post your chicken coop pictures here!

[junebuggena]

 

[Candy442]

Just started building and this is what i came up with. Going to add some lights and a small infrared heater once winter hits. Thinking about adding a small solar fan to keep some air moving as well. Run is 6x4, house is 3 1/3x4 and they're going to be able to free range around the yard from time to time. I was thinking I could keep 4 humanely but looking for some seasoned opinions.

Looks like no more than 4 large would do fine in that coop/run if they had access to the run all day. When they can free range is the best though, they flap their wings and need to get to their favorite dust bathing spot. They love to dust bath and hope they get a chance to daily. They will dig a spot in the run you have too.

Where are you going to put the food and water?

I am not sure where you live, but in Michigan we just experienced the last two winters coldest on record. Had two straight months under -10 each day average for two years in a row. No heater in my coops, no birdcicles thank goodness and no frostbite because we made sure moisture does not build up in coop.
A chicken will generate 10 watts of heat on their own. With four in that sleeping coop, they will be able to hunker together and enjoy 40 watts almost that of a light bulb, which most people at most up here use in the winter. That is unless you have a special breed in mind like Silkies and they require more warmth than most.
So I agree with junebuggena, heat can just be a fire hazzard.

 

[BarrettG]

Hey @BarrettG
Since the nest boxes were (as I recall) up against the back wall, you could close the top off by laying a board across it as a "cover" but don't stop there or your birds will stand/lay on it and poop all over it. So take another board and continue it up following the slope of the cut you have in the partitions to enclose that area directly above the boxes. kinda like a sloped roof, to keep the birds off the top of the nest boxes. If you really want to get private, you can hang some "strips" of cloth in front of the openings to form curtains

Hoping you don't have to deal with coons, but I'm reasonably sure they are around you even if you haven't seen them yet.  Please be aware, a possum won't turn down a chicken dinner either if they can get ahold of one! Best of luck with it all!

Edit to add:

I don't think you really need to set out traps... you'd as likely catch the neighbor's cat or dog as a coon... If you really want to keep just about any predator away from the coop, the best way is with a hot wire or two down near ground level... like one wire 6" up off the ground and another about a foot to 18" up.

They also make electric fencing that you could stake out around the outside of the run. Not many animals are going to try to get through either.  http://www.premier1supplies.com/fencing.php?mode=detail&fence_id=96

I love that idea with the nest boxes! Doing that this weekend!

 

[willv]

I'm in southern Virginia so we only get a small period of heavy snow with temps in the teens and a few days with single digits. I like the garage idea as i have an AC/Heater in there that would provide fresh air.

We plan on opening the door for the run on a daily routine but we're thinking we can probably get away with leaving the coop door open most months of the year with our dog having access to the back yard cause he won't harm the chickens but will investigate noises. We plan on moving the coop around so the have access to new grass/bugs so we're hoping the hole digging won't be too bad.

We're looking looking at RIR and Plymouth Rocks.

 

[bruceha2000]

Small and simple, but me hens are happy enough. Needs to be open because of all the hot weather we have.

Okay. I must admit, I'm embarrassed. Everyone else has these beautiful picturesque coops with wood chips and pretty decorations. And here I am with straw and shredded paper strewn everywhere, because my hens just don't care. My grass is overgrown, because my mower broke, and I just haven't had time to fix it. I am embarrassed.

You haven't seen MY coop then! Picturesque? Decorations?

I'm thinking you have way more nests than you need. The chickens can share and will MORE likely lay in a nest that has an egg in it than an empty one. And unless you don't mind your chickens sleeping (and pooping) in them, you might want to take the higher ones out. Chickens usually roost as high as they can get.

Unless it gets down in the teens in the winter, you probably won't need a heater. It's a fire hazard, and usually not worth they risk. If it gets really, really cold, you can just put that whole thing in the garage. Chickens are really quite cold tolerant.

Heater, in the teens ABOVE 0F? Those all natural down coats come in real handy when it gets to -20F here, no heat (other than in the water), no frostbite. Ventilation is key (and I know that YOU know that

)

 

[CherryAdventure]

You haven't seen MY coop then! Picturesque? Decorations?

I'm thinking you have way more nests than you need. The chickens can share and will MORE likely lay in a nest that has an egg in it than an empty one. And unless you don't mind your chickens sleeping (and pooping) in them, you might want to take the higher ones out. Chickens usually roost as high as they can get.

I know. I have 20 boxes, and they use probably five of them. On the right, my hens sleep on top of the boxes, and on the left they sleep on the perches. They don't like being cooped up, I guess. I just do a clean out once a week, and put it on the compost pile. All good.

 

[Teila]

Hey CherryAdventure

Yep, there are some beautiful coops and may be one day I will have one also but you are right ‘hens don’t care’.

If I told them that for a few meal worms, restriction of free range time and a period of adjustment they could have a beautiful coop, I am sure they would tell me to not bother; they are settled, they are safe and secure and they are spoiled rotten.

Love the grass catcher nest boxes!

PS. I have 3 x large nest boxes and 6 little bantams but the way they fight and carry on at egg laying time, you would think I had one nest box the size of a tea cup

 

[CherryAdventure]

Hey CherryAdventure

Yep, there are some beautiful coops and may be one day I will have one also but you are right ‘hens don’t care’.

If I told them that for a few meal worms, restriction of free range time and a period of adjustment they could have a beautiful coop, I am sure they would tell me to not bother; they are settled, they are safe and secure and they are spoiled rotten.

Love the grass catcher nest boxes!

PS. I have 3 x large nest boxes and 6 little bantams but the way they fight and carry on at egg laying time, you would think I had one nest box the size of a tea cup

I have twenty boxes, and my 28 hens still fight over their favorite boxes.

 

[Granny368W]

Well we put the 4 roll out nesting boxes together.... we didnt get them hung up today but tomorrow is another day... we got a call as we were finishing up and the phone rang... our hay is ready to be picked up.... so we put everything up and headed over to load the trailer, got all the straps and headed out.....about 1/2 way there we got a flat on the trailer...so going on the shoulder slowly.... make a long ordeal short.... the flat is fixed and we are going to get our hay tomorrow morning.... what a long day... we got home and went out to make sure all the girls got in... 5 of them did not make it in... so Joe opened the automatic door and I put the 5 hens in...then we opened the hen house and I put each of them up on the 2x4's.. as we left, I smelled skunk! Yikes...good thing we got them all in and safe....

 

[Latestarter]

Silly chickens... Good thing it's still 'summer" and better thing that the skunk didn't get them

Sounds like you had an "adventurous" day yesterday

Hope today went more "as planned."