post your chicken coop pictures here!

[Sylvester017]

Here is our coop.

Nice use of space except for ONE thing. Chickens will use the roof as a step ladder to get to the fence ledge and escape - teehee!

 

[Kansas]

Almost finished .... just need some eggs

Very nice. I like your nest boxes. I may go with something like that in the future.

 

[Kansas]

We used old round wood fence posts and made a frame then used fencing staples to attach old hog panels to the top of that and then chicken wire over that to make a frame to go over the grass in the corners of the run so the grass can grow through and they cant tear up the roots. Also it serves as a cooler place to sit during hot days because they get air flow underneath and the grass stays cooler than dirt. Plus it makes the run not look so much like a dirt yard.


Hopefully this gives someone some ideas. My 24 chickens are only 7 weeks old right now so hopefully this will be a good home for them as they grow.

I really like this idea. Very smart.

 

[Halokirbs]

The chickens will not have access to the roof. They will be in a chicken run during the day and in the coop at night.

 

[KrystalRose]

I really like this idea. Very smart.

All my best,

Dan M

Yeah, I saw the idea online and recreated it with the scrap stuff I had laying around, the other ones I saw only had chicken wire over but were a lot smaller. Since we went so wide we thought it needed more than chicken wire for support. I am able to gingerly walk on it and not hurt it so it turned out to be fairly strong.

 

[Sylvester017]

Here are a few photos of our chicken coop and outdoor pen set-up. For 25 chickens. 24 hens and one rooster. B Orpingtons, SL Wynadottes, RI Reds, and Ameraucanas (Easter eggers).

I bought a barn roof style storage shed (12" x 10") and converted it into a chicken coop. I raised it off the ground about 18" for the chickens to go under for shade and shelter during the day.

My wife and I moved from Wyoming and bought a small 7 acre hobby farm in south central Kansas a little over a year ago. I retired from teaching biology after 30 years. My wife works as the Planning Director in the nearby town.

I've been a licensed practicing falconer for almost 40 years flying and hunting trained golden eagles and goshawks. Although I've kept many different animals over the years, we are new to chicken keeping. We've always wanted to keep a small group of free ranging chickens for egg production. We are having a great time with our chickens and learning quite a bit. You never stop learning.

This is a great forum and I researched many different aspects of chicken husbandry from this site before actually getting our chickens. I imagine we'll be working out the bugs for quite some time, but we seem to be figuring it out as we go.

All my Best,

Dan M


Loose and free ranging around the property

There is nothing more gorgeous than chickeneers who research before plunging into the world of poultry keeping. Also there's nothing more satisfying than seeing a field of free-ranging hens.

We have free-ranged our backyard girls and learned from "Free-Range Chicken Gardens" by Jessi Bloom the advantage of having plants and shelters scattered around for the chickens to snooze/hide under from aerial predators. We have several low lean-to shelter planks set on cinder blocks sort of like bences scattered around the yard, a couple XL plastic doghouses, a shady popup canopy buried a foot in the ground to keep from para-sailing away, some perch planks set through cinderblock holes under the canopy, and rose bushes for them to use as shelters. Chickens like open range but we should responsibly provide shelters for them for hiding/snoozing as I'm sure Kansas is not aerial predator-proofed yet. In the city we have a regular visiting Cooper's Hawk for 3 years now that watches our girls in the yard from the patio furniture but doesn't go after our hiding hens. The hawks prefer nice open space like your field to swoop down on a slow-running hen that won't quite make it in time to get under your shed basement. Having several hiding areas will save the roo from having to engage in a battle with a predator hawk since 99% of the time the roo loses.

A swinging roost, a couple old wooden thrift store chairs, a bench or planks on cinderblocks, or old branch or tree stump on the floor of the pen will all get utilized also by the penned chickens. You can make it as plain or fancy as you'd like but provide some snooze shelters and perches.

Gorgeous scenic property!

 

[iwiw60]

Nice use of space except for ONE thing. Chickens will use the roof as a step ladder to get to the fence ledge and escape - teehee!

Yikes! I never thought of that....you're right....

 

[Sylvester017]

The chickens will not have access to the roof. They will be in a chicken run during the day and in the coop at night.

The run has nestboxes too? So glad to see you have thought it out and that the coop is raised on blocks for those rainy days!

 

[Halokirbs]

The coop has nest boxes. They will have free access to the coop and the run during the day. We do not get a lot of rain in SoCal but when it does rain it rains heavy. I am sure I have not thought of everything but I am learning.

 

[Kansas]

There is nothing more gorgeous than chickeneers who research before plunging into the world of poultry keeping. Also there's nothing more satisfying than seeing a field of free-ranging hens.

We have free-ranged our backyard girls and learned from "Free-Range Chicken Gardens" by Jessi Bloom the advantage of having plants and shelters scattered around for the chickens to snooze/hide under from aerial predators. We have several low lean-to shelter planks set on cinder blocks sort of like bences scattered around the yard, a couple XL plastic doghouses, a shady popup canopy buried a foot in the ground to keep from para-sailing away, some perch planks set through cinderblock holes under the canopy, and rose bushes for them to use as shelters. Chickens like open range but we should responsibly provide shelters for them for hiding/snoozing as I'm sure Kansas is not aerial predator-proofed yet. In the city we have a regular visiting Cooper's Hawk for 3 years now that watches our girls in the yard from the patio furniture but doesn't go after our hiding hens. The hawks prefer nice open space like your field to swoop down on a slow-running hen that won't quite make it in time to get under your shed basement. Having several hiding areas will save the roo from having to engage in a battle with a predator hawk since 99% of the time the roo loses.

A swinging roost, a couple old wooden thrift store chairs, a bench or planks on cinderblocks, or old branch or tree stump on the floor of the pen will all get utilized also by the penned chickens. You can make it as plain or fancy as you'd like but provide some snooze shelters and perches.

Gorgeous scenic property!

Thanks. That picture is just a corner shot. The chickens are ranging a good distance from the coop during the day. I have water buckets scattered around for them to drink from. I only feed them their commercial feed in the coop. I wanted to build and place a few lean-to's around. It's been getting hot here. I've seen a few designs. How about posting a picture of yours?

We're not short on predators here.. Fox, coyotes, raccoons, opossums, and skunks. I've already disposed of one skunk. As far as raptors are concerned, we have resident Cooper's, redtails, and horned owls. I'm not so worried about the Cooper's hawks with adult chickens, but the redtails and horned owls are another matter. The ground predators concern me.

Although our chickens have ample space and hiding places, so would a sneaky fox or coyote. I don't know what I'll do if we start having hens getting picked off by a fox or coyote. I have a large wirehaired pointing griffon in a dog run next to the chickens and he has accepted the chickens, but only under supervision. I don't trust him 100% alone with the chickens. He has been trained to hunt with a golden eagle and hawk for falconry, but he respects my trained raptors.

The problem I'm seeing now is the chickens are ranging further and further away in about three different bands. I'm starting to only turn them loose at about 5 in the afternoon. This gives them a few hours to range before they want to come back to roost. I know predators. They can just show up in the blink of an eye and melt away into the landscape before you can say holy honkers.

So far, I have an uneasy peace about free ranging our chickens . There are a couple that are stone tame and are more like pets.

Comments?