post your chicken coop pictures here!

[LindaB220]

Love the brightness. Happy chickens. No hawks with those flags.

 

[troll1010]

sylvester017 yes they r much better. Love m little girls. did you get to see all the pic? Start to finish

 

[iwiw60]

Hi iwiw60 - nice of you to post the chicken-lady for people to decide if they want to use the sand. Personally in my situation my girls free-range from dawn to dusk so I don't use the sand but it's probably very good for those who pen their chickens 24/7.

BTW the same chicken-lady website does not recommend food grade DE. In fact I gave away my unopened expensive bag of ultra white pure food grade DE after realizing how sensitive chicken lungs are to dust particles and respiratory infections. It is not effective against all the snake-oil claims it "MAY" have in fighting parasites or insects. Instead we use Poultry Protector which is an OMRI organic preventative health schedule we keep with our hens once a month on their bodies and on their coop (directions for both on the bottle - not cheap but effective in preventing parasites) - in 3 years we have never had any infestation to resort to poisonous dusts or pesticides like Sevin, etc. We also use Ivermectin for worming 3x a year - not organic but according to vet the best wormer if dosaged correctly since "natural" or "organic" methods like garlic water, ACV, or pumpkin seeds do not eradicate the deadly Gapeworm, etc - special instructions must be followed as it is NOT administered orally to chickens. Just came from the vet yesterday and lab results show no parasites 3rd year in a row. He is thrilled we use Ivermectin. Anyone interested in our Preventative Health Schedule for our chickens for worms/lice/mites/scaly leg and the best products and doses to use feel free to PM me. An ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure and importantly not dangerous to the chickens.

If you click on diatomaceous earth on the chicken-lady's website she goes in-depth detail from two experts about the detriment of using DE. Here is a statement from the chicken-lady's website and all highlights are her own.:

Provide adequate dusting areas for chickens to care for their own skin and feathers naturally. A dust bath is the chicken equivalent of a daily dirt shower. It helps them maintain their skin and feathers and controls parasites. Some claim that adding food grade diatomaceous earth (DE) to the dust bathing area combats external parasites. I do not use DE in my flock; I believe it is dangerous to their respiratory health and do not believe it is effective at treating mites or lice. Employ various herbs to repel insects. An article by Herbalist Susan Burek, published in the June/July2011 edition of Backyard Poultry Magazine suggests that many herbs are effective insecticidals.1 Burek explains that various varieties of herbs can repel or kill insects. Another important message in Burek’s article cited above is that herbal pest management should be part of “[a] multi-faceted prevention plan.” Keeping coops clean, keeping chickens healthy in order to be able to fend off pests, and avoiding toxic chemicals as well as natural products such as food grade diatomaceous earth, which upset the natural environmental balance, are all integral parts of that plan.

I do not add diatomaceous earth to my chickens’ dust-bath areas due to their highly sensitive respiratory systems. I feel that good sanitation practices, frequent flock inspections and providing ample dusting areas are sufficient preventative measures for my flock without exposing them to a cloud of respiratory danger daily by way of DE.

Upon identification of lice or mites in any flock member, treatment should begin immediately. There are many different products employed to eradicate mites and lice with varying degrees of effectiveness, among them are: Pyrethrum Dust, dog flea dips, flea shampoos, Poultry Protector, Sevin Dust 5% (carbaryl powder) and Ivermectin. When lice or mites are detected on one bird, the entire flock should be treated. Treating birds after dark when they have gone to roost is the easiest way to treat the entire flock.
I use Sevin Dust 5% to treat my chickens. While wearing a respirator and with the help of another person to hold the bird, I dust underneath the wings and vent area of each bird sparingly but thoroughly. I also clean and treat the entire coop with particular attention paid to nests and roosts.

​

**Treatment must be repeated twice after the initial application in 7 day increments, in order to kill the eggs (nits) that had not hatched at the time of the previous treatments.**

Thank you so much for posting this Sylvester017!! I'm glad you did before I went to the expense of buying DE and using it. I had no idea!! I'm fairly new to the chicken world and have heard "DE this" and "DE that" so much here at BYC I assumed it was a good thing. Fortunately, for me, my little girls are in the new coop with wood shavings at present (having trouble locating the right type of sand), and their run is being built as we speak. Again...THANK YOU!!

 

[jtbass2756]

Love the brightness. Happy chickens. No hawks with those flags.

I'm absolutely in love with your coop. Can you provide any in inside picts...I'm gathering ideas for my first coop. Won't be as pretty as yours but I want the right things to make my ladies happy and safe.

