post your chicken coop pictures here!

[Sylvester017]

MHO, OSB is cr@p. Won't buy it. Heavy glue and wood bits, doesn't hold a screw in the edge worth a darn. Real wood is cheaper and lighter.

I agree that it is cr@p but we've taken care to keep it together for 3 years because we knew it was cheap. The design was so nifty and the price was reasonable so we got it. Other than the cheap materials it's made out of it has been a very functional design for a small group of hens - they free range all day anyway and only need the coop for laying and sleeping.

I made a "sifting screen" (no idea what it is really called) that is about 2'x3' on 2' legs with doubled 1x3 wire mesh to sift weeds and rocks out of the garden dirt. Cleared an area about 4' x 6', then no time so there it sits over a nice clean section of dirt. Noticed 2 of the chickens under it the other day and thought of you Sylvester

. I don't know if they were using it as a place to hide from predators or just a dust bath (though the depressions are not really deep enough for that to be the case) or just SOME shade.

The little buggers will sleep next to or under anything - a trash can, a compost roller, a wheelbarrow. Ours like snoozing under the rose bush - not much cover but guess the thorns make them feel safe?

 

[jtbass2756]

It needs to be painted... Should I go barn red?

Depenc


Depends on whether you want it to blend into the background or stand out.....I love the run by the way!

 

[vehve]

Moved our small flock (3) in 2 weekends ago and they're loving it. I underestimated the amount of work involved by a factor of 3 but it was a fun project and I learned a lot in the process. There's still work to do, but luckily I have time before winter hits.

I think you need a lot of experience before you can actually estimate how long it takes. Even professionals seem to finish about 2 months late on any job

I probably spent a month putting our coop and run together. But I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Your's looks like a well thought out design.

 

[Nupe]

The run is finally finished. We moved the chicks in the coop about 2 weeks ago. Sunday the chicks finally got their yard. The hubby says for all his hard work, he expects eggs within a week or they will be roasted. They'll be 7 weeks old tomorrow.

The coop is (mostly) level and the run is contoured with the ground.


The morning sun coming over the trees makes a good pic difficult right now

I thought getting them back into the coop at night would be a problem but it seems getting them to venture out has been a bigger challenge. I left the food in the coop but moved the water out. By 10am, I went into the coop and kicked the last 5 of 18 out. They were thirsty. When it started getting dark, all the chickies came back to the coop.


From the trap door to the run is a welded wire tunnel.


The back of coop has a hinged plank for nest box access and easy clean out.




The run is made of 12'x6' frames with welded wire panels stapled to it. The floor and ceiling are also covered with welded wire. The top is draped with shade cloth until we can get some natural cover. We bought a $100 air stapler at Home Depot and it was worth it's weight in gold on this project.


Our first attempt at raising chickens didn't work out very well with the neighborhood dogs. This time the coop and run are closer to the house and fully enclosed. It will take a while for our dogs to get used to them but they'll keep an eye out for any other unwanted critter.

 

[bruceha2000]

hopefully my granddaughter will not rat me out....(don't think she will)....I slipped out to my coop after I spoke to my dh

and replace the pop door. put in a thicker door, 2 hinges for more stability and a latch. Despite how it looks...there are no openings around the door that are not covered good. My question.....do I need to double latch it? Here's a before and after.

Tomorrow, I hope to attack the people door. Won't get it done in one day but I will get it started...if my hubby goes on to work...

LOL...Not doing too well with the RMSF. Nurse was upset with me.....opps !!!

Not sure about the spring hook, even though I know people who can't figure them out. As far as a second one, I guess you can pull hard on the other corner and see how big the gap is. It may not take too much force to bend the hinge and make the gap even wider.

Here is the finished product. I added a "catwalk" for the adult chick we already have and it appears to be working out pretty good. I also made a 70' x 30' run for them when they get bigger. We started out with 25 pullets and have 25 teenagers, one is a rooster.

For when they get bigger? Why not now?



The chickens will roost in the nests, the roost board needs to be higher than the nests because they roost as high as they can get. I presume you have a plan to cover the walls in the winter. They need to have no winter draft even in Texas.

