post your chicken coop pictures here!

[Foster123]

Here's pictures of my coop, I'm a rookie at this just stared my flock in April.https://www.backyardchickens.com/g/...s.com/g/i/5950241/default/sort/display_order/

 

[jetdog]

MalMom this is what I did, total wire on the bottom then I put 2x6's around the edge and filled with sand, easy to clean and they can scratch all day, I put enough sand to almost fill it to the top of the boards I have a roof on the whole run it stays nice and dry and the girls love it.

 

[chynasparks]

Hi, I have a question about your flooring if you don't mind. Is your run over ground, concrete, or did you install a floor then cover with sand? My coop/run setup in on a concrete slab we had laid down years ago. So when we decided to try our hand at raising chickens, we put it on a section of that slab. No bottom to the coop, the concrete is the floor. We have a roof to the coop. A nice easy straight down shower doesn't get into the coop, but moisture does seep in from the wet concrete perimeter. The sand gets damp. I'm just wondering if you built in a floor which is why your sand stays dry. My peeps are fine, they aren't walking in mud. The sand dries out providing I go in and stir, loosen it up. Learned a lesson there! I was scooping but never turned the sand. After several days of rain, the peeps had it compacted down, plus me walking in. Then I decided I should loosen it up. Oh my, there was all the stink. I added mor PDZ and vowed to regularly shift the sand, not just scoop. Thanks for sharing

 

[jetdog]

Mine is on bare ground it was a nice grass area before I started. I put weed fabric down before the wire to keep the sand from disappearing into the ground, the sand stays loose its like walking on the beach, I clean it with a cat litter scoop and then I use a metal rake to fill in all the dust bath holes.The run also has a 1 ft overhang all the way around so nothing blows in.I work for a sand and gravel company and got septic sand with the thought that if it does get wet it's made to drain naturally.

 

[jetdog]

You might want to try putting gutters on the roof with down spouts to divert the water away from the sand.

 

[chynasparks]

The roof on mine does over lap. I want to say an inch and half. Hubby did the measurements. It has a 1 inch pitch to it. You are probably right about a gutter because the water runs off onto the concrete. If the rain is heavy it splatters on the concrete too. That causes water to go in too. I was thinking of putting potted plants along that area. It may prevent some of that. I don't know if I can get hubby to put a gutter on. Gonna have to be extra sweet. He's looking forward to being done with the construction stuff

 

[aart]

I would think that sand on concrete would not be good, unless the concrete is graded sufficiently so it drains.

 

[chynasparks]

You could be right about the concrete. I don't have a pooling issue but things do stay wet. My mistake was waiting so long to actually turn and loosen up the sand. Now that I'm doing that regularly it dries quickly and doesn't stink. I'm still happy with being on the concrete though as nothing can crawl up from underneath the coop. I was scooping regularly but wasn't shifting and turning and loosening up the sand. And, now that they have a portable cattle panel run, they get out, on the grass and I can mix up the sand very quickly. I think it will be a lot better now.

 

[chynasparks]

You could be right about the concrete. I don't have a pooling issue but things do stay wet. My mistake was waiting so long to actually turn and loosen up the sand. Now that I'm doing that regularly it dries quickly and doesn't stink. I'm still happy with being on the concrete though as nothing can crawl up from underneath the coop. I was scooping regularly but wasn't shifting and turning and loosening up the sand. And, now that they have a portable cattle panel run, they get out, on the grass and I can mix up the sand very quickly. I think it will be a lot better now.

 

[pappy1264]

yep, I used the 1/2" galvanized wire. We dug down, wired the floor, dropped into ground, recovered with soil, then the sides and top are done, as well, with an apron on of wire extending out on all sides.