post your chicken coop pictures here!

[TalkALittle]

Here's mine. Made almost completely out of free pallets. Even the 2x4s were free.

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Great use of salvaged materials. In my area open eaves, no pop door and chicken wire would be inviting every fox, coon, skunk, and any other predator that happened to walk by to a nice chicken dinner though.

 

[Sylvester017]

Here's mine. Made almost completely out of free pallets. Even the 2x4s were free.

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LUV repurposed materials! Any pallets we come across in our area are always damaged beyond re-use!!
Your chicken poultry wire will keep chickens inside but won't keep the predators outside the pen - we found out the hard way when stray dogs mangled our flimsy chicken wire. Would've lost our birds if a good neighbor hadn't chased off the mutts.
Wiring is THE MOST expensive part of building a pen and if you want to keep your poultry safe and not torn apart by predators use 1/2" hardwire. You never knew you had raccoons, possums, bobcats, foxes, feral cats/dogs, skunks etc until you start keeping poultry. Dogs and foxes will dig under the pallet fencing and 'coons/possums will just reach in at the weakest point of poultry wire and peel it back easily. I hate raccoons the most because much like dogs they just like to chase, maim, or tear apart chickens just for the thrill and not necessarily for food. 'Coons can easily climb stucco, brick, block walls, rain gutters, chainlink, wood, etc to get to poultry - some cleverly find access through the smallest openings because of a collapsing spine so any open venting should be securely covered and stapled down with 1/2" wire. Yep, not cheap to have organic eggs - guess that's why chickeneering is called a "hobby" and not a "profit" business.
LUV your coop - plan for some paver stones to surround the entire base of the fence to deter digging predators and save up for some 1/2" hardwire to replace poultry wiring and securely wire up the open venting.

 

[bruceha2000]

The ventilation is probably one of the most important aspects that new chicken owners and prefab coop designers forget (or disregard).

I can't tell from the pic, but the drop down above the nest boxes appears to be a hinged window... if so, you could probably close that only when it's really cold and windy, but leave the other one open year round for ventilation. You can always add windows or additional ventilation down the road if warranted.

The chickens will be fine down to sub zero weather as long as you keep the moisture (dampness) inside to a minimum, keep direct wind/breezes off of them on the roost, and allow them to hunker down and cover their toes with their feathers. They really are very hardy animals. You'll freak when one decides to molt in the middle of winter!

Nothing like worrying about a near nekid chicken when the temps are sub freezing

Cause they shed all their plumage to grow new.

Most auto pop doors now have/offer a solar panel charger for a battery to operate them. Most use so little juice to operate that a new battery should last a year or more. With a solar charger it should be good for many years. http://chickendoors.com/ <---My personal favorite. In addition, with the 12 volt system. you can get some really cheap 12 volt lighting and such for inside the coop... like what's in campers and boats... or to power a remote camera for chicken TV at all hours.

Yeah I was pretty concerned when all my then 18 month old hens had moulted except Echo. She molted the first week of February. We can get to -20F in early February! You would think she would be huddling in a corner or right under the heat lamp over the waterer (unfortunate problem with the nipple water pipe the day before Thanksgiving necessitating an undesirable solution). But nope, she NEVER did either. There is no heat in the drafty OLD barn. I can't think of a better display of the LACK of need to heat your chicken coop.

I have the same PulletShut door. Because we had no power at the coop then and I wasn't sure if there was enough daylight to run the door on solar, I connected it to two 6V lantern batteries (the big rectangular ones) wired in series. The first were used with unknown remaining capacity but lasted 6 months, running the door through the winter when batteries tend to have less capacity. The other pair from the lantern lasted as long but I don't know how much more they could have done since I replaced them with new ones last November. They are STILL reliably opening the door in the morning and closing it at night 10 months later. That door uses VERY little power.

Wow I love that. I find that very intriguing that it's programmed like that and operated with a magnet! That's the kind of stuff I want to learn how to do lol (well, I am studying for a BS in Cyber Security Programming).

