post your chicken coop pictures here!

[perchie.girl]

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.

I saw it... VBG but I have had those types of devices from my own aviary days... and others may as well. So I just offered it out there in case someone may have one.

deb

 

[Sylvester017]

Your city neighborhood has Bobcats? They're nasty. I'm so sorry to hear about your losses. My DD lives in the suburb city but her property butts up against a natural local preserve for hiking and trails - it has attracted Coyotes, Lynx, Bobcats, once a Bear, and a couple years ago a Cougar! Not to mention smaller pests like Rattlesnakes, Skunks, Coons, Possums, Wild Rabbits, Deer, loose Dogs, Hawks, etc. They've caught photos of several wildlife critters on their night camera.

I'm further away from the Mountain behind us and have been fortunate not to have critters like Skunks or Snakes - but that doesn't mean there isn't danger from someone's loose Python or Boa pet or the city night critters like Coons and Possums. We all need to assess our property for local predators and build accordingly. The key to our 4 hens' survival in our little cottage backyard has been several scattered shelters, doghouses, and popup canopy and we plan to add stickery evergreen, roses, and berry bushes along the fence line - all for the girls to hide/snooze under during the daytime. We have a giant flock of neighborhood Crows that are wonderful at leaving our chickens alone and chasing off the Cooper's Hawks (chicken hawk). I never cared for Crows until I learned how valuable they were at chasing off predatory birds. The Crows don't even bother our vegetable beds.

I've seen chicken tunnel photos and videos too. Sounds like a neat idea if one can be constructed sturdy enough to keep out digging canines like Coyotes, Foxes, Dogs, etc. We are getting rid of our 60-y/o chainlink fence and replacing with a 6-ft block wall with added privacy fencing to make it even taller. Won't keep out the Hawks but will make it difficult for digging critters to enter!

After 4 yrs of backyard hens we finally were able to invest in a very sturdy new coop w/ more run and sturdy dog-kennel wire walls. Plus we can finally tear down the old chainlink fencing a replace w/ block wall. Not only can stray dogs dig into the yard w/ chainlink fencing but chickens are great diggers too and can dig out of the yard as well. We figured with a block wall buried into the ground it will deter major digging damage from any critter. After stray dogs broke down our chainlink fence gate to get at our little coop 4 yrs ago we set up a double-gate entry to keep them out. So far we've been lucky not to lose any hens and continue to feel the extra added shelters all around have been key to their continued unexposure to predators. In open rural environments many have invested in electric fencing to deter larger predators - probably cheaper than building a regular fence around the chicken yard. Fencing, wire, and mesh walls are the most expensive part of chicken security. The coops are easy build it yourself from pallets to Taj Mahals but the security fencing is the key to chicken safety and unfortunately the costliest part of the build.

 

[nhendrix]

Our coop! The Over Easy Inn! On the farm is Cora, Trixie, Ruby & Lucky <3

 

[sara1226]

Our coop! The Over Easy Inn! On the farm is Cora, Trixie, Ruby & Lucky <3

Are those Rhode Island reds you have in the pictures?

 

[Zenchick]

I'll play...

bought the plans online for $20 from http://www.thegardencoop.com.  We modified the plans to make it bigger. 


Good luck, I know from experience that the planning for chickens and a new coop can be overwhelming.   It will all be worth it in the end.

 

[Zenchick]

I'll play...

bought the plans online for $20 from http://www.thegardencoop.com.  We modified the plans to make it bigger. 


Good luck, I know from experience that the planning for chickens and a new coop can be overwhelming.   It will all be worth it in the end.

 

[bruceha2000]

I have bantams, standards of several breeds (including black sumatras), guinea fowl and peafowl all living together in harmony... They all seem to find their social clicks and keep to themselves, but they also have a lot of room to do so...

Ironically the alpha rooster is the eldest bantam, it's funny watching him keep order when he is so much smaller then everyone else...

Must be hysterical watching a bantam boss around a peacock!

Just the windows at both ends and the big windows across the front. The coop was re-existing so we don't have a lot of options.

Think "Woods Coop". Put the roosts along the back wall. Hardware cloth the big windows in front and keep all other openings closed during the winter. PLENTY of ventilation and no draft. I think I would build an 12"-18" "awing" roof along the front angling down to help keep rain out.

I built this from scratch. I found most of the wood. I got bids up to $1,700 and overall I spent $250 plus 15 hrs of my labor!

Do you have any way to let the birds get out of the wind??

I have a door and netting over vents. I took them off yesterday to paint. Boyfriend doesn't think we need the door cause our girls free range... Not many preditors around our yard to many kids and dogs. Still thinking about it

Not too many ..... until you put out the fresh chicken buffet.

I just felt like sharing a picture of our coop. My husband is pretty handy and built it with no plans, just did some research and started building. It is a work in progress, and we are thinking of ways to winterize it, as we live in northern wisconsin, and unfortunately (and much to my disgust) it can get down to 20 below zero here.

I have heard of people putting hay bales around the coop, but the down fall is you have to be careful about mold growing in the hay, etc. I'm not sure we need to try that, the inside part of the coop is insulated.

If anyone who deals with this type of brutal cold can give me suggestions that would be great!

Do nothing other than making sure there is ventilation without drafts. 2 winters ago I had to have a heat lamp over a plastic 1 gallon waterer. When it was -20F, only the water in the container and the 1/4 of the ring right under the lamp were not frozen solid. I had this kind of enclosed in the corner of a stall. NOT ONE chicken went in that area except to drink. Not even my Black Australorp that had delayed her first moult until the end of January. Chickens to not need a heated coop in most places. You could put up clear plastic or plexi-glass panels (expensive) around the bottom of the run area so they can be outside but still out of the winter wind.

 

[bruceha2000]

It is not 100% finished yet, but here are a few pictures of our coop (I still need to fit trims around the cleaning door and finish the nest box):

Are those zip ties holding the wire closed? If so I would replace them with real wire, the plastic will disintegrate in the sun. Best not to have it happen in a year or so when you are on vacation and the "chicken sitters" are unaware

 

[perchie.girl]

Yep Zip ties are awesome tools wonderful for using as clamps or a second pair of hands.... but sadly even the UV resistant ones are only good for about a year.... enough time to get a hold of some hog rings and the pliers to put them on with....

FWIW. you dont have to remove the zip ties just go in and reinforce with hog rings... Or in some cases just plain old wire lacing....

deb

 

[FrankLG]

Yep Zip ties are awesome tools wonderful for using as clamps or a second pair of hands.... but sadly even the UV resistant ones are only good for about a year.... enough time to get a hold of some hog rings and the pliers to put them on with....

FWIW. you dont have to remove the zip ties just go in and reinforce with hog rings... Or in some cases just plain old wire lacing....

deb

Yeah I used UV resistant heavy duty ones. I will keep an eye them. I will be adding more run area. I will look for alternatives. Thanks for the heads up Bruce, Deb.