It's almost finished at last! The hardware cloth roof has been attached and DH is putting a door on the run as I post. Hoping to transition the girls outside this week. They've been spending some supervised time out there over the last few days.
.
We are not very construction-savvy, so be gentle in your critiques please.

Also spending as little $$ as possible was the goal.

The coop is about 6'6" tall and about 3'6" x3'6" inside. It is made from 2 solid wood panel doors and 2 shutters from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore . Those shutters are screened on the inside to keep bugs out, but I think they'll allow plenty of ventilation. The hardware, floor and roof and most of the wood were reStore, salvaged or free.

The front swings open on a hinge for us to access. The birds will come and go through an opening in the floor with the ladder. (I think the opening may need to be larger, and the angle of the ladder may need tinkering....)

There are 2 roost bars inside and I'm working on an idea similar to the popular poop boards I've seen on here.

Haven't quite decided what we'll do about the nest boxes. I'm open to suggestions! Leaning towards the bucket type nest on the side wall below the lower roost.

All told, I think we spent about $70 on the coop.

The run is 8' square and 7'2" tall. All treated lumber and 1/2" hardware cloth.

We had to spend a bit more there than we wanted to, but safety first! We have (well controlled but you never know!) bird dogs as neighbors and raccoons in the woods behind us. Probably $180 in wood and wire.

Looks like a pretty good job all around. I agree on the ramp, the cleats are too far apart, chicken claws don't dig into the wood, they grasp over the cleats. If they will have enough "headroom" you might put the lower end of the ramp on a block of some sort to lessen the angle. I can't tell about the opening in the floor.

Moved our small flock (3) in 2 weekends ago and they're loving it. I underestimated the amount of work involved by a factor of 3 but it was a fun project and I learned a lot in the process. There's still work to do, but luckily I have time before winter hits.



A pic of the inside just before they moved in:

Looks well designed. My wife says everything takes me 3 times as long as I think it will so your estimates are PERFECT

 

[bruceha2000]

The run is finally finished. We moved the chicks in the coop about 2 weeks ago. Sunday the chicks finally got their yard. The hubby says for all his hard work, he expects eggs within a week or they will be roasted. They'll be 7 weeks old tomorrow.

The coop is (mostly) level and the run is contoured with the ground.

I thought getting them back into the coop at night would be a problem but it seems getting them to venture out has been a bigger challenge. I left the food in the coop but moved the water out. By 10am, I went into the coop and kicked the last 5 of 18 out. They were thirsty. When it started getting dark, all the chickies came back to the coop.


From the trap door to the run is a welded wire tunnel.

Looks good. Don't worry about them not going out in their own. You have a bunch of babies that have just been moved from their bassinet to a mansion. They are understandably cautious. When mine were young they all stuck together like glue. The 12 of them would ALWAYS be together. After their first winter they got more brave, venturing out in smaller groups to various places. Now at 2 years old they still hang together a lot but one or two might be who knows where by themselves when the rest are all in the barn or under a bush.

 

[iwiw60]

Quote:

 

[DoubleMM]

Depends on whether you want it to blend into the background or stand out.....I love the run by the way!

Thanks... Whenever I paint anything, I like to choose a new color, so I can see where all the work went.

So I'm undecided, either:

Red with white trim or a warm mid slate gray with deep charcoal gray trim.

 

[Latestarter]

Thanks... Whenever I paint anything, I like to choose a new color, so I can see where all the work went.

So I'm undecided, either:

Red with white trim or a warm mid slate gray with deep charcoal gray trim.

You know, after all the blood (your finger man!), sweat (assumption on my part, but probably accurate), and tears (sawdust in the eyes?) you put into that project, why not make it positively glow? I mean it IS a chicken house, is it not? I vote for egg yolk gold! and the trim can be a nice chartreuse like the color under your (hopefully recovering) finger nail!

All in favor?

 

[Chooks n Kids]

youtube.com/watch?v=uR2x8LrlEYk

I have several posted on my BYC under Purdy

also check out my coop on youtube "John Deere Chicken Tractor"

OMG! That is awesome!! LOL!