The magnet is convenient for "not on schedule" opening or closing. I wasn't enamored of the need to cancel the existing program and then set the morning opening time and then the night closing time the same day as the amount of light changed with the seasons. I got the photocell control about a year after I got the door. SHOULD HAVE gotten it when I got the door. I think it is only $15 and there wouldn't have been a shipping charge had I ordered it with the door. Now it opens and closes with the sun and I don't have to do a darned thing as the seasons come and go.

It's 11 ft total. Yes we are full, but making a chick tractor for around our 4+ acres, garden etc.

With that much space I suggest you bag the tractor idea and enclose a larger space with electronet fencing. 9 chickens in a tractor are going to go as stir crazy as they would in the run you have. Depends, of course, on if you have a serious arial predator problem. Even then you may be able to make enough "cover" structures to keep the chickens safe. The electronet can be easily moved so the can access new areas rather than converting an area of grass to an area of dust.

Yep, I have to agree regarding the tomato plants ... mine didn't get the memo not to eat them and appear to have suffered no side effects

I think it comes down to everything in moderation; may be a glutton of tomato plants in one sitting or daily over doses may be harmful while every now and then, not so much?

Mine either! I was weeding around the cucumber and bean "arch" (made with 2x4 welded wire panels and metal T posts) one day when Echo came to visit. I wasn't paying her any attention and had no idea what she was doing (she is ALWAYS foraging) when she suddenly started and ran off several feet. The tomato she decided was ripe WAS, it dropped off the plant and startled her. First ripe tomato, she only got the ~1/4 that she ate before it fell. I encircled the tomato support with bird netting really soon after that! No more chicken pecked tomatoes.

 

[ddunlevy81]

Here's our coop....

How many can u use this coop for

 

[lindalouly]

How many can u use this coop for

I don't know the demensions but three or four is what I would put in that.... Although I know others that would put six.

 

[Teila]

How many can u use this coop for

Just my humble opinion but living in a tropical/subtropical area of Aus, the coop is only ever used for sleeping and laying, the rest of the time is spent outside in the run.

Not knowing the dimensions is tricky but using the ‘truck’ as a gauge, I would guess maybe 4 bantams in the coop. If not free ranging, I would be more concerned about the run size which does not look big enough for two of my bantams.

 

[MeeMa Brown]

The coop is beautiful and looks well thought out. I like the way the overhang extends over the nest boxes; that should help prevent leaks.
Is there any way you could extend a day time run off the front and out a ways, where there is already sand?
They really will need a lot more room. 

Now that we've had a couple weeks in chicken life adjustment I can report success in a temporary run added to the coop, open the right lowest door where the water nipples are mounted. They come and go but I keep watch for hawks and cats so free running is as I can manage.

 

[bigmrg74]

Had a hawk attack last Saturday, bugger went right into my walk in tractor coop and got one of my Iowa pullets. Normally the tractor door is just propped open and they have run of a mobile pen that I can move around the yard as well. However, the one thing it had been lacking was good covered spots for the girls to hide under. Well, some old plastic dog coop halves are now out in the yard, and today I turned the door into a Dutch door, so that I can leave the top closed while the bottom of it is propped open to allow the girls free range of the pen. I hope that make the coop a little more safer for the girls. It still needs a little tweaking yet, so I'll take a picture of it later.

 

[perchie.girl]

Had a hawk attack last Saturday, bugger went right into my walk in tractor coop and got one of my Iowa pullets. Normally the tractor door is just propped open and they have run of a mobile pen that I can move around the yard as well. However, the one thing it had been lacking was good covered spots for the girls to hide under. Well, some old plastic dog coop halves are now out in the yard, and today I turned the door into a Dutch door, so that I can leave the top closed while the bottom of it is propped open to allow the girls free range of the pen. I hope that make the coop a little more safer for the girls. It still needs a little tweaking yet, so I'll take a picture of it later.

Dang... Was it a Coopers? hem... no pun intended really.

deb

 

[NavyChickens]