 

[aart]

Quote: Sweet PDZ is the mineral zeolite, it absorbs ammonia....marketed to the horse folks as a stall freshener(25# for about $10 at TSC).... tho I saw a small bag of it packed for chicken keepers that was ridiculously priced in the chicken aisle. It comes in powder and granules, the granules are much less dusty.

 

[kculbert]

I'm absolutely in love with your coop. Can you provide any in inside picts...I'm gathering ideas for my first coop. Won't be as pretty as yours but I want the right things to make my ladies happy and safe.

Haven't really gotten around to doing much on the inside so it's not super fancy. The coop is 4x6 and the run is 4x6. They are 7' tall. We wanted a walk in so I could use it as a potting shed I ever got tired of the whole chicken thing. That isn't going to happen. They are located in a fenced in side yard but I let them free-range in the backyard when I am home.



I use Sweet PDZ on a droppings board that's really an old liner from a dog crate. My roost is low because I have heavy breed chickens and a silkie that sleeps on the floor.



I have a fan inside because it is hot as Hell in Houston in the summer



This is my biggest regret. I really wish I had exterior nesting boxes so I would have more room inside the coop. I have a big pine tree right outside the nest boxes so I am stuck with this awkward layout and waste of space.



Here is a very ugly picture of an old ferret cage that I use as a broody breaker and storage. That red thing is a sun shade that I put up in the summer. I also have a fan out there. I use pine shavings in the coop and sand in the run. Unfortunately, I used gravel in the fenced area and it is a mess. I am gradually converting to sand, one shovel at a time.

I use a Chicken Fountain watering system, which is my favorite thing along with my ADOR1 automatic door opener. I would eventually like to make a pvc tube feeder and move the food inside the coop. We had a rat problem for a while because the coop was a few inches off the ground for leveling purposes and our "friends" moved in underneath. We had to put hardware cloth around the base to keep them out.

 

[jtbass2756]

Haven't really gotten around to doing much on the inside so it's not super fancy. The coop is 4x6 and the run is 4x6. They are 7' tall. We wanted a walk in so I could use it as a potting shed I ever got tired of the whole chicken thing. That isn't going to happen. They are located in a fenced in side yard but I let them free-range in the backyard when I am home.



I use Sweet PDZ on a droppings board that's really an old liner from a dog crate. My roost is low because I have heavy breed chickens and a silkie that sleeps on the floor.



I have a fan inside because it is hot as Hell in Houston in the summer



This is my biggest regret. I really wish I had exterior nesting boxes so I would have more room inside the coop. I have a big pine tree right outside the nest boxes so I am stuck with this awkward layout and waste of space.



Here is a very ugly picture of an old ferret cage that I use as a broody breaker and storage. That red thing is a sun shade that I put up in the summer. I also have a fan out there. I use pine shavings in the coop and sand in the run. Unfortunately, I used gravel in the fenced area and it is a mess. I am gradually converting to sand, one shovel at a time.

I use a Chicken Fountain watering system, which is my favorite thing along with my ADOR1 automatic door opener. I would eventually like to make a pvc tube feeder and move the food inside the coop. We had a rat problem for a while because the coop was a few inches off the ground for leveling purposes and our "friends" moved in underneath. We had to put hardware cloth around the base to keep them out.

I think you have progressed very well...LOL....I haven't even gotten my coop built yet!!! But I really love your red !! I will certainly try to incorporate red somehow in mine !!!

 

[sarahbarnum]

So in love with this

 

[iwiw60]

WOW! Your chicken coop and run are brilliant with colors and decor!! You must certainly be a happy happy person in life...it shows!!

 

[offgridhermit]

My coop is finished and being used by my new chicks. I'm going to name it "MY PLACE".
It's where I go to be by myself and watch and enjoy my flock. I'm 65 and have no real building skills. But I love "My Place".

I built this mostly out of scrap and cull wood, except for the roofing and some of the siding.
My tools were a circular saw, tape measure, a drill with drill and screw bits. The paint was exterior "oops" paint from Home Depot.

The raised hutch is 4'x4' and the coop is 12'x12'. The run is about 15'x22' with room to expand if necessary.


The chicks are enjoying themselves sun bathing, and having dust baths, and just scratching around.

Some of the chicks out of the coop in the run. The shelf under the window is very handy for me when filling water and feed dishes.

The rooster in the other pen is posturing. So funny.

enjoying the sun. They look dead when sunbathing.

Having a dust bath.