicken wire that they can reach!)





I made a PVC feeder that holds about 15 pounds of feed, and lasts several days before needing refill.

Is there any ventilation besides the windows? Ammonia build up overnight can make your flock seriously ill if there isn't a way for it to escape.

 

[Guvnah]

Yup. Basic attic vents. One at the top of each of the sides you did not see in the pictures.

 

[beginnergirl]

Here's my coop in progress



. Need to finish the roof and add more wire around the base. Took much longer than I had planned! Still figuring out roosts and a ladder. The back wall has 14 holes and there is the same size window between the run and coop, so hope ventilation is covered. It is 6' x 6' x 6' and I have 3 hens.

Had planned on a wire roof for the coop but it was so hot this summer, I added some wood to the run roof. Probably will change that and use plywood.

 

[perchie.girl]

I built my own coop.





(That little ladder didn't work out. I got it from a neighbor who used to have a parrot that had it in his cage.)

Big door in the front opens down for easy access to cleaning. (Also side door in the next pic.)



Coop is 6x6. Insulated. Has electricity. Back part opens to get to the nesting boxes and a storage area. I installed the window in this pic, plus another around the back (left side of this pic) backwards, deliberately, so we can open/close them from the outside. (Also screen is on the inside, else I wouldn't be able to open the windows from the outside!)

The whole roof is hinged at the top side so it can be lifted and opened if necessary. (Never had to do that yet, but it's there if I ever need to.)






The whole run is chicken-wired in, end to end, top to bottom, and the "roof" as well. I'm not going to lose a hen to a hawk like others have! (Chicken run abuts my garden. The hens get bonus greenery when something grows close enough to the chicken wire that they can reach!)





I made a PVC feeder that holds about 15 pounds of feed, and lasts several days before needing refill.

Just zip tie a strip of plywood to the back side of that ladder and they will use it. The little rungs are perfect traction for chickony feet.
Great build by the way....

deb

 

[Guvnah]

You can see the ramp I replaced the ladder with. In the 3rd and 4th pics from the bottom. Much better. There's always tons of scrap wood when you build something like a